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一个美国人决定写本书介绍世界上的著名教堂。因此他买张去奥兰多的机票，他认为旅行的最佳方式是先在那儿从南向北游历美国。第一天，他在教堂里拍照,发现墙上有一架黄金做的电话，旁边有个告示牌:一个电话一万美元。 美国人很是好奇，便问从他身边路过的一名牧师，这部电话做什么用。 牧师告诉他，那是通往天堂的直拨电话，付了一万美元就可以和上帝进行交谈。 美国人谢过牧师继续他的旅途。 下一站是亚特兰大。在那里的一个宏伟的大教堂他看到了相同的一个金电话，并有相同的告示牌。他不大确定这是否和在奥兰多看到的一样，于是他询问旁边的一名修女它的用途。 修女告诉他，那是通往天堂的直拨电话，付了一万美元就可以和上帝进行交谈。 "好的，谢谢你。"美国人说。 他之后去了印第安纳波利斯、华盛顿州、费城、波士顿和纽约。每一个教堂里都有相同的金质电话，下面都是一样一个电话要一万美元的告示牌。 美国人离开佛蒙特州之后决定去澳大利亚，看看澳大利亚人是否也有同样的电话。他到那里之后，踏进第一座教堂，发现了同样的金质电话，然而这次电话下方的告示牌上写的是"一次40美分”。 美国人很吃惊，问牧师。“牧师，我已经游遍美国，我在很多教堂都看到了一模一样的金电话。他们都告诉我那是通往天堂的直拨电话，但是在美国打一次电话都要一万美元，为什么这里这么便宜？" 牧师笑着回答:"你现在是在澳大利亚，孩子——这是个当地电话。” God’s Country An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to Orlando, thinking that he would start by work¬ing his way across the USA from South to North. On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read “$10,000 per call”. The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the tele¬phone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went along his way. Next stop was in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of tele¬phone he saw in Orlando and he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $ 10,000 he could talk to God. “Ok, thank you,” said the American. He then traveled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and New York. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same $10,000 per call sign under it. The American, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to Australia to see if Austral¬ians had the same phone. He arrived in Australia, and again, in the first church he en¬tered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read “40 cents per call. The American was surprised so he asked the pastor about the sign. “Pastor, I've traveled all over America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the US the price vtas $10,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?” The pastor smiled and answered, “You’re in Australia now, son—it's a local call' |
