1 思不断/Still care
After spending all day watching football, Harry fell asleep in front of the TV and spent the night in the chair. In the morning, his wife woke him up. "Get up, dear," she said. "It's twenty to seven. "
He woke with a start. "In whose favor?"
看了一整天的橄榄球赛,哈利在电视机前睡着了,在椅子上过了一夜。早上他的妻子叫醒他:“起来吧,亲爱的,”她说。“差二十分七点了。”
他被惊醒了,“哪方领先?”
注:英文中“差二十分七点”和“20比7”都可说成“It's twenty to seven” 。
2 推理/Reasoning
A fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic. “Here is the situation, "she said. “A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?"
A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all of his savings?"
小学四年级的教师在给学生们上一堂逻辑课。“有这样一种情况,”她说。“一个男人站在河中心的一条船上钓鱼。他突然失去重心,掉进了水里。于是,他开始挣扎并喊救命。他的妻子听到了骚动,知道他不会游泳,所以她就急忙跑向河岸。你们认为她为什么跑向河岸?”
一个女学生举起手答道:“去取出他所有的存钱?”
注: 英语中bank既有“河岸”的意思也有“银行”的意思。
3 戴帽子的用途/Cover up
An aunt of mine kept a hat by her front door, and whenever the doorbell rang, she would put it on. If it was someone she wished to see, she would remark how lucky it was that she had just come in. If it was someone she wanted to avoid, she would say how sorry she was, but she was just going out.
我的一个姑妈总是在前门旁放一顶帽子,一旦有人按门铃,她就把那顶帽子戴上。如果来的是她想见的客人,她就说真是太巧了,她刚外出回来。如果来的是她不想见的客人,她就说真是抱歉,她正要外出。
4 哪一个更危险/Which is more dangerous
After 20 years as a pilot, I became an airport manager and soon found the stress was getting to me. I needed a release and wanted to buy a motorcycle, but my family thought it was too dangerous. My wife said, "Why don't you start flying again?"
The next day, as I showed a businessman around the airport, he looked longingly at the planes. "I used to take flying lessons, but my wife made me quit," he lamented." She said it was dangerous.”
"Tell her you want to get a motorcycle, "I advised. My new-found friend now has his pilot's license.
当了20年的飞行员后,我成了一个机场经理,但不久我就感到了这项工作的压力。我需要放松一下就想买辆摩托车骑。可家里人认为那太危险。我妻子说:“你为什么不再开始飞行?”
第二天,我带领一个商人参观机场时,他渴望地望着那些飞机。“我曾上过飞行课,但我妻子却让我放弃它。”那商人悲叹道:“她说那太危险。”
“告她你想要辆摩托车。”我建议他。现在,我这位新结识的朋友已取得了飞机驾驶执照。
5 最高评价/Best compliment
I had been grocery shopping with my friend Alicia, and we were looking for the shortest checkout line. We started at opposite ends, and soon I found one register with a solitary man ahead of me. " Hey, Alicia! " I yelled. " This one looks good. "
The customer puffed out his chest and said, "That's the best compliment I've had all day."
我和我的朋友艾丽西亚在杂货店买东西,我们想找一个最短的队付钱。我们俩分头去找,看哪个队最短。很快我就找到了一队,前边只有一个男顾客,“嘿,艾丽西亚,”我喊道:“这个看起来不错。”
那个顾客挺起了胸说:“ 这是我今天听到的对我评价最好的一句话。”
6 尽管读/Read it
When we work evenings, we often order take-out food at the office. One night we all gave our orders to Sharon, who wrote the selections on a self-stick note. Unable to find our list when she arrived at the fast food restaurant, Sharon stepped up to the counter. But before she could speak, the cashier recited the exact order. " How could you possibly know that?" asked Sharon.
"It's right there," replied the cashier, "stuck to your chest."
当我们晚上工作时,我们常常在办公室订些外卖食品来吃。一天夜里,我们把订单都给了莎伦。她把订单列在一张不干胶的纸上。等她到了饭店时,怎么也找不到那张订单了。沙伦走到柜台前,还没等她说话,收银员就背出了所有大家订的东西。“你怎么会知道这些的呢?” 沙伦问。
“它就在这儿,”收银员说:“贴在了你的胸前。”