英美故事会（第二季）（中英对照）
2012-9-1
译林出版社
[英]艾伯特·杰克
273
邵志军
无
本书《英美故事会》（第二季）由若干篇短小故事构成，既有复仇故事又有鬼故事，既有政治人物的奇闻逸事，又有普通百姓的家长里短，情节生动，可读性强。每篇故事短小精悍，中英双语对照，适合英语学习者的阅读。传说中的大象坟地是否真的存在？约翰?肯尼迪是死于冰弹吗？为何正在潜水时会被火烧死？……
艾伯特·杰克(Albert Jack)美国作家，通俗文化研究员。著有Red
Herrings and WhiteElephants和Shaggy Dogs and Black
Sheep等，作品曾在《星期日泰晤士报》和《星期日邮报》长期连载。
The Seafood Effect海鲜效应
The Better Man男傧相的故事
Dearly Departed深情谢幕
The Guildford Gypsies吉尔福德的吉卜赛人
Casino Fright赌场惊魂
Star Heckler拆台的明星
Moon the Loon疯子摩恩
Hitler’s Testicle希特勒的蛋蛋
How to Do It Properly如何钻法律的漏洞
Positive Drugs Test毒品反应呈阳性
Life-Changing Moments改变命运的时刻
Does It Get Worse Than This?糟糕透顶
Caught Short处境尴尬
Come out with Your Hands Up举手出来!
Lottery Prank Backfires彩票恶作剧的意外结果
Ex-boyfriend前男友
Blacks in America Lose the Right to Vote美国黑人丧失选举权
The Beast of Bodmin Moor博德明荒野之兽
Black Widows’ Pique黑寡妇惹不起
The Best-Dressed Kangaroo in the Bush灌木丛中盛装的袋鼠
There’s an Alligator in My Toilet我家卫生间里有条鳄鱼
The Lemming Myth旅鼠的神话
The Magic Rabbit神奇的兔子
The Elephant’s Graveyard大象的坟地
No Smoke without Fire无烟不起火
Hypnotic Bank Robber会催眠术的银行劫匪
Electricity Meter Fraud电表骗局
Ice Bullets冰弹
Maximum High高浓度
Drugs Surprise大跌眼镜
No Smoke without FireAn American lawyer was given a box of twenty-four rare and expensive Cuban cigars by a grateful client and made sure they were included in his insurance policy， which covered flood， fire and theft. Within a few months， he had smoked all of the cigars and then made a cheeky claim on his insurance， maintaining they had been “lost in a series of small fires”. The insurance company refused to pay， for obvious reasons， but the lawyer， having read through the terms and conditions of his policy， took them to court. It seems he was the only person not to be surprised when he won his case： despite the judge agreeing with the insurance company that the claim was tenuous， he still ruled the policy did indeed cover small fires. Faced with an expensive appeal process， which they were in no way certain of winning， the insurance company accepted the ruling and agreed to a compensation payment of $15，000 to the lawyer. However， immediately after the payment had been accepted， the insurance company had the lawyer arrested on twenty-four counts of arson and he was later convicted on his own evidence of intentionally burning his own property and sentenced to twenty-four months in prison with a $24，000 fine.无烟不起火一位美国律师收到一盒二十四根珍贵的古巴雪茄，这是一位客户的谢礼，客户向他保证，这盒雪茄他已经上了保险，因水灾、火灾和偷窃造成的损失都能得到补偿。几个月后，这位律师抽完了所有的雪茄，厚颜无耻地要求保险公司给予赔付，他声称这些雪茄在“一系列小规模的火灾”中毁损了。保险公司拒绝赔付，个中原因很明白，但是这位律师——他已经通读了保单的所有条款，将这家保险公司告上了法庭。当他赢了这场官司时，他似乎是唯一不感到惊讶的人。尽管法官同意保险公司的说法，即这位律师的说法是非常牵强的，但是他依然判决该保单承保的范围包括小规模的火灾。面对代价不菲的上诉程序，而且也没有必赢的把握，保险公司便接受了该判决，同意向该律师支付一万五千美元的赔偿。然而，当这笔款项一支付，保险公司就以二十四起纵火罪的罪名起诉该律师，因为律师已经自证其罪，所以被判定故意焚毁自己财产的罪名成立，遭到了逮捕，并被判二十四个月的监禁，同时处以两万四千美元的罚款。Nobby’s NailsIn Australia (although the story has also been set in America， Africa and Europe)， a well-known nail and screw manufacturer called Nobby’s Nails has decided on a new advertising campaign. The owners of the company were a particularly religious family， well known for employing only those who shared their beliefs. As a result， the instructions to their advertising agency were that they wanted a religious feel to the campaign， and this had proved to be a problem for the usually creative company. However， one particularly bright spark felt he had solved the dilemma and the new advert was created. On the Sunday it was to be first aired， the managing director invited all of his fellow churchgoers over to his house for lunch and to watch the national screening of the advert on TV. In the first shot was a magnificent scene depicting Jesus standing on a hilltop looking out across the plain. Then， on seeing two figures on the horizon， he turns and starts to run. The scene then switches to two Roman centurions running along， and one turns to the other and says， ‘I told you， this would never have happened if we’d used Nobby’s Nails.’ It can’t be true， can it？诺比牌钉子在澳大利亚（有时这个故事的背景又会被换成美洲、非洲或欧洲），有家闻名遐迩的公司专门生产直钉和螺钉，名叫“诺比钉子”，他们想要打一轮新广告。公司的所有人是特别虔诚的一家人，他们因只雇用和他们有相同信仰的员工而出名。因此，他们对广告公司的要求便是广告必须带有宗教色彩，对于富有创意的广告公司来说，这是一个挑战。有一个脑子特别灵活的人觉得他已经找到了问题的解决办法，于是新广告就出炉了。星期天这个广告就要首播，于是常务董事便邀请了他那些教友到他家里去吃午饭，同时观看该广告在电视上向全国播放。广告的第一个镜头是耶稣站在山顶俯瞰平原的宏大景象，然后他看到天边出现了两个人，就转身开始跑。然后镜头切换到两个并排跑的罗马百夫长，其中一个掉头对另外一个说：“我告诉过你，要是我们用诺比牌钉子，就不会发生这种事情。”这个故事不会是真的，是不是？……
艾伯特·杰克用他一贯的淡然讲述了各种最奇怪、最有趣、最变态、最难忘的传奇故事。传说中的大象坟地是否真的存在？约翰·肯尼迪是死于冰弹吗？为何正在潜水时会被火烧死？……这些离奇、怪诞而又神秘的都市传奇真真假假，假假真真。《双语译林：英美故事会（第2季）（英汉双语对照）》解剖了众多经典传奇故事，力求还原真相。最后是澄清了事实，还是煽火了谣言，who knows？
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很适合英语学习！支持译林！
故事很有趣，值得一看
一个寒假读完的，语言生动，很生活化，接地气!
是朋友想要的
还没看，不过包装很好，有塑封的
英汉双语对照