【正文】
been the victims of a hoax. 【課文翻譯】 誰也弄不清為什么大學(xué)生好像比任何人都更喜歡惡作劇。大學(xué)生擅長一種特殊的惡作劇——戲弄人。請消防隊來撲滅一場根本沒有的大火是一種低級騙局,有自尊心的大學(xué)生決不會去做。大學(xué)生們常常做的是制造一種可笑的局面,使大家笑上一場,當(dāng)然受害者是笑不出來的。最近有個學(xué)生看見兩個工人在學(xué)校門外用風(fēng)鉆干活,馬上打電話報告警察,說有兩個學(xué)生裝扮成工人,正在用風(fēng)鉆破壞路面。掛上電話后,他又馬上來到工人那兒,告訴他們?nèi)粲袀€警察來讓他們走開,不要把他當(dāng)回事,還對工人說,有個學(xué)生常裝扮成警察無聊地同別人開玩笑。警察與工人都對那個學(xué)生事先通報情況表示感謝?! ∧莻€學(xué)生躲在附近一拱形的門廊里,在那兒可以看見、聽到現(xiàn)場發(fā)生的一切。果然,警察來了,不禮貌地請工人離開此地。但其中一個工人粗魯?shù)鼗亓藥拙?。于是警察威脅要強行使他們離開。工人說,悉聽尊便。警察去打電話叫人。一會兒工夫,又來了4個警察,規(guī)勸工人離開。由于工人拒絕停下手中的活,警察想奪風(fēng)鉆。兩個工人奮力抗爭,其中一個發(fā)了火,威脅說要去叫警察。警察聽后譏諷地說,這大可不必,因為他倆已被逮捕了。其中一個工人裝模作樣地問道,在被帶往警察局之前,是否可以打一個電話。警察同意了,陪他來到一個投幣地電話前,當(dāng)他看到那個工人真的是給警察掛電話,才恍然大悟,原來他們都成一場騙局的受害者。新概念第三冊Lesson41課文及翻譯 【課文】 The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City born and city bred. I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window, or something you occasional visit during the weekend. Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be pared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to tolerate a fourhour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.