aristocratic貴族的, excess過度,impudent無禮的
【笑話原文】
Impudent Questions
A little girl from the East Side was invited to a garden party given by a very aristocratic lady to a group of little East-Siders. The little girl, as she drank her tea and ate her plum-cake on a velvet lawn under a white-blooming cherry tree, said to her hostess,“Does your husband drink?”
“Why-er-no, not to excess,” was the astonished reply.
“How much does he make?”
“He doesn't work,” said the lady. “He is a capitalist.”
“You keep out of debt, I hope?”
“Of course, child. What on earth do you mean by all these impudent questions?”
“Impudent?” said the little girl. “Why, Ma'am, Mother told me to be sure and behave like a lady, and when ladies call at our rooms they always question Mother like that.”
【中文譯文】
像夫人們一樣的言行舉止
一個住在城東貧民區(qū)的小女孩獲得邀請,參加一位貴婦人為城東貧民區(qū)的孩子們舉行的花園晚會。 在一棵開滿了白色小花兒的櫻桃樹下,小女孩坐在柔軟的草地上,一邊品嘗著她的茶和梅子蛋糕,一邊對貴婦人說:你的丈夫酗酒嗎? 呃,呃,不,他喝得不多。夫人一臉驚詫。 他掙多少錢? 他不工作,夫人回答說,他是個資本家。 我希望你們沒有負債吧? 當然沒有,孩子。你問這么些無禮的問題到底是想說什么呢? 無禮?小女孩說,怎么會呢,夫人?媽媽要我的舉止一定要象夫人們一樣,當她們到我們家做客的時候,她們總是那樣問我媽媽的。
【詞匯講解】
1. lawn草坪。 They are lying on a grassy lawn.他們躺在綠草如茵的草坪上。
2. excess過度。 She has an excess of anger.她愛過度地生氣。
3.capitalist資本家。 The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.資本家剝削工人而積累了巨額財富。
4.keep out of置身于…之外。
5. impudent無禮的。She’s tolerant toward those impudent colleagues. 她對那些無禮的同事采取容忍的態(tài)度。