一

The easiest question in the world

one day , a rich man met Sam. the rich man asked , " I`ve heard you are very clever and nothing is difficult to you. Can you tell me why you are so clever."

Sam answered, "I`m not clever, but you are too silly." The rich man became very angry.

Sam said, "Sir, please don`t be angry, if you don`t believe what I said, let me ask you a question now. If you have a group of sheep, I give you another group. How groups of sheep do you have?"

"Why, that`s the easiest question in the world, one and one is two.Anybody knows that. I have two groups of sheep. "

Sam laughed and said," You are wrong, sir.two groups of sheep put together is still one group. That is easiest question in the world."

二

I`ll not go home tonight because of the rain

When a friend was visiting David, it began to rain. So David told him not to go home that night."You may stay here for the night," he said." Ok, " answered his friend.

But a few minutes later, the friend went out. He didn`t tell David where he was going nor did he ask for an umbrella. When David was about to go to bed, his friend returned, he was all wet through.

"Where have you been?" asked David. "I have been home," answered the friend, " to tell my brother that I`ll not go home tonight because of the rain."

三

Why do I want to go to college?

Why do I want to go to college? No one asked me such a question. But many times I have asked myself.I have come up with a whole variety of reasons. The most important reason is that I want to be a better man.

Many things make human beings different is education. If i fail to receive higher education, my education will not finish. As I  want to be a fully developed , I must get a well-rounded education, which good colleges and universities are supposed to provide.

 I know one can get educated in many ways, but colleges and  universities are among the best places to teach me how to educate myself. Only when I am well-educated, will I be a better human being and be fit into society.

四

Children should not have to do heavy work

It is not a good idea for children to have to work hard. Children should study in school as hard as they can. They should not have to do heavy work with their bodies.

When parents or others force children to work hard, the results are never good and may be very bad.

A farmer`s son who has to work hard like a man may early learn to hate farming. Children sometimes do too much work in gardens, in shops or even in their own own homes.

They soon begin to hate such kind of work with force that can destroy their happiness.

But there may be a worse loss: a child`s love for his parents. The feeling may become something different. When that happens, the old kind of love never returns.

五

The effect of the blood group on personality

Your blood group hides no secrets, it shows the "real you." If you belong to blood group O, you can get things done and sell the goods well. Blood group A are the thinkers,while blood group B are highly creative, people belonging to blood group B might be good at painting and writing. And if you have problems, ask the ABs to solve them.

Your blood group could affect your work. So if you visited the Japanese company, you would find the O types out selling goods and  A types keeping order in the office.

六

Dogs

People often say that a dog is man's best friend. Over thousands of years, man has taught his dogs to do many kinds of work besides guarding the home. For example, sheepdogs are famous for their ability to control a flock of hundreds of sheep.

Dogs have been used to aid disabled people for centuries. A guide dog can lead its blind owner. Nowadays, dogs can be taught to turn on light switches, open refrigerator doors and dial the telephone for their disabled owners. For the majority of people, however, dogs are simply pets and friends for both young and old members of the family.

guard 看守，看护 sheepdog 牧羊犬 flock 群 aid 帮助

disabled 残疾人 century 世纪 guide dog 导盲犬 dial 拨 majority 大多数

狗

人们总是说狗是人类最好的朋友。几千年来，除了看家外，人类还教会了狗去做许多其他的事，例如，牧羊犬就因其可以控制数百只羊的羊群而出名。

狗用来帮助残疾人已有好几个世纪了。导盲犬可以为盲主人引路。现在，人们还教狗为残疾主人打开电灯、开冰箱和拨电话。然而，对于大多数人来说，狗只是家里老人和孩子们的宠物和朋友。

七

What is Time? （Nursery Rhyme）

Time is grain for peasants.

Time is wealth for workers.

Time is life for doctors.

Time is victory for soldiers.

Time is knowledge for students.

Time is speed for scientists.

Time is money for businessmen.

Time is everything for all of us.

Therefore, seize the time of today!

grain 粮食 wealth 财富 victory 胜利 seize 抓住，把握

时间是什么（童谣一首）

对农民来说，时间就是粮食。对工人来说，时间就是财富。对医生来说，时间就是生命。

对士兵来说，时间就是胜利。对学生来说，时间就是知识。对科学家来说，时间就是速度。

对企业家来说，时间就是金钱。对我们大家来说，时间就是一切。因此，把握今天!

