One day Mark Twain was asked to give a talk in a small town.At lunch he met a young man he knew who told him that he had an uncle that never laughed or smiled.The young man told Mark Twain that nobody and nothing could possibly make his uncle smile and laugh.
“You bring your uncle to my talk tonight.”Mark Twain said，“I'm sure I can make him laugh.”
That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the first row.Mark Twain spoke directly at the old man.He told some rather interesting stories，which made everyone laugh in the hall.But the old man never even smiled.Mark Twain told the most interesting stories he knew.But the old man's face was still a blank.At last Mark Twain stopped.He felt tired and discouraged.
Some days later，Mark Twain told a friend of his about what had happened.“Oh”，his friend said，“I know that old man.He has been deaf for years.”
一天，马克·吐温应邀到一个小镇上发表演讲。午餐的时候，他碰到一位熟悉的年轻人，这位年轻人告诉马克·吐温说，他的叔叔从来不笑，没什么东西能让他发笑。
“让你叔叔来我今晚的演讲吧”，马克·吐温说，“我保证一定让他笑。”
当晚，那位年轻人和他叔叔坐在第一排，马克·吐温的讲台正好对着这位叔叔。他讲了许多很好笑的故事，在座的每一个人都笑了。但是这位叔叔却怎么也不笑。马克·吐温于是讲了他知道的最有意思的故事，可是这位老人的脸上还是一片空白。最后，马克·吐温停下来了，他很累，很沮丧。
几天之后，马克·吐温和朋友讲了这件事。“哦”，这位朋友说，“我认识那位老人，他都聋了好几年了。”
1.possibly adv.
（1）可能地；合理地
（2）也许；或许
（3）[用于否定或疑问]无论如何，不管怎样；究竟；万万
E.g.In so doing they believed that somehow they could possibly find their way home.
这么做，它们相信，在某种程度上它们就有可能找到回家的道路。
2.directly
adv.
（1）直接地；笔直地；径直地；直线地
（2）/d‘rektli，’direkli/即刻，立刻，立即，马上，不久
（3）率直地，坦率地；直截了当地
（4）恰好，刚好，正好地；完全地，的确；截然；绝对地
（5）没空隙地，无间隔地，紧靠着地，紧挨着地，紧密地
E.g.You will hear everything directly you come.
你一来就会听到所有情况了。
3.interesting adj.有趣的；引起兴趣的，令人关注的
E.g.Do you have anything more interesting than these？
你还有比这些更有趣的邮票吗？
4.hall n.门厅，走廊；会堂
5.blank n.空白；空白表格；空虚
6.discouraged adj.垂头丧气的，灰心的，泄气的，沮丧的，气馁的
E.g.She was discouraged in her marriage.
她对自己的婚姻感到泄气。
Never be discouraged with life.
切莫对生活丧失信心。
At last终于，到底，毕竟，好容易才
E.g.At last，an example proves the validity of this method.
最后通过实例证明了该方法的有效性。
At last，we prospect some new technology about vending machine.
最后是关于自动售货机新技术的展望。自我测验16：
1.He was tired to go any further.
A.tooB.too muchC.soD.so much
2.That's really kind.
A.of you to say soB.for you to say so
C.of you saying soD.for you saying so
3.The paddyfield machines by this factory are small in size.
A.producedB.producingC.to produceD.are produced
4.He came.
A.drunk home last nightB.home last night drunk
C.home drunk last nightD.last night home drunk
5.My watch is broken.I must have it.
A.repairingB.to be repairedC.to be repairingD.repaired
6.You must pay attention to the works of Lu Xu.
A.readB.readingC.readerD.be read
7.I wanted your friend，but my car broke down on the way.
A.meetB.meetingC.to meetingD.to meet
8.Is it necessary the book immediately？
A.for him to returnB.that he returnsC.his returningD.to him return
9.Tim sat near the fire warm.
A.for to getB.for getC.to getD.for getting
10.English is not too difficult.
A.for learningB.learnC.to learnD.learning
key：1-56-10