书城外语那些妙趣横生的故事(每天读一点英文)
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第9章 Half glass of water

半杯水

A man and his son were riding in the car. The man said to his son,“Could you check and see if the direction lights are working on your side of the car?” His son looked out the window and said,“Yes,no,yes,no,yes,no,yes,no...”

有一个男人和他的儿子坐在车上。这个男人对他儿子说:“你能检查一下你那边的方向灯有没有坏吗?”儿子把头伸出窗外说:“有,没有,有,没有,有,没有……”

Half glass of water

To the optimist,the glass is half full. To the pessimist,the glass is half empty. To the engineer,the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

半杯水

对于乐观主义者,这玻璃杯有一半是满的;对于悲观主义者,这玻璃杯有一半是空的。对于工程师,这玻璃杯比实际需要大了一倍。

Oh,Ohio

I brag about my home state of Ohio whenever I have a chance. One day,I told a friend,“You know,the first man in powered flight was from Ohio. The first man to orbit the earth was from Ohio. And the first man on the moon was from Ohio. ”“Sounds like a lot of people are trying to get out of Ohio,”he observed.

哦,俄亥俄

只要一有机会,我就会吹嘘我的故乡俄亥俄。有一天,我对一个朋友说:“你瞧,第一个用动力飞行的人是俄亥俄人;第一个绕地球轨道飞行的人也是俄亥俄人;第一个登上月球的人还是俄亥俄人。”他的评论是:“看来好多人都想离开俄亥俄。”

Can I borrow your daughter?

A woman took her five-year-old daughter shopping with her. The little girl watched her mother try on outfit after outfit,exclaiming each time,“Mommy,you look beautiful!” A woman in the next dressing room called out,“Can I borrow your daughter for a moment?”

我能不能借借你的女儿?

一位女士带着她五岁的女儿去购物。小姑娘看着她妈妈一件又一件地试穿衣服,每一次都惊叫道:“妈妈,你真好看!”在隔壁更衣室的女人喊了起来:“我能不能借你的女儿用一会儿?”

The meat department

My office is in a building remodeled from a former supermarket. One day I overheard the receptionist giving directions over the phone. “Remember the old grocery store?” she asked the caller. “You'll find us in the meat department.”

肉食部

我的办公室设在由超市改装过的一座大厦里。有一天,我听见前台秘书在电话里描述我们的位置。她说:“记得老杂货店吗?你能在肉食部找到我们。”

单词&词组

direction light 向灯

optimist [5Cptimist] n.乐观主义者

pessimist [5pesImist] n.悲观主义者

brag about对…自夸;吹嘘…

observe [Eb5zE:v] vt.观察;研究

outfit [5autfit] n.全套装备,全套工具

remodel [5ri:5mCdl] vt.重建

grocery [5^rEusEri] n.杂货

department [di5pB:tmEnt] n.部,部门

知道不知道

汽车部件名词术语

引擎盖——bonnet ;hood

后备箱——boot ;trunk

挡泥板——mudflap

轮胎——tyre ; tire

后视镜(车内中央,矩形的)——rearview mirror

方向盘——steering wheel

安全带——seat belt

变速杆(排挡)——gear shift,shift lever

手刹车——hand-brake lever

脚刹车(踏板)——brake pedal

油门(踏板)——accelerator pedal

离合器(踏板)——clutch pedal