1.a girl just your mother
No matter which girl he brought home， the young man found disapproval from his mother． A friend gave him advice． “Find a girl just like your mother—then she‘s bound to like her． So the young man searched and searched， and finally found the girl．He told his friendly adviser： “Just like you said， I found a girl who looked，talked，dressed， and even cooked like mother．And just as you said，mother liked her” “So，”asked the friend，“what happened？” “Nothing，”said the young man．“My father hates her！”
翻译：
和母亲一样的女孩
无论带哪一个女孩回家，这位青年人总会遭到母亲的反对。一位朋友劝他说： “找一个和你母亲一样的女孩——那她一定会喜欢她。” 于是这位青年人不停地找啊找，终于找到了这么个女孩。 正像你说的那样，我找到一个长相、谈吐、穿着打扮，甚至连烹饪都和我母亲一样的女孩。也正像你说的那样，我母亲喜欢她。” “那后来呢？”朋友问。 “没什么，”青年人说。“我父亲讨厌她！”
2.memory training
The Name of a PoetOur teacher was telling us about a new system of memory training being used in some schools today． “It works like this，” she said．“Suppose you wanted tore member the name of a poet—Robert Burns，for instance．”She told us to think of him as Bobby Burns．“Now get in your head a picture of a London policeman，a bobby in flames．See？Bobby Burns！” “I see what you mean，” said the class know it all．“But how can you tell that it‘s Not Robert Browning？”
翻译：
记忆训练
我们的老师正在给我们介绍现在某些学校使用的一种新的记忆训练系统。“这个系统是这样的，”她说。“假定你要记住一个诗人的名字——例如，要记住罗伯特·彭斯的名字。”她告诉我们把他当作博比·彭斯。“让你的脑海里闪现出一个伦敦警察的形象，燃烧着的警察。明白吗？警察燃烧！” “我明白你的意思，”班上的万事通说。“但是你怎么能说那就不是罗伯特·布朗宁呢？”
3.At Auction Fair
At auction spot, someone has lost a bag, in which has the vital document.
The owner says, “Once who picked it up brings it to me, I will take out 200 dollars to remunerate reward him or her.”
On hearing the news, another chap（小伙子，家伙） shouts out:” I reward 300 dollars.”
翻译：
拍卖会上
拍卖会上，有人的包丢了，里面装有重要文件。物主说：“有谁拣到送还，我将拿出200美元以表酬谢。”
话刚出口，就听有人喊：“我出300美元。”
4.What Color
An impoverished graduate student at Clemson University in South Carolina, I was excited when my father informed me that he had bought me a car. Hardly able to contain my enthusiasm, I asked Dad the typical questions: “What kind is it? Does it have a stick shift? Does it have a tape deck?”
“It‘s a 1982 Toyota,” he replied. “It‘s a four speed, and, yes, it has a tape deck . ” Pleased, I asked what color it was.
“Well, ” he said uncomfortably, ” which part?”
翻译：
什么颜色
作为南卡罗莱那州克莱姆森大学的一个本科生，我囊中羞涩，当我父亲告诉我他为我买了辆车时，我甚是激动。我几乎控制不住我的热情，问了爸爸几个关键问题：“什么车？有没有手排挡？有没有磁带舱？”
“是1982年产丰田车，”他回答说，“四速，还有，是的，有磁带舱。”我甚是高兴，又问是什么颜色的。
“哦，”他很不舒服地说，“你指哪一部分？”
5.I don‘t think I know
Teacher: “John, what is the past participle of the verb to ring?”
John: “What do you think it is, sir?”
Teacher: “I don‘t think, I KNOW!”
John: “I don‘t think I know either, sir!”‘
翻译：
我想我不知道
老师：“John，动词ring的过去分词是什么？”。
约翰：“你想它是什么呢”？
老师：“我不用想，我知道！”。
约翰：“我想我不知道”。
