孙继艳

1

Mr William was deaf， but he didn’t like people to know this. One evening he asked some friends to dinner. While they were sitting together after dinner， one of his friends told a funny story. Everyone laughed， and Mr William laughed， too. He said， “That was a funny story， but I know a funnier one.” So he began his story. When it ended， everyone laughed louder than ever. Mr William himself smiled happily. But he didn’t know he had told the very story that his friend had just told.

威廉先生耳聾，可是他不愿让别人知道。一天晚上他请一些朋友吃饭。当饭后他们坐在一起时，一位朋友讲了一个很有趣的故事。大家都笑了，威廉先生也笑了。他说，“这是一个挺有趣的故事，可是我还知道一个更有趣的。”于是他开始讲自己的故事。当故事结束时，大家笑得更厉害了。威廉先生自己也开心地笑了。可是他不知道，他讲的故事正是刚才他朋友讲的那个故事。

2

There were three professors at the railway station. They were deep in conversation. The train had just arrived， but they did not notice it. Then the guard shouted， “Take your seats， please！”

The professors heard the guard and rushed for the train. Two of them got on the train before it moved. The third one was left behind. It was Professor Egghead. He looked worried.

One of the professor’s students was at the station. He tried to comfort the professor. “It wasn’t really bad， sir，” said the student. “Two out of three caught the train. That’s quite good， you know.” “I know，” the professor said. “But it was my train. My friends only came to say goodbye.  ”

三个教授在站台上等火车。他们正在全神贯注地谈话。火车进站了，可是他们都没有注意到。这个时候，列车员喊道：“请上车了！”

教授们听到后飞快地向火车跑去。其中两个刚登上车，火车就开了。最后一个名叫埃哈德的教授没有赶上火车，看起来非常焦虑。

教授的一个学生也在车站等车，他尽力安慰着教授：“先生，这还不是很糟，你们中有两个人已经赶上了火车。要知道，这已经很好了。”“我明白，”教授说，“但是要赶火车的是我，我的朋友们只是来为我送行的。”