八

Perfect Match

A rich woman is so proud of a valuable antique vase that she decides to have her bedroom painted the same color as the vase. Several painters try to mix the color right, but none comes close enough to satisfy the woman.

Eventually, a painter comes. He is confident that he can mix the proper color. The woman is pleased with the result, and the painter becomes famous. Years later, he retires and turns the business over to his son. "Dad,"asks the son, "there's something I've got to know. How did you get those walls to match the vase so perfectly?"

"Son,” the father replies, "I painted the vase."

proud of 自豪 valuable 值钱的 antique vase 古董花瓶 paint 用油漆漆

satisfy 满意 eventually 最终 confident 有信心的 retire 退休

match 和……相配

绝配

一个有钱的妇人感到非常骄傲，因为她有一只值钱的古董花瓶，她决定把她的卧室漆成和花瓶一样的颜色。好几个油漆匠试图调出正确的颜色，但是没有一个人调出的颜色能让妇人满意。

最后，来了一个油漆匠。他很有信心可以调出合适的颜色。果然妇人对最终的效果感到满意，漆匠也因此成名。

几年后，漆匠退休了，他把生意交给了儿子。“爸爸，”儿子问，“有件事我想知道。你是如何调配出和花瓶一样的颜色的？” “儿子，”父亲回答，“我把花瓶也一起漆了。”

九

A Joke— “I stand corrected”

I have this friend who always seemed to lean slightly to the left all the time. It used to bother me, so I suggested he see a doctor, and have his legs checked out. For years, he refused and told me I was crazy, but last week, he finally went. Sure enough, the doctor discovered his left leg was a quarter inch shorter than his right. A quick bit of surgery later, he was cured, and both legs are exactly the same length now, and he no longer leans. “So,”I said, "You didn't believe me when I told you a doctor could fix your leg. He just looked at me and said, "I stand corrected.

lean 倾斜 slightly 轻微地 check out 检查 refuse 拒绝 quarter 四分之一

surgery 手术 cure 治愈 fix 治愈 stand corrected 认错

笑话——“我诚恳认错”

我有一个朋友，他似乎总是微微向左倾斜。这个问题曾经非常困扰我，所以我建议他去看医生，检查一下他的腿。几年来，他总是不听我的建议，还说我不正常，但是上星期，他终于去看了医生。果真，医生发现他的左腿比右腿短四分之一英寸。一个很快的小手术后，他康复了，现在他的两条腿完全一样长了，他也不再倾斜了。“你看，”我说，“那时我告诉你医生可以治好你的腿时你还不相信我呢。”他看着我说：“我认错了。”

十

A Friend

When you read an English book, you often come across new words. You might try

to guess what the words mean from the words you know, but when you cannot

guess the meanings of new words at all, what should you do?

You have a good friend then. From him you can learn what a word means, how to

pronounce a word, how to use a word, and so on. This friend can always be with

you, and you can always ask him to help you. Do you know who this friend is?

It is a dictionary. You can learn some important things about words from it,

so you must know how to use it.

come across 碰到 guess 猜测

朋 友

当你读英语书时，你经常会碰到新单词。你可能试着从你知道的词中猜这些词的意思，但是当你无法猜出这些词的意思时，你该怎么办呢？

这时你有一个好朋友。从他那里你可以学到单词的意思、发音及用法等。这个朋友可以经常伴你左右，你可以经常请他帮忙。你知道这个朋友是谁吗？

他就是字典。你可以从他那里学习有关词汇的众多重要知识，所以你必须学会如何使用字典。

十一

The Hare and the Tortoise

One day a hare was telling the other animals how fast he could run. "I can

beat anyone!"cried he. "Will one of you try a race with me?"

"I will,?said the tortoise.

"You!?laughed the hare. "Oh, oh, how funny!?

"Save your laughing for the end of the race,?said the tortoise.

So a starting line was made, and away they went. The hare ran fast and was

soon far ahead, so he sat down to rest. By the time the tortoise came up, the

hare was sleeping.

On and on went the tortoise, and when the hare looked up at last, it was too

late.

