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（ 2 ） 朋友的手提箱

侯永正

（ 2 ） Friend’s Suitcase

  Mr. Jones liked being comfortable ,so when he got into a train , he always used to put his suitcase on the seat beside him and pretend that it belonged to another passenger who had gone to buy something in the station .

  One day he did this when the train was very crowded . Other passengers came and sat in all the other seats except the one which his suitcase was lying on . Then an old gentleman arrived , looked at Mr. Jones’s case and said, “ Is this somebody’s seat ?”

  “ Yes, “ answered Mr. Jones . “ A friend of mine is traveling [注1]with me , and he has gone to buy some cigarettes . He will return soon.” Mr. Jones opened the window and looked out ,to make the old gentleman think that he was anxious about his friend .

  “All right ,” said the old gentleman ,”I’ll sit here until your friend comes bak ,and then I’ll stand somewhere. ” He put the suitcase up above him and sat down . Mr. Jones did not feel happy about this , but he wasn’t able to do or say anything ,because all the other passengers were watching and listening .

  Several minutes passed, the whistle blew , and the train began to move . Then the old man jumped up suddenly and said , “ I am very sorry , but your friend seems to have missed the train .We don’t want him to be separated from his suitcase , right [注2]? I don’t believe he would like that at all,” and before Mr. Jones was able to do or say anything to prevent him, he took his suitcase down and threw it out of the window which Mr. Jones had opened .

简化说明:

1.travelled , traveller 在AmE 中为 traveled ,traveler ,同样道理,原文的travelling也应去掉一个”l” 。

2．英文的反意疑问句对于非英语民族，掌握起来有一定困难，像 Everyone is here ，aren’t they ？中国学生常常出错，为什么前面用单数尾句却用复数，从道理上也不易讲得通。英语口语中有用right或 OK取代尾句的，这里把这种简化形式推而广之,把原文的do we改成了 right 。