【生詞預覽】

aristocratic貴族的， excess過度，impudent無禮的

【笑話原文】

Impudent Questions

A little girl from the East Side was invited to a garden party given by a very aristocratic lady to a group of little East-Siders. The little girl, as she drank her tea and ate her plum-cake on a velvet lawn under a white-blooming cherry tree, said to her hostess,“Does your husband drink?”

“Why-er-no, not to excess,” was the astonished reply.

“How much does he make?”

“He doesn't work,” said the lady. “He is a capitalist.”

“You keep out of debt, I hope?”

“Of course, child. What on earth do you mean by all these impudent questions?”

“Impudent?” said the little girl. “Why, Ma'am, Mother told me to be sure and behave like a lady, and when ladies call at our rooms they always question Mother like that.”

【中文譯文】

像夫人們一樣的言行舉止

一個住在城東貧民區的小女孩獲得邀請，參加一位貴婦人為城東貧民區的孩子們舉行的花園晚會。 在一棵開滿了白色小花兒的櫻桃樹下，小女孩坐在柔軟的草地上，一邊品嘗著她的茶和梅子蛋糕，一邊對貴婦人說：你的丈夫酗酒嗎？ 呃，呃，不，他喝得不多。夫人一臉驚詫。 他掙多少錢？ 他不工作，夫人回答說，他是個資本家。 我希望你們沒有負債吧？ 當然沒有，孩子。你問這么些無禮的問題到底是想說什么呢？ 無禮？小女孩說，怎么會呢，夫人？媽媽要我的舉止一定要象夫人們一樣，當她們到我們家做客的時候，她們總是那樣問我媽媽的。

【詞匯講解】

1. lawn草坪。 They are lying on a grassy lawn.他們躺在綠草如茵的草坪上。

2. excess過度。 She has an excess of anger.她愛過度地生氣。

3.capitalist資本家。 The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.資本家剝削工人而積累了巨額財富。

4.keep out of置身于…之外。

5. impudent無禮的。She’s tolerant toward those impudent colleagues. 她對那些無禮的同事采取容忍的態度。