There sat the tortoise by the sign that said: The End.

hare 野兔 tortoise 龟，乌龟 beat 打败 race 比赛

兔子和乌龟

一天，兔子正在向其他动物炫耀他能跑得很快。“我能跑过任何人。”他喊道。

“你们有谁想和我比一比吗？” “我。”乌龟说。 “你！”兔子笑道，“哦，哦，太滑稽了！” “留着到比赛结束后笑吧。”乌龟说。

他们划了条起跑线，出发了。兔子跑得飞快，很快就跑到了前面，所以他坐下来休息。等到乌龟赶上来时，他睡着了。

乌龟一直往前走，当兔子最后醒来时，已经太晚了。 乌龟坐在一块牌子旁，上面写着： 终点。

十二

The Eagle and the Raven

An eagle was trying to break open a nut in his beak when a raven landed on a

branch beside him. The raven eyed the nut hopefully, "You'll never break it

like that,"he said. "If I were you I would fly up in the sky as high as I

could, then drop the nut onto the rocks. It's the only way you'll get at the

kernel."

The eagle flew up into the sky, then let the nut fall down, down, down to the

ground. The raven hopped quickly from his branch and seized the nut in his

beak. By the time the eagle had found his way back to the right place, all

that was left was a broken piece of shell.

eagle 鹰 raven 渡鸦 beak 鸟嘴 land 着陆 kernel 果实

hop 单脚跳 broken 破碎了的 shell 壳

鹰和渡鸦

正当鹰试图弄开它嘴中的坚果时，一只渡鸦停在了他旁边的树干上。渡鸦贪婪地看着坚果，“你这样永远也弄不开它，”他说。“如果我是你，我就会尽我所能，飞向高空，然后让坚果掉在石头上。这是得到果实的唯一办法。”

鹰飞向空中，然后让坚果落下，落下，落到地面。渡鸦飞快地跳离树干，叼住了坚果。当鹰寻旧路折回时，地上只剩下一些破碎的果壳了。

十三

“I Don’t Have to Eat All the Egg.”

A lady once wrote a long story. She sent it to a famous editor. After a few

weeks the story was returned to her. The lady was angry. She wrote to the

editor:

"Dear Sir: Yesterday you sent back a story of mine. How do you know that the

story is not good? You did not read it. Before I sent you the story, I pasted

together pages 18, 19 and 20. This was a test to see whether you would read

the story. When the story came back yesterday, the pages were still pasted

together. Is this the way you read all the stories that are sent to you?"The

editor wrote back: "Dear Madam: At breakfast when I open an egg I don't have

to eat all the egg to discover that it is bad.?

editor 编辑 paste 用浆糊粘

“我不必吃掉整个鸡蛋。”

曾经有位女士，她写了一篇很长的小说，并把它寄给了一位著名的编辑。几周后小说退回来了。女士很生气，她给编辑写了封信。

“尊敬的编辑先生：

昨天你把我的小说退回来了。你怎么知道这小说不好？你根本没有读过。在寄给你之前，我把十八、十九和二十页粘在了一起。这是要检查你是否会读我写的小说。昨天小说退回来时，这三页还粘在一起。难道这就是你阅读所有寄给你的作品的方式吗？”

编辑回信写道：“尊敬的女士： 早餐时我打开一只鸡蛋，我不必等到吃完整个鸡蛋后才发现蛋是臭的。”

十四

Two Goats on the Bridge

One day a goat started to cross a little bridge. At that very minute, another

goat started out from the other side of the bridge.

When they saw one another, they knew that one of them would have to go back.

"Go back!?cried the first goat. "Where is no room for you to pass here while I

am crossing."

"It is you who must go back!?cried the other goat. "You can start again after

I cross over.?The first goat said as he was in the right and would not give

way.

"We will see!"cried the other goat, and they started to fight. In another

minute, the two goats fell into the water. A man who was fishing saw the

fight. He laughed as he pulled the goats out of the water. "You see,?said he.

"When everyone thinks he is right, something always goes wrong!"

goat 羊 give way 让步

两只山羊在桥上

有一天，一只山羊开始过一座小桥。就在同时，另一只山羊从桥的另一头开始过桥。

当他们看到对方时，他们知道他们中的一个必须得退回去。 “回去！”第一只山羊喊道，“我过桥的时候没有地方让你过去。” “是你必须回去！”另一只山羊叫道。

“我过去以后你再开始过。”第一只羊说。他觉得自己是对的，所以他不肯让路。 “我们走着瞧！”另一只山羊喊道，然后他们开始打起来。 很快，两只羊都掉到了水里。

一个正在钓鱼的人看到了这场争斗。他笑着把山羊从水里拉了出来。 “你们看，”他说，“当每个人都觉得自己是正确的时候，就一定会出事！”

有趣的小短文（英语）