【生詞預覽】

approach接近，whisper低聲說，urge催促，fund存款

【笑話原文】

Nearing the End

Nearing the end, Chuck is surrounded by loved ones. As the final moment approaches, he gathers all his strength and whispers, "I must tell you my greatest secret." His family urges him to go on.

"Before I got married, I had it all," Chuck explains. "Fast cars, cute girls, and plenty of money. But a good friend warned me, 'Get married and start a family. Otherwise, no one will be there to give you a glass of water to drink when you're on your deathbed.' So I took his advice. I traded the girls for a wife, beer for baby food. I sold my Ferrari and invested in college funds. And now here we are. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm not even thirsty!"

【中文譯文】

臨死之前

臨死之前，Chuck被他摯愛的家人包圍著。知道自己的最后時刻就要來了，他拿出所有力氣，輕聲耳語，“我必須告訴你們一個最大的秘密。”他的家人催他趕緊說。

Chuck說，“在我結婚之前，我什么都有：靚車，美女，還有大把大把的錢。但是一個好朋友警告我說，‘你應該結婚，建立一個家庭，否則當你奄奄一息躺在床上時，都沒個人會為你端上一杯水。’于是我聽取了他的建議，離開了姑娘們，娶了一個妻子。我不再把錢花在啤酒上，而是留下來給孩子們買吃的。我賣掉了我的法拉利，投資了大學基金。所以現在才有了你們。可你們知道嗎？”

“知道什么？”

“可是現在我一點都不渴啊！”

【詞匯講解】

1.approach接近。可作及物或不及物動詞：Few actors approach him in ability.在才華方面很少有演員可與他媲美。He approaches in stealth.他偷偷摸摸地逼近。

2.whisper低聲說。 在口語里有這么一個短語：in a pig’s whisper，是“低聲地”或者“轉眼間”的意思。

3. gather all one's strength，意思是“用盡全身的力氣”。我們再來學幾個關于gather的短語：gather speed表示“加速”；gather breath指“喘氣”；gather up one's courage意思是“鼓起勇氣”。另外gathering是名詞，是“集會，聚集”的意思，所以“家庭聚會”就可以說a family gathering。

4.on one's deathbed，deathbed就是“臨終所臥的床”，所以這個短語就表示while one is in bed and dying。例如：While he lay on his deathbed, he told his lawyer that he wanted to give all his money to charity. 他臨死之時告訴律師，他想把錢都捐給慈善機構。

5.trade…for… 用…交換…。要注意兩個名詞的位置，比如文中“I traded the girls for a wife”是“（舍去）很多女孩兒，換來一個妻子”，而不是“舍去妻子換來很多女孩”。

6.invest投資。除了有投入錢的意思，也可以指投入時間、感情：She invested all her love in her daughter.她把全部的愛傾注在女兒身上。 Invest…with使充滿：The palace was invested with glamour and romance.這座宮殿充滿了魅力和浪漫氣息。