mental deficiency

“Would you mind telling me, Doctor,” Bob asked, “how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?” “Nothing is easier,” he replied, “You ask him a simple question which everyone should answer with no trouble. If he hesitates, that puts you on the track.” “Well, what sort of question?” “Well, you might ask him, ‘Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?‘ ” Bob thought for a moment, and then said with a nervous laugh, “You wouldn‘t happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don‘t know much about history.”

翻譯:

智力缺陷

“醫生，你能不能告訴我，”鮑勃問，“對于一個看上去很正常的人，你是怎樣判斷出他有智力缺陷的呢？”“再沒有比這容易的了，”醫生回答，“問他一個簡單的問題，簡單到所有人都知道答案，如果他回答得不干脆，那你就知道是怎么回事了?！薄澳且獑柺裁礃拥膯栴}呢？”“嗯，你可以這樣問，‘庫克船長環球旅行了三次，但是在其中一次的途中他去世了，是哪一次呢？’”鮑勃想了一會兒，緊張的回答道，“你就不能問另外一個問題嗎？坦率地說，我對歷史了解的不是很多?！?/p>

motivation

My English professor once launched into a lecture on “motivation.” “What pushes you ahead?” he asked. “What is it that makes you go to school each day? What driving force makes you strive to accomplish?” Turning suddenly to one young woman, he demanded: “What makes you get out of bed in the morning?” The student replied: “My mother.”

翻譯:

動機

我們英文課的教授有一次在課上講“動機”。“是什么推動你在人生的路上向前走？”他問道，“是什么讓你每天上學來？又是什么驅使你追求成功？”沖著一個女學生，他問：“是什么讓你早晨從床上爬起來的呢？”學生答道：“我媽媽。”

Whose autograph would you most want to have

Our university newspaper runs a weekly question feature. Recently, the question was: “Whose autograph would you most want to have, and why?” As expected, most responses mentioned music or sports stars, or politicians. The best response came from a freshman, who said, “The person who signs my diploma.”

翻譯:

你最想要什么人的簽名

我們大學的校報開辦了一個每周一問的專欄。上周的問題是：“你最想要什么人的簽名？為什么？”和預計的一樣，大部分的回答都是歌星、體育明星或者政治家。但是，最優秀的答案來自一個一年級新生，他說：“在我畢業證上簽字的那個人?！?/p>

taking attendance

On my first day of classes at my university I took a front-row seat in my literature course. The professor told us we would be responsible for reading five books, and that he would provide us with a list of authors from which we could choose. Then he ambled over to the lectern, took out his class book and began, “Baker, Black, Brooks, Carter, Cook…” I was working feverishly to get down all the names when I felt a tap on my shoulder. The student in back of me whispered, “He‘s taking attendance.”

翻譯:

點名

大學的第一天，文學課我坐在了前排。教授告訴我們這學期必須得讀五本書，他提供我們可供選擇的作者名單。隨后他緩步走上講臺，拿出課本，“貝克、布萊克、布魯斯、卡特、庫克…”為了寫下所有的名字，我不得不瘋狂的作著記錄。這時有人輕輕的拍我肩膀，坐在我后面的學生悄悄告訴我：“他在點名呢?！?/p>