40_Who's_Who

40 Who's Who

原文译文

It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else. Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax. Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in. Students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims.

When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university, he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill. As soon as he had hung up, he went over to the workmen and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away, they were not to take him seriously. He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people. Both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.

The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on. Sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away. When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen, he threatened to remove them by force. The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help. Shortly afterwards, 4 more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen. As the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill. The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper. He threatened to call the police. At this, the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest. Pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station. Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone. Only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.

谁也弄不清为什么大学生好像比任何人都更喜欢恶作剧。大学生擅长一种特殊的恶作剧——戏弄人。请消防队来扑灭一场根本没有的大火是一种低级骗局，有自尊心的大学生决不会去做。大学生们常常做的是制造一种可笑的局面，使大家觉得非常好笑，除了受害者本人。

最近有个学生看见两个工人在大学校门外用风钻干活，马上打电话报告警察，说有两个学生装扮成工人，正在用风钻破坏路面。挂上电话后，他又马上来到工人那儿，告诉他们若有个警察来让他们走开，不要把他当回事，还对工人说，有个学生常装扮成警察无聊地同别人开玩笑。警察与工人都对那个学生事先通报情况表示感谢。

那个学生躲在附近一个拱形门廊里，在那儿可以看见、听到现场发生的一切。果然，警察来了，有礼貌地请工人离开此地；但其中一个工人粗鲁地回了几句。于是警察威胁要强行使他们离开。工人说，悉听尊便。警察去打电话叫人。一会儿工夫，又来了4个警察，规劝工人离开。由于工人拒绝停下手中的活，警察想夺风钻。两个工人奋力抗争，其中一个发了火，威胁说要去叫警察。警察听后讥讽地说，这大可不必，因为他俩已被逮捕了。其中一个工人装模作样地问道，在被带往警察局之前，是否可以打一个电话。警察同意了，陪他来到一个投币地电话前，当他看到那个工人真的是给警察挂电话，才恍然大悟，原来他们都成了一场骗局的受害者。

Words

• practical /ˈpræktəkəl/ jokes /dʒoks/ 恶作剧
• hoax /hoks/ n. 戏弄
  1. There is no doubt that he made a hoax call to his mother.
  2. Despite the fact that the man made a hoax call to his girlfriend, their wedding was still a success.
• deception /dɪˈsɛpʃən/ n. 欺骗
  1. It suddenly dawned on me that this might be a form of deception.
  2. From the evidence we have now, we can certainly deduce that he obtained that large sum of money by deception.（L14&L38）
• self-respecting /ˌsɛlfrɪˈspɛktɪŋ/ adj. 自重的
  1. Any self-respecting lawyer would take their job seriously.
  2. No self-respecting student would attempt to obtain money by deception.
• indulge /ˌɪnˈdʌldʒ/ v. 沉迷
  1. What a relief it was when I found that he had stopped indulging in sweet food.
  2. Now you are in a unique position to persuade him not to indulge in short videos.
  3. It was not that you can never indulge in shopping.
• victims /ˈvɪktəmz/ 受害者
• pneumatic /nuˈmætɪk/ adj. n. 气动的
  1. It seems that this pneumatic drill is broken.
  2. There are a bewildering variety of pneumatic drills in the shop.
• drill /drɪl/ 钻
• silly /ˈsɪli/ adj. 无聊的
  1. It is silly to do.../it’s silly of me to do. /it’s silly for sb. to do.
  2. It’s silly of me to blame that on you.
  3. It’s silly to go back to work now.
  4. It is silly of me to wear that suit to the fancy dress party.
• archway /ˈɑrtʃˌwe/ n. 拱门
  1. You seem perturbed that he is gazing at the sacred temple which has an ancient archway.
  2. I recognized the man who was fanatical about ancient archways.
  3. I saw a boy who was charging at the archway.
• remonstrated /rɪˈmɑnˌstretɪd/ v. 告诫
  1. The producers who remonstrated against the new rules were put out of business.
  2. So you are making the assumption that as the employees learned about the sudden changes in company policies, they gathered to remonstrate with the management.
  3. Rolling up her sleeves, she remonstrated with her husband about the decision.
• ironically /aɪˈrɑnɪkli/ adv. 讽刺的
  1. Ironically, she managed to connect the dots.（N2L67&38）
  2. Ironically, the team's efforts to speed up the project were negatively correlated with the number of mistakes they made.（N2L56&L38）
  3. Ironically, the man takes his job seriously.

