英语笑话 - 青少年篇：651　A trick does long way 颇费周折的花招

英语笑话

651　A trick does long way 颇费周折的花招

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, afterschool enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trashcan they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession's really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I'll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus.

A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven't received my Social Security check yet, so I'm not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A lousy quarter?” The drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we're going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you're nuts! No way, mister. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

一个聪明的老绅士退休以后在一所初级中学附近买了一座小房子。开始几个星期，日子过得平静而又满足。然后，新学期开始了。就在第二天下午，三个充满青春活力和课后热情的男孩子沿着这条街走来。他们快乐地敲打他们所遇到的每一个垃圾桶。这种喧闹的打击乐器日复一日，直到有一天这个聪明的老绅士觉得是采取一点行动的时候了。

第二天下午，当这几位青年打击乐手敲敲打打地过来的时候，他出门去迎他们。他让他们停下来，说：“你们这些孩子真能找乐子。我喜欢看你们这样表达你们的青春活力。事实上，我像你们的年龄时也常做这些事。我想请你们帮一个忙。如果你们答应每天都过来做这件事，那么我给你们每人一块钱。”这几个孩子兴高采烈地答应了。于是每天继续敲打垃圾桶。

过了几天，老头又来见这些孩子。但是，这一次他哭丧着脸对他们说：“经济紧缩实在打击我的收入。从现在起，我只能给你们五毛钱了。”这些噪音制造者显然不高兴，不过还是接受了。继续他们下午的喧闹。

又过了几天，当这些孩子沿街敲敲打打地过来的时候，这个聪明的老头又来见他们。他说：“瞧，我还没有收到我的社会保险支票。因此我最多能给你们两毛五。这样行不行？”这支队伍的头儿大叫起来：“就给两毛五？如果你认为我们会为了两毛五来沿街敲打垃圾桶浪费时间，那你就太蠢了。没门，老头。我们不干了！”于是这个老年人就可以安安稳稳地享受以后的日子了。