书城外语那些妙趣横生的故事
6558100000008

第8章 Hi Dan!

你好,丹!

The traffic light's red

My wife needed encouragement to keep pedaling the exercise bike in gym. I said,“Close your eyes and imagine you're riding along Broadway in New York City. It will be more interesting.” Inspired,she cycled on,but after a minute she stopped. “What's wrong?” I asked. “The traffic light's red,” she replied.

红灯了

我太太需要一些鼓励才能继续蹬健身自行车。我说:“你闭上眼睛,想象你是沿着纽约的百老汇大街在骑车。这样比较有趣。”在这一灵感的激发下,她继续蹬下去,但是仅仅一分钟她又停下了。我问她:“怎么啦?”她回答说:“红灯了。”

Honey,so do I!

We were discussing the “don'ts” of public speaking in the PR class I teach. “Don'ts” include a man reaching into his pant pocket and jangling change as he speaks,which is very distracting. To illustrate my point,I asked for a student volunteer,saying,“I need a man with coins in his pocket. ”What I got was a girl yelling out,“Honey,so do I!”

亲爱的,我也要!

在我教的公共关系课上,我们正在讨论公共场合讲话时“不要做什么”。其中有一项就是男人在讲话的时候,不要把手伸进裤子口袋,把硬币弄得哗哗响。这么做会分散注意力。为了阐明我的观点,我要一个学生做示范。我说:“我需要一个男人,口袋里有硬币。”结果,一个女孩大叫道:“亲爱的,我也要!”

Hi Dan!

A lawyer was reading out the will of a rich man:“To you,my loving wife Rose,who stood by me in rough times,as well as good,I leave her the house and 2 million.” The lawyer continued,“To my daughter Jessica,who looked after me in sickness and kept the business going,I leave her the yacht,the business and 1 million.” The lawyer concluded,“And,to my cousin Dan,who hated me,argued with me,and thought that I would never mention him in my will—well you are wrong. Hi Dan!”

你好,丹!

一位律师正在宣读一个富人的遗嘱:“我亲爱的太太罗丝,不论是顺境还是逆境,你都在我的身边。我给你留下房子和200万美元。我的女儿杰西卡,她在我生病的时候照顾我,维持生意继续运转。我把帆船、生意和100万美元留给她。我的表弟丹,你恨我,和我争吵,并且以为我在遗嘱里不会提到你的名字。你错了——你好,丹!”

A personal question

At the cashier one busy day the line grew quite long. There was much grumbling among those waiting,but one man made light of the situation. He approached a woman who was obviously very pregnant and tapped her on the shoulder. “Would you mind my asking a personal question?” he said. “Were you pregnant when you got in this line?”

一个私人问题

在一个繁忙的日子,收银员那里排了很长的队。排队等待的人开始发牢骚,只有一名男子显得比较轻松。他走到一个显然已经怀孕很久的女人背后,拍拍她的肩膀说:“我能不能问你一个私人问题,在你开始排队的时候有没有怀孕?”

单词&词组

encouragement [in5kQrIdVmEnt] n.鼓励,支持(的事物)

cycle [5saikl] n.循环;骑自行(摩托)车

distract [dis5trAkt] v.使分心,分散注意力

illustrate [5ilEstreit] vt.给……加插图;说明

yell [jel] n.叫喊,叫着说

will [wil] n.意图,决心;遗嘱

rough [rQf] adj.艰难的,粗糙的,粗鲁的,(味道、声音等)令人不快的

yacht [jCt] n.游艇,帆船

mention [5menFEn] n.提及,说起

cashier [kA5FiE] n.收银员,出纳员

grumble [5^rQmbl] vi.抱怨,牢骚

make light of 对……不在乎,轻视

personal [5pE:sEnl] adj.个人的,亲自的

知道不知道

公共场合讲话时“不要做什么”

做public speaking时,还有几个不要,譬如不要把手伸进口袋里(stick your hands in your pockets),不要手卡在腰带上(hook your thumbs under your belt),因为上述动作都会分散观众的注意力。