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亨利在一家钟表店上班。一天，他的邻居海瑞来到店里。海瑞是个小气鬼，这点让亨利很恼火。他对海瑞说： “你打算什么时候买钟表？” “不买，我根本不需要表。”海瑞回答道。 “每个人都需要表，否则，你怎么知道该什么时候起床？ ”亨利问道。 海瑞连忙回答道：“住在我对面的人每天早晨七点都会打开收音机收听新闻。我每天会听到播音员说：“现在是七点整。这是新闻时间。” “好吧，可你怎么知道上班的时间呢？ ”亨利好奇地问道。 “我起了床，洗脸刮胡子后就是七点半了。”他接着说， “早上我吃完土司和果酱，再喝上一杯咖啡，就到了八点，正好是上班的时间。走到公共汽车站，就是八点十分了。几分钟就来了车，八点半到达公司，开始工作。” 亨利恼火地问：“那你怎么知道下班的时间呢？” “公司有号笛提醒。”海瑞不假思索地说。 “睡觉的时间呢？ ”亨利问道。 “我总是在电视节目全部播完后才睡觉。”海瑞回答说。 这回亨利真的动了气，大叫道：“行啊！告诉我如果你半夜醒来，却又不知几点了，该怎么办？’’ 海瑞忙说：“太简单了，我刚买了把锤子。” “一把锤子！这和你知道时间有什么关系？”亨利不解地问。 “我会用这把锤子敲你家的墙。到时你会对我大喊‘现在才凌晨三点，你干什么敲我们家的墙？”说完，海瑞大笑了起来。 Telling the Time Henry worked in a shop that sold clocks. One day his next neighbor, Harry, came into his shop. Harry was very stingy. His stinginess made Henry very angry. Henry said to him, “When are you going to buy a clock? “Never,”Harry said. “I don’t need a clock. ” Everybody needs a clock，” Henry said. “How do you know when it’s time to get up?” The man who lives on the other side of me turns on his radio at seven o’clock said. “I hear the announcer say, o’clock for the news,” Harry said.“I hear the announcer say，‘the time is seven o’clock’. Here is the news.” “〇K. But how do you know when to go to work?” Henry wanted to know. “By the time I get out of my bed，wash and shave, it’s half past seven. ” Harry said. “By the time I’ve eaten my breakfast of toast，jam and coffee, it’s eight o’clock, time to leave for the office. By the time I get to the bus stop, it’s ten past eight. The bus arrives in a few minutes and by the time it gets to my company, the time is half past eight. That is the time I start work. ” “OK. But how do you know when it’s time to go home?” Henry said，getting angry. “The factory siren rings. ” Harry told him without any concern. “How do you know when it’s time to go to bed?” Henry asked. “The television programs come to an end,”Harry answered. By now Henry was really angry. “OK!” he shouted. “Now tell me what would happen if you woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to know the time?” “That easy,”Harry said. “I’ve got a hammer. ” ‘A hammer! What good is a hammer when you want to know the time?” “I’d use it to knock on your wall. You’d shout at me，‘What are you doing knocking on my wall at three o’clock in the morning?”，He laughed. |
