40 · 真假难辨
Who's Who
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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, four 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.
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整篇课文
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, four 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.
为什么大学生似乎比其他人更爱搞恶作剧，至今也没人说得清。他们尤其擅长一种恶作剧，那就是设骗局。谎报火警，把消防队骗去扑灭一场根本不存在的大火，这种把戏太粗陋，稍有自尊心的大学生都不屑去做。他们更喜欢制造那种令人发笑的场面，除了受害者，人人都觉得有趣。
最近，一名学生看见两名工人正在大学外用风钻挖路，立刻打电话报警，说有两个学生假扮工人，正在用风钻破坏路面。挂断电话后，他又走到工人跟前，告诉他们：如果有警察来叫他们离开，不要当真。他还说，有个学生扮成警察，正在到处捉弄人。警方和工人都很感谢学生提前通报这个消息。
学生躲进附近一道拱门，正好能把接下来的一切看在眼里、听在耳中。果然，一名警察赶到，客气地请工人离开。一名工人很不客气地顶了回去，警察便威胁要强行带走他们。工人让他尽管动手，警察于是打电话叫人。不久，又来了四名警察，向工人严正交涉。工人仍不肯停工，警方就试图夺走风钻。双方激烈争执，一名工人火了，威胁要报警。警察听了，讥讽地指出，这恐怕没有必要，因为他们已经被捕了。一名工人装出一本正经的样子，问在被带去警察局之前，能否先打个电话。警方同意了，一名警察陪他来到公用电话旁。直到亲眼看见那人真在给警察局打电话，这名警察才明白，原来大家都中了别人的骗局。
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第132—135页，2022年2月第3版。