1 消除谈话障碍/Smooth talk

We own a small foreign car, the hinges of which are exposed to the weather and sometimes squeak. One day I was oiling the hinges when our landlord walked by.  “What are you trying to do?" he asked. "Take the foreign accent out of it?"

我们有辆小型进口车，由于铰链露在外雨淋日晒的，所以，有时吱吱响。于是一天，我正给它上油，房东正巧经过。“你想做什么?”他问，“是想去掉这家伙的外国口音吗?”

2 母亲最知情/Mother knows best

Conversation between a mother and her child:

"Can I have a chocolate-chip cookie?"

"How do you ask?"

"May I have a chocolate-chip cookie?"

"What do you say?"

"May I please have a chocolate-chip cookie?"

"No. It's too close to supper."

母子间的对话:

 “我能吃块巧克力曲奇饼干吗?”

 “你怎么问啊?”

 “我可以吃块巧克力曲奇饼干吗?"

 “你说什么?”

 “请问我可以吃块巧克力曲奇饼干吗?”

 “不行，马上就要吃晚饭了。”

3 因祸得福/Coincident

Although my mother, a native of Japan, has lived for 55 years in the United States, she has not adapted completely to the cultural change. This is especially obvious during her infrequent forays into a large city.

One day she boarded a bus in Los Angeles, deposited a $5 bill in the coin box and held out her hand for change. Because the coin box is not built to accept paper money, the bus driver growled: “Okay, lady. If you get that bill out, you can ride for free. Otherwise we're going to have to dismantle this coin box."

My mother hesitated a moment, then opened her purse, took out a pair of chopsticks, retrieved the bill and smiled as she took her seat.

虽然我母亲，一个土生土长的日本人，已在美国生活了55年，但是，她仍没完全适应文化差异。当她偶尔去一次大城市，这种不适应就显得特别明显。

一天，她在洛杉矶上了一辆公共汽车，把一张5美元的纸币放进了投币箱，然后伸出手等着找钱。由于投币箱造得不能接收纸币，所以司机吼道:“好了，太太，如果你能把那纸币取出来，你乘车就免费。否则，我们只好拆了投币箱。”

我母亲犹豫了一会儿，然后打开她的手包，拿出了一副筷子，夹出了纸币，然后微笑着坐在了座位上。

4 两全齐美/Help for two

Early one morning, my next-door neighbor set to work with a power hedge-trimmer. He was half through the job when a neighbor appeared, still in his pajamas. He was carrying his own power clipper and offered his help, which was gratefully accepted.  When the job was done, my neighbor thanked his benefactor, commenting that it had been "a real neighborly act".

"Don't mention it, "replied the other man. "I figured, by helping you, it would only take half as long and I could get back to sleep!"

一天清晨，我隔壁的邻居用一个电动修剪机开始干活。当他干到一半儿的时侯，另一个邻居也来了。他仍穿着睡衣，手里拿着他自家的电动修剪机，说要帮忙。这个要求被欣然接受。活干完时，我的邻居谢了帮忙者，还评论道那是“ 一个真正的睦邻行为。”

“不用客气，"另一个男人说:“我算了一下，帮你一个忙，只需一半时间，然后我还能回去睡觉。”

5 免费!/No charge!

Driving through the hill country of Texas, just north of San Antonio, we watched the sky turn a brilliant orange at sunset. At my wife's pleading, we stopped and walked up a hill, which turned out to be the top of a cliff. Before us lay the picturesque postcard setting we had been looking for during all our vacation. Below was a large green valley circled by hills. Exhilarated by the tangerine sky, long shadows, and a slight breeze carrying the scent of green grass, my wife suddenly shouted: “Thank you, Mother Nature, for so much beauty!”

Then, a distant voice was heard from across the valley: "No charge!”

开车经过德克萨斯州的山丘地带，在圣安东尼奥的北面，我们看到天空在日落时转成橙艳。在我妻子的恳求下，我们停了车，来到了小山坡上，这里正好是悬崖的顶端。在我们面前展现出了一种名信片上的景色。这正是我们整个假期都在寻找的地方。山坡下是一片群山环抱的绿色山谷。我妻子对橙色的天空，长长的影子，和微风送来的绿草的芳香感到兴奋，突然喊到:“谢谢你，大自然母亲，给我们这么美的风景。”

接着，从远处山谷的那一边传来了一声，“不收费。”

6 复制件/A copy

I phoned my husband, Mike, at the car dealer's where he is a service manager. I wanted a copy of his house key and thought he could have one made on their key-duplicating machine. Mike was away from his desk, so I left a message with his secretary.

When my husband came home that evening, he had one question: "Why did you ask my secretary to make a copy of my key?" From his pocket he produced a photocopy of the house key, front and back.

我给我的丈夫，迈克，汽车商店的服务经理打了一个电话。我想让他配一把家门的钥匙，想着他可以在他们的配钥匙机上做一把。当时迈克不在他的办公桌前，所以，我就给他的秘书留了话。

那天晚上当我丈夫回到家时，他有个问题:“你为什么让我的秘书复印一张我的钥匙。”他从他的口袋里拿出一张家门钥匙的复印件，有正面和反面。

(英文中a copy of his house key有两个意思，一个是:“他家门钥匙的复制件”，另一个意思是: “他家门钥匙的复印件”。)