第80单元 童言无忌

Tell a Story with a Moral

讲一个寓言故事

A primary school class was asked to tell a story with a moral. Kathy went first. "Once, we were driving a basket of ten eggs to market and we had a big bump in the road. The eggs broke. The moral is don't put all your eggs in one basket."

一个小学班级里的学生被要求讲一个寓言故事。首先，凯西开始了：“有一次，我们带着篮子去市场，篮子里有十个鸡蛋，结果我们摔了一跤，鸡蛋都碎了。寓言就是：不要孤注一掷”

Tammy was next. "Once, we had a dozen chicken eggs, but when hatched, we got only ten chicks. The moral is don't count your chicks before they are hatched."

泰米接着说道：“从前我们有12个鸡蛋，但是最后只孵化出来10只小鸡。寓言是：对事情不要太早下定论。”

Then it was Johnny's turn. "When my Aunt Karen was in Desert Storm, her plane was hit. She bailed out over enemy territory with only a bottle of whisky and a machine gun."

接下来轮到杰尼斯了。“那一年，我的凯伦姑妈参加了沙漠风暴战争，她的飞机被击毁了。她跳伞跳到了敌军阵地，身上只有一瓶威士忌和一架冲锋枪。”

"She drank the liquor on the way down so it wouldn't break, and landed in the middle of 100 enemy soldiers. She killed 70 with the machine gun. When she ran out of bullets, she killed the rest with her bare hands."

“她在下降过程中把威士忌一饮而尽，为了是将酒瓶砸在敌军100名士兵之中。她用冲锋枪杀死了70人。当她子弹耗尽时，她徒手杀光了剩下的所有人。”

"What's the moral of that terrible story?" the teacher asked, horrified.

“这可怕的故事比喻的是什么？”老师一脸恐惧地问道。

"Stay away from Aunt Karen when she's been drinking."

“凯伦姑妈喝酒时，离她越远越好。”

Looking for Dad

找爸爸

A young boy was lost in the mall. He ran out over to a police office. "I've lost my dad!"

一个小男孩在商场迷路了。他跑到警察局说道：“我找不到爸爸了！”

"What's he like?" he asked.

“他长什么样？”警察问道。

"Soccer and beer."

“足球和啤酒”

"Cheese!"

“茄子！”

The camera is always in use when our three-year-old grandson, Tyler, comes by. I didn't realize how much until the night of a large thunderstorm. Our son called to tell us that when a bolt of lightning lit up their flat, Tyler turned to the window and said, "Cheese!"

每当三岁的外孙泰勒来的时候，我们总是拍照。直到一次下了雷阵雨，我才意识到我们拍了多少照片。我儿子那晚打电话告诉我，当闪电照亮了他们家公寓时，泰勒跑到窗户边，说道：“茄子！”

Turning Forty

四十岁了

I recently turned 40, and on that day I took my nine-year-old daughter, Kelsey, shopping. As we crossed the car-park, she exclaimed, "Happy 40th birthday, Mum!"

最近我过了我的四十岁生日，生日当天我带着我九岁的女儿凯尔西去逛街。当我们穿过停车场时，她欢呼道：“妈妈，四十岁生日快乐！”

"Thank you, honey," I said, "but don't broadcast the 40 part, please." I went on to explain that I wasn't upset about turning 40, but if people thought I was younger, that was fine with me.

“宝贝，谢谢你”我说道，“但是你最好别把四十这个数字说出来。”我之后向她解释，我对于步入四十并不悲观，可如果人们认为我看起来年轻，那就在再好不过了。

"Why don't you tell people you're 50 then?" Kelsey asked. "Then you'll look really good!"

“那你为什么不和别人说你50岁呢？”凯尔西问道。“那样你看来就真的很年轻了！”

Worry

担忧

The night before I was scheduled to have major surgery, Jeremy, our nine-year-old son, became worried. "I'm scared, Mum. What if the doctor makes a mistake?"

在我进行一项重要手术的前晚，我九岁的儿子杰里米有些担忧。“我害怕，妈妈。如果医生手术出了错可怎么办啊？”

I calmly explained that the doctor had years of experience and mistakes were unlikely.

我耐下心来向他解释，这个医生有多年的经验，是不会出错的。

"But what if he does?" Jeremy persisted.

“但是如果他出了错呢？”杰里米坚持问道。

"Then he'd be in a lot of trouble." I teased.

“那他可就有大麻烦了。”我向他开起了玩笑。

"You mean we could sue him," Jeremy brightened, "and I could get a new bike?"

“你是说我们可以起诉他，”杰里米精神了起来“然后我就能买辆新自行车了？”