英語笑話
On the way home one night, I spotted some fresh-cut roses outside a florist' s shop. After selecting a dozen and entering the shop, I was greeted by a young saleswoman.
Are these for your wife, sir? she asked.
Yes, I said.
For her birthday? she asked. "No," I replied.
For your anniversary ?
No, I said again.
As I pocketed my change and headed toward the door, the young woman called out, "I hope she forgives you."
中文翻譯
一天晚上回家的路上,我看到一家花店外面有一些剛剪下來的玫瑰。我挑了一打,走進店里,一個年輕的女售貨員跟我打了個招呼。
“先生,這些是送給你妻子的嗎?”她問道。
“是的,”我說。
“她的生日?”她問。
“不是,”我回答。
“你們的結(jié)婚紀(jì)念日?”
“不是,”我又答道。
當(dāng)我將找回的錢裝進口袋,朝門口走去時,那年輕的女人沖我喊道:“希望她能原諒你?!?/p>
詞匯點睛
spot [sp?t] v. 瞥見,發(fā)覺
fresh-cut [fre??k?t] adj. 新切的,鮮切的
florist [?fl?r?st] n. 花商,花店
select [s??lekt] v. 選擇,挑選
dozen [?d?zn] n. (一)打,十二個
greet [gri?t] v. 問候,招呼
saleswoman [?se?lz?w?m?n] n. 女售貨員
anniversary [??n??v??s?r?] n. 周年紀(jì)念(日)
pocket [?p?k?t] v. 裝入袋內(nèi)
change [t?e?nd?] n. 零錢
forgive [f??g?v] v. 原諒,饒恕,寬恕
口語實踐
A I got you a present!
B Oh, thank you very much.
A 我給你買禮物了。
B 哦,太感謝你了。
A I want to buy some souvenirs for my wife. Could you make a recommendation for me?
B My pleasure. How about this pair of boots? They are beautiful and very warm.
A 我想給我妻子買一些紀(jì)念品。你可以給我推薦一下嗎?
B 這是我的榮幸。這雙靴子怎么樣?看起來漂亮,穿起來也暖和。
★souvenir [?su?v??n??(r)] n. 紀(jì)念品,紀(jì)念物
★recommendation [?rek?men?de???n] n. 推薦
★boot [bu?t] n. 靴子
A Tell me what you want most. I'll buy it for you.
B Anything is OK.
A 告訴我你最想要什么,我買給你。
B 什么東西都行。
A How can I help you today?
B He's in trouble with his girl friend and needs to buy her a present.
A 有什么需要幫忙的嗎?
B 他和女朋友鬧別扭了,他要買份禮物給她。
★be in trouble with sb. 和某人鬧別扭,和某人有麻煩
笑話文化解讀
每到年底,人們都要忙碌著給親朋好友送點禮物,美國人也是經(jīng)常相互送禮的,只不過美國人送禮與受禮的方式,與我們中國人的習(xí)慣,有著明顯的不同。先說受禮吧??腿藥Я硕Y物來,只要不是在人數(shù)頗多的公眾場合,主人接過禮物時,—定要當(dāng)著客人的面打開禮物,觀看,欣賞一番。要是接過禮物后放在一旁,客人便會覺得是對他的冷淡。如果喜歡這份禮物,說上幾句“很高興”、“很喜歡”的話,客人會更為歡喜。
美國人注重實用。送有實用價值的物品,成為平民百姓送禮的一條不成文原則。特別有意思的是,每逢節(jié)慶之前,準(zhǔn)備接受禮物的人可以列出一個自己所需物品的清單,在親朋好友中傳閱,供他們準(zhǔn)備禮物時作選擇。有時,送禮人還可先征求受禮人的意見,問他需要什么;受禮人也可先問對方,你準(zhǔn)備花多少錢買禮物,然后再按相應(yīng)價格說明自己希望得到什么。彼此坦誠相對,絲毫沒有什么不好意思。