1 消除談話障礙/Smooth talk
We own a small foreign car, the hinges of which are exposed to the weather and sometimes squeak. One day I was oiling the hinges when our landlord walked by. “What are you trying to do?" he asked. "Take the foreign accent out of it?"
我們有輛小型進口車，由於鉸鏈露在外雨淋日曬的，所以，有時吱吱響。於是一天，我正給它上油，房東正巧經過。“你想做什麽?”他問，“是想去掉這家夥的外國口音嗎?”
2 母親最知情/Mother knows best
Conversation between a mother and her child:
"Can I have a chocolate-chip cookie?"
"How do you ask?"
"May I have a chocolate-chip cookie?"
"What do you say?"
"May I please have a chocolate-chip cookie?"
"No. It's too close to supper."
母子間的對話:
“我能吃塊巧克力曲奇餅幹嗎?”
“你怎麽問啊?”
“我可以吃塊巧克力曲奇餅幹嗎?"
“你說什麽?”
“請問我可以吃塊巧克力曲奇餅幹嗎?”
“不行，馬上就要吃晚飯了。”
3 因禍得福/Coincident
Although my mother, a native of Japan, has lived for 55 years in the United States, she has not adapted completely to the cultural change. This is especially obvious during her infrequent forays into a large city.
One day she boarded a bus in Los Angeles, deposited a $5 bill in the coin box and held out her hand for change. Because the coin box is not built to accept paper money, the bus driver growled: “Okay, lady. If you get that bill out, you can ride for free. Otherwise we're going to have to dismantle this coin box."
My mother hesitated a moment, then opened her purse, took out a pair of chopsticks, retrieved the bill and smiled as she took her seat.
雖然我母親，一個土生土長的日本人，已在美國生活了55年，但是，她仍沒完全適應文化差異。當她偶爾去一次大城市，這種不適應就顯得特別明顯。
一天，她在洛杉磯上了一輛公共汽車，把一張5美元的紙幣放進了投幣箱，然後伸出手等著找錢。由於投幣箱造得不能接收紙幣，所以司機吼道:“好了，太太，如果你能把那紙幣取出來，你乘車就免費。否則，我們隻好拆了投幣箱。”
我母親猶豫了一會兒，然後打開她的手包，拿出了一副筷子，夾出了紙幣，然後微笑著坐在了座位上。
4 兩全齊美/Help for two
Early one morning, my next-door neighbor set to work with a power hedge-trimmer. He was half through the job when a neighbor appeared, still in his pajamas. He was carrying his own power clipper and offered his help, which was gratefully accepted. When the job was done, my neighbor thanked his benefactor, commenting that it had been "a real neighborly act".
"Don't mention it, "replied the other man. "I figured, by helping you, it would only take half as long and I could get back to sleep!"
一天清晨，我隔壁的鄰居用一個電動修剪機開始幹活。當他幹到一半兒的時侯，另一個鄰居也來了。他仍穿著睡衣，手裏拿著他自家的電動修剪機，說要幫忙。這個要求被欣然接受。活幹完時，我的鄰居謝了幫忙者，還評論道那是“ 一個真正的睦鄰行為。”
“不用客氣，"另一個男人說:“我算了一下，幫你一個忙，隻需一半時間，然後我還能回去睡覺。”
5 免費!/No charge!
Driving through the hill country of Texas, just north of San Antonio, we watched the sky turn a brilliant orange at sunset. At my wife's pleading, we stopped and walked up a hill, which turned out to be the top of a cliff. Before us lay the picturesque postcard setting we had been looking for during all our vacation. Below was a large green valley circled by hills. Exhilarated by the tangerine sky, long shadows, and a slight breeze carrying the scent of green grass, my wife suddenly shouted: “Thank you, Mother Nature, for so much beauty!”
Then, a distant voice was heard from across the valley: "No charge!”
開車經過德克薩斯州的山丘地帶，在聖安東尼奧的北麵，我們看到天空在日落時轉成橙豔。在我妻子的懇求下，我們停了車，來到了小山坡上，這裏正好是懸崖的頂端。在我們麵前展現出了一種名信片上的景色。這正是我們整個假期都在尋找的地方。山坡下是一片群山環抱的綠色山穀。我妻子對橙色的天空，長長的影子，和微風送來的綠草的芳香感到興奮，突然喊到:“謝謝你，大自然母親，給我們這麽美的風景。”
接著，從遠處山穀的那一邊傳來了一聲，“不收費。”
6 複製件/A copy
I phoned my husband, Mike, at the car dealer's where he is a service manager. I wanted a copy of his house key and thought he could have one made on their key-duplicating machine. Mike was away from his desk, so I left a message with his secretary.
When my husband came home that evening, he had one question: "Why did you ask my secretary to make a copy of my key?" From his pocket he produced a photocopy of the house key, front and back.
我給我的丈夫，邁克，汽車商店的服務經理打了一個電話。我想讓他配一把家門的鑰匙，想著他可以在他們的配鑰匙機上做一把。當時邁克不在他的辦公桌前，所以，我就給他的秘書留了話。
那天晚上當我丈夫回到家時，他有個問題:“你為什麽讓我的秘書複印一張我的鑰匙。”他從他的口袋裏拿出一張家門鑰匙的複印件，有正麵和反麵。
(英文中a copy of his house key有兩個意思，一個是:“他家門鑰匙的複製件”，另一個意思是: “他家門鑰匙的複印件”。)
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