英语小达人 163 A Nail or a Fly

 　　A Nail or a Fly

　　钉子还是苍蝇

　　One day an old gentleman whose eyesight was failing came to stay in a hotel room with a bottle of wine in each hand. On the wall there was a fly which he took for a nail. So the moment he hung them on it, the bottles fell broken and the wine spilt all over the floor. When a waitress discoverd what had happened, she showed deep sympathy for him and decided¹ to do him a favor.

　　一位老绅士视力日渐衰退。一天，他双手各提着一瓶酒，住进了一家旅馆的客房。他把墙上的一只苍蝇当成了一颗钉子。他把两个瓶子往钉子上一挂，结果瓶子掉下来摔个粉碎，酒洒了一地。一个女服务生发现以后，对他深表同情，于是决定帮他个忙。

　　So the next morning when he was out taking a walk in the roof garden, she hammered a nail exactly where the fly had stayed.

　　于是，第二天早上趁绅士到楼顶花园散步时，她用锤子把一枚钉子钉在了苍蝇趴过的地方。

　　Now the old man entered his room. The smell of the spilt wine reminded him of the accident. When he looked up at the wall, he found the fly was there again! He walked to it carefully and slapped² it with all his strength. On hearing a loud cry, the kind-hearted waitress rushed in. To her great surprise, the poor old man was there sitting on the floor, his teeth clenched³ and his right hand bleeding!

　　这时，老人回到了房里。洒出的酒的味道让他想起了发生的那件事。他抬头往墙上一看，苍蝇又趴在了那儿！他小心翼翼地走过去，用尽全力拍了一巴掌。好心的女服务生听到一声大叫，便冲进房来。她大吃一惊，只见那可怜的老头正坐在地板上，紧咬牙关，右手血流不止！

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 slapped   

v.掌击，拍打( slap的过去式和过去分词 )；制止；镇压；（尤指生气地）啪的一声放下

参考例句：

• She slapped his face hard. 她狠狠给了他一个耳光。
• They slapped the workers who had gone on strike. 他们对参加罢工的工人大加镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》