【生詞預覽】

match火柴，strike點燃，vain徒勞的

【笑話原文】

Each Match Lit

There was a man who cared more for money than anything else.

One day he sent his son to buy a box of matches, and told the boy he must see that each match in the box was good. Soon the boy came back. The man took out a match and struck it, but it failed to light. He tried several more, but in vain. He got so angry and said, "I told you each match must be good, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," the boy replied. "So I tried out all the matches in the box and each match lit."

【中文譯文】

每根火柴都點燃了

有一個人對錢的計較勝過任何東西。

一天，他派兒子去買一盒火柴，并告訴兒子每根火柴都必須是好的。兒子一會兒就回來了。那人掏出火柴，劃了一根，沒有燃著。他又劃了幾根，還是無濟于事。他非常生氣，說道：“我不是告訴你每根火柴都必須是好的嗎？”

“是的，你說過，”男孩說道。“所以我把盒子里所有的火柴都試過了，每一根都能劃著。”

【詞匯講解】

1.send打發，派遣。send sb. for a doctor派某人去請醫生。“使進學校”：His parents couldn’t afford to send him to university.他的父母沒錢送他上大學。“賞賜”：God send us peace!愿上帝賜給我們和平。

2.match火柴。還可以作動詞，“比得上”：No one could match the skill of the archer.沒人能比得上這位弓箭手的技藝。“和……一致”His deeds don’t match his words.他言行不一。

3.strike a match點燃火柴。strike作動詞還有其他含義，比如“使突然想到”：The solution struck me immediately.我立刻想到這個解決辦法。“使喜愛”：I am still struck by the beauty of the countryside.我仍然為鄉村的美麗景色所吸引。

4.fail失敗。可作及物或不及物動詞。有“缺少”的意思：Our youth never failed an invincible courage.我們的青年從不缺少大無畏的精神。“使失望”：When we needed his help, he failed us.當我們需要他的幫助時，他令我們失望。

5.in vain徒勞。vain是形容詞，有“無價值的”意思：vain talk空談。“無效的”：It is vain to resist.抵抗是沒有用的。“愛慕虛榮的”：He is shamelessly vain.他愛慕虛榮到了不知羞恥的地步。

6.try out試用，試驗：I’m going to try out the new car out.我去試一下新車。