1.a bad boy
It‘s His FaultBilly and Bobby were small boys．They were brothers，and they often had fights with each other． Last Saturday their mother said to them，“I‘m going to cook our lunch now．Go out and play in the garden—and be good．” “Yes，Mummy，” the two boys answered，and they went out． They played in the garden for half an hour，and then Billy ran into the kitchen．“Mummy，” he said，“Bobby‘s broken a window in Mrs．Allen‘s house．” Mrs．Allen was one of their neighbors． “He‘s a bad boy，”his mother said．“How did he break it？” “I threw a stone at him，” Billy answered，“and he quickly moved down．”
翻译：
坏孩子
比利和波比都是小男孩。他们是兄弟，两人经常打架。 上个星期六，他们的妈妈对他们说：“我现在要做午饭了。去，到花园去玩吧，别淘气。” “是，妈妈，”两个男孩回答，然后他们就出去了。他们在花园里玩了半个小时，然后比利跑进了厨房。“妈妈，”他说：“波比打碎了艾伦太太家的窗玻璃。”艾伦太太是他们的邻居。 “他是个坏孩子，”他的妈妈说。“他是怎么把玻璃打碎的？” “我朝他扔了一块石子，”比利回答：“他赶紧蹲下。”
2.One Engine Left
A 747 was halfway across the Atlantic when the captain got on the loud speaker, “Attention, passengers. We have lost one of our engines, but we can certainly reach London with the three we have left. Unfortunately, we will arrive an hour late as a result.” Shortly thereafter, the passengers heard the captain‘s voice again, “Guess what, folks. We just lost our third engine, but please be assured we can fly with only one. We will now arrive in London three hours late.” At this point, one passenger became furious. “For Pete‘s sake,” he shouted, “If we lose another engine, we‘ll be up here all night!”
翻译：
一个引擎失了
一架747客机正在跨越大西洋时，喇叭里传来了机长的声音：“旅客们请注意，我们的四个引擎中有一个丢失了。但剩下的三个引擎会把我们带到伦敦的。只是我们要因此晚到一小时 。” 过了一会儿，旅客们又听到机长的声音：“各位，你们猜怎么啦 ？我们刚又掉了第三个引擎。但请你们相信好了。只有一个引擎我们也能飞，但要晚三个小时了。” 正在这时，一位乘客非常气愤地说：“看在上帝的份上，如果我们再掉一个引擎，我们就要整夜都要呆在天上了。”
3.a letter
“I don‘t like to inquire too curiously into your affairs，”said the lady to her husband．“But something‘s been bothering me for days．” “So？” said the husband．“Tell me all about it．” “You got a letter last Friday，”the lady said．“It was perfumed．It was in a girl‘s handwriting．I saw you oped it：you broke into a sweat．You turned white．Your hands trembled…For goodness‘sake，who was it from and what did it say？” “Oh，that，”said the husband．“I decided it was best for both of us not to talk about it at the time．” “For heaven‘s sake，”screamed the woman．“Tell me who it was from and what it said．” “Okay，”said the husband．“It was from your dress shop．It said you owe them＄740.00．”
翻译：
一封信
“我不想过分好奇地打听你的事情，”妻子对她的丈夫说。“但是有件事已经困扰我好几天了。” “是吗？”丈夫说。“你说给我听听。” “上星期五你收到了一封信，”妻子说。“信是洒了香水的。是女孩的字迹。我见你打开信：你突然冒出一身冷汗，你的脸变得煞白，你的手颤抖着……。天哪，是谁写的信？信上都说了些什么？” “噢，是这事儿。”丈夫说。“我当时决定我们俩最好不要谈论它。”
“天哪！”那女人尖叫起来，“告诉我谁写的，都写了些什么。” “好吧。”丈夫说。“是从你的服装店寄来的，说你欠他们七百四十美元。”
4.Mark Twain
On one occasion when Mark Twain arrived in London from New York，the Star thought the fact worth recording onits evening placard．But there was another piece of news to bementioned：it was about the Ascot Cup being stolen．Theplacard thus ran： MARK TWAIN ARRIVES． ASCOT CUP STOLEN． Mark Twain，we believe，never heard the last of it．
翻译：
马克·吐温
有一次，马克·吐温从纽约起程抵达伦敦访问，《星报》认为这个消息值得登在它的晚招贴上。但是，还有一条消息也要登上：关于爱斯科杯被盗的消息。招贴是这样写的： 马克·吐温 光临 爱斯科杯 被盗 我们相信，马克·吐温从来也没听说过这件事。
