【生詞預覽】

burglar竊賊，show up出現，expect預料

【笑話原文】

A Burglar Can’t Find Me Either

My brother got a call from a security firm that offered him a promotional burglar alarm at no charge. Happy to get something for free, he gave the caller directions to his farm. But no one showed up. The next morning the supplier called him to say that he was lost. “I’ll try again to find you,” he said.

“Never mind,” said my brother. “If you can’t find me, I don’t expect a burglar can either.”

【中文譯文】

竊賊也找不到我

我弟弟接到保安公司的促銷電話， 說要給他一個免費的防盜警報系統。他聽說又免費的東西，就高高興興地告訴那人，去他的農場怎么走。但是沒有人來。第二天早上，那人來電話說他頭一天走迷路了。

他說：“我會再試一次。”

我弟弟說：“不用了。如果你找不到我，我想竊賊也找不到我。”

【詞匯講解】

1.burglar竊賊。Burglars broke into his house last night.昨夜竊賊闖進他家。也可以作及物／不及物動詞，有“盜竊／搶劫”的意思。

2.security安全。safeguard the security of one’s country保衛國家的安全。“確信／把握”：The violinist played with great security.小提琴手滿懷信心地演奏。Are you sure of the security of the knot?你能肯定這個繩結牢嗎？

3.charge費用。travel at one’s own charge自費旅行。“內涵”poetry with an emotional charge感情洋溢的詩歌。“責任”：The girl accepted her mother’s charge to put things in order.女孩接受母親要她整理東西的任務。“管理”：He has charge of the home office.他負責主管總公司。

4.promotional提升的／發起的／促銷的。promotional civil service examinations公務員升級考試；a promotional job促銷工作；prettily made promotional films制作精美的宣傳影片。

5.show up出現。這個短語還有“揭露”的意思：show up sb’s ignorance暴露出某人的無知；“變得突出”：White shows up well against a blue background.經藍色的背景一襯托白色更為醒目。

6.expect預料。了解一下與expect有關的慣用語:She is expecting.她懷孕了。Her dark hair is beginning to turn grey, but at fifty-five that is only to be expected.她的黑發正開始變灰白，但對于五十五歲的人來說這完全正常。What can you expect?你還能指望什么呢？