Expressions

• victim of a hoax 骗局的受害者
• make a hoax call 打恶作剧电话
• a form/kind of deception 一种欺骗
• obtain money....by deception 靠欺骗获取钱财
• It is silly to do … 做……很愚蠢
  1. I am relieved to hear that you didn’t take that money by force.
  2. The trace on the floor proved that the furniture was removed by force.
  3. It’s disturbing to think that some children were dragged into strangers’ cars by force.
• It’s silly of sb. to do 某人做……真傻
  1. I am relieved to hear that you didn’t take that money by force.
  2. The trace on the floor proved that the furniture was removed by force.
  3. It’s disturbing to think that some children were dragged into strangers’ cars by force.
• It’s silly for sb. to do 某人做……真傻
  1. I am relieved to hear that you didn’t take that money by force.
  2. The trace on the floor proved that the furniture was removed by force.
  3. It’s disturbing to think that some children were dragged into strangers’ cars by force.
• indulge in… 沉溺于……
• advance information/planning/warning/booking/reservations/training/notice 预先的信息/计划/警告/预订/培训/通知
• remonstrate with sb.(about sth. ) （就某事）规劝某人
  1. Taking a shower now would hardly be necessary as we are going swimming.
  2. Keeping a secret would hardly be necessary as I already know the truth.
  3. Making scrambled eggs would hardly be necessary as I already had breakfast.
• remonstrate against sth. 抗议…
  1. Taking a shower now would hardly be necessary as we are going swimming.
  2. Keeping a secret would hardly be necessary as I already know the truth.
  3. Making scrambled eggs would hardly be necessary as I already had breakfast.
• ask (for)/need/give permission 请求/需要/给予许可
• be granted permission to do 获准做
  1. I am relieved to hear that you didn’t take that money by force.
  2. The trace on the floor proved that the furniture was removed by force.
  3. It’s disturbing to think that some children were dragged into strangers’ cars by force.
• take...for granted 把……视为理所当然
• It has never been explained why... 从未解释过为什么……
  1. It has never been explained why he was given a state funeral.
  2. Despite numerous inquiries, it has never been explained why the project was suddenly canceled.
  3. It has never been explained why they were keeping track of the ballon.
• practical jokes 恶作剧
• specialize in 专攻
• no self-respecting ... would do... 有自尊心的……不会做……
  1. No self-respecting student would cheat on an exam to achieve better grades..
  2. No self-respecting journalist would ever work for that newspaper.
  3. No self-respecting artist would copy someone else's artwork.
• be funny to 对……来说好笑
  1. Everyone was grateful for the contribution you made to our town.
  2. I am forever grateful for the encouragement you have given me.
  3. I am grateful for the support of my friends and family, as their encouragement helped me overcome obstacles during challenging times.
• tear up 撕毁
• sb. added that 某人补充说……
  1. He added that practice is necessary for conditioning someone to perform well in sports.
  2. He added that the suggestion might strike her as surprising but was worth considering.
  3. &
  4. He added that he had to live by fishing.
• be grateful (to sb. ) for sth. （对某人）因某事感激
  1. Everyone was grateful for the contribution you made to our town.
  2. I am forever grateful for the encouragement you have given me.
  3. I am grateful for the support of my friends and family, as their encouragement helped me overcome obstacles during challenging times.
• do...by force 用武力做……
  1. I am relieved to hear that you didn’t take that money by force.
  2. The trace on the floor proved that the furniture was removed by force.
  3. It’s disturbing to think that some children were dragged into strangers’ cars by force.
• stop doing 停止做
  1. Stop spying on him.
  2. He stopped begging his mother to give him more pocket money.
  3. Punishments are often meted out to those who don't stop doing illegal activities.
• sth. would hardly be necessary as... 作为……几乎没有必要
  1. Taking a shower now would hardly be necessary as we are going swimming.
  2. Keeping a secret would hardly be necessary as I already know the truth.
  3. Making scrambled eggs would hardly be necessary as I already had breakfast.
• be under arrest 被逮捕
• put sb. under arrest 逮捕某人
• pretend to do 假装做
  1. She had no intention of pretending to sleep.
  2. He pretended to leap out at me.
  3. There is no doubt that he was just pretending to cry.
• make a telephone call 打电话
  1. It’s no use pretending to make a telephone call now.
  2. He can’t conceal the fact that he wanted to make a telephone call.
  3. It became impossible to make a telephone call in the basement at that time.
• Only when... did sb. realize that +句子 只有……某人才意识到……
  1. Only when she saw the final grades did she realize that she had passed the exam.
  2. Only when they arrived at the party did they realize that it was a surprise for them.
  3. Only when she lost her job did she realize that she had been taking her financial stability for granted.