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．”

翻譯：

壞孩子

比利和波比都是小男孩。他們是兄弟，兩人經常打架。 上個星期六，他們的媽媽對他們說：“我現在要做午飯了。去，到花園去玩吧，別淘氣。” “是，媽媽，”兩個男孩回答，然后他們就出去了。他們在花園里玩了半個小時，然后比利跑進了廚房。“媽媽，”他說：“波比打碎了艾倫太太家的窗玻璃。”艾倫太太是他們的鄰居。 “他是個壞孩子，”他的媽媽說。“他是怎么把玻璃打碎的？” “我朝他扔了一塊石子，”比利回答：“他趕緊蹲下。”

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!”

翻譯：

一個引擎失了

一架747客機正在跨越大西洋時，喇叭里傳來了機長的聲音：“旅客們請注意，我們的四個引擎中有一個丟失了。但剩下的三個引擎會把我們帶到倫敦的。只是我們要因此晚到一小時　。” 過了一會兒，旅客們又聽到機長的聲音：“各位，你們猜怎么啦　？我們剛又掉了第三個引擎。但請你們相信好了。只有一個引擎我們也能飛，但要晚三個小時了。” 正在這時，一位乘客非常氣憤地說：“看在上帝的份上，如果我們再掉一個引擎，我們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．”

翻譯：

一封信

“我不想過分好奇地打聽你的事情，”妻子對她的丈夫說。“但是有件事已經困擾我好幾天了。” “是嗎？”丈夫說。“你說給我聽聽。” “上星期五你收到了一封信，”妻子說。“信是灑了香水的。是女孩的字跡。我見你打開信：你突然冒出一身冷汗，你的臉變得煞白，你的手顫抖著……。天哪，是誰寫的信？信上都說了些什么？” “噢，是這事兒。”丈夫說。“我當時決定我們倆最好不要談論它。”
“天哪！”那女人尖叫起來，“告訴我誰寫的，都寫了些什么。” “好吧。”丈夫說。“是從你的服裝店寄來的，說你欠他們七百四十美元。”

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．

翻譯：

馬克·吐溫

有一次，馬克·吐溫從紐約起程抵達倫敦訪問，《星報》認為這個消息值得登在它的晚招貼上。但是，還有一條消息也要登上：關于愛斯科杯被盜的消息。招貼是這樣寫的： 馬克·吐溫 光臨 愛斯科杯 被盜 我們相信，馬克·吐溫從來也沒聽說過這件事。