书城外语笑死你的英文书
34262900000091

第91章 I Never Work after Supper

A pennypinching farmer didn’t want his hired hand to stop working。One morning,he told the farmhand,“It is such a nuisance to come in from the field,wash up for lunch and take time to eat。Why don’t we save time and eat lunch now?”

The hired man agreed。The farm’s wife brought in some cold meat and fried potatoes,and the two men ate again。

When they had finished,the cheap farmer said,“While we are still at the table,let’s have supper too。”They were now served steak,boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables,and they ate once more。

“Now that the meals are out of the way”the farmer announced,“we can go out and work all day without interruption。”

“Oh,no”the farmhand answered。“I never work after supper。”

我晚饭后从不工作

一位农场主非常吝啬,不想让他雇佣的帮手停下来休息。一天早上,他对帮手说:“从地里回来,又要洗手吃饭,又花时间,真是太不方便了。我们何不省点时间,现在就吃午饭呢?”

雇员同意了。农场主的妻子端进来一些冷肉和油炸土豆。于是,两个人又开始吃起来。

吃完后,吝啬鬼说:“既然我们还在桌子边,让我们连晚饭也吃了吧。”这次上桌的有排骨、煮土豆和杂烩青菜。于是两个人又吃起来。

“现在三顿饭都吃过了,”农场主宣称道,“我们便可以出去一整天不停地干活了。”

“哦,不,”那帮手回答说,“晚饭后我从不工作。”

pennypinching adj。一毛不拔的;吝啬的;小气的

例:No one would like to get along with such a pennypinching man as him。对于这样小气的人,谁也不愿意和他打交道。

farmhand[f?:mhnd]n。农业工人,农场工人;雇农

例:The landlord beat the farmhand heavily。地主毒打长工。

nuisance[nju:sns]n。讨厌的东西[人,行为]

例:The dog is a terrible nuisance。这只狗真令人讨厌。

steak[steik]n。牛排

例:I ate four steaks yesterday。昨天我吃了四块牛排。

关于nuisance的习惯用语

a blessed nuisance该死的讨厌东西

Commit no nuisance!此处不准大小便!/不得在此倒垃圾!

indict sb。for nuisance控告某人非法妨害

make a nuisance of oneself(=make oneself a nuisance)惹人讨厌

in the way,out of the way,in a way,in no way,on the way

in the way意为“造成不便或阻碍”,如:Although he thought he was helping us prepare dinner,he was only in the way。虽然他认为他在帮我们准备饭,但他只是碍手碍脚。

out of the way意为“偏远”,如:The farm lies too much out of the way。这农场太偏远了。也可意为“异常的,罕见的,不普通的”,如:I didn’t see anything out of the way in his talk。在他的发言中,我没听出什么新鲜的东西。

in a way意为“在某种程度上”,如:In a way,I am glad you made that mistake,for it will serve as a warning to you。在某种程度上说,你犯那个错误我倒感到高兴,因为它可以对你敲警钟。

in no way意为“决不”,如:She is in no way to blame。根本不应该怪她。

on the way意为“在途中,接近”,如:We crossed each other on the way。我们在途中对脸而过。