第40课

旁白 neutral

It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else.

大学学生为什么似乎比其他人更喜欢恶作剧，这一点从未得到解释。

旁白 neutral

Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax.

学生们擅长一种特殊类型的恶作剧：骗局。

旁白 neutral

Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulde in.

邀请消防队扑灭一场不存在的火灾是一种粗俗的欺骗形式，任何有自尊的学生都不会沉溺其中。

旁白 neutral

Students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims.

学生们经常制造一些有趣的场面，除了受害者，每个人都觉得好笑。

旁白 neutral

When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university,

最近，当一名学生看到两名工人在他大学外面使用一台气动钻时，

旁白 neutral

he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen

他立即打电话报警，并告知警察有两名打扮成工人的学生

旁白 neutral

were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill.

正在用气动钻挖路。

旁白 neutral

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,

他一挂掉电话，就走到工人那里，告诉他们如果一个警察命令他们离开，

旁白 neutral

they were not to take him seriously.

他们不必把他当真。

旁白 neutral

He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people.

他补充说，有个学生打扮成警察，正在对人们开各种愚蠢的玩笑。

旁白 neutral

Both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.

警察和工人都很感谢这名学生提供的这条提前消息。

旁白 neutral

The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on.

这名学生藏在附近的一个拱门里，在那里他能看到和听到发生的一切。

旁白 neutral

Sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away.

果不其然，一名警察来到了现场，并礼貌地要求工人离开。

旁白 neutral

When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen, he threatened to remove them by force.

当他从其中一名工人那里得到非常粗鲁的答复时，他威胁要强行把他们带走。

旁白 neutral

The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help.

工人们告诉他想怎样就怎样，于是警察打电话请求支援。

旁白 neutral

Shortly afterwards, 4 more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen.

不久之后，又有4名警察赶到，并与工人们进行交涉。

旁白 neutral

As the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill.

由于工人们拒绝停止工作，警察试图没收气动钻。

旁白 neutral

The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper.

工人们激烈反抗，其中一人发了脾气。

旁白 neutral

He threatened to call the police.

他威胁要报警。

旁白 neutral

At this, the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest.

听罢此言，警察讽刺地指出，这几乎没有必要，因为这些人已经被逮捕了。

旁白 neutral

Pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station.

其中一名工人假装认真地问道，在被带到警察局之前，他是否可以打个电话。

旁白 neutral

Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone.

许可被准予，一名警察陪他去了公用电话亭。

旁白 neutral

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.

只有当他看到那个人实际上是在打电话给警察时，他才意识到他们都成了骗局的受害者。