双语经典英语小幽默

Keep the change

Selling secondhand books at our church bazaar of America, I got into an argument with a prospective customer. He was interested in buying The Pocket Book of Ogden Nash but claimed it was overpriced at a half dollar. Other paperbacks were selling for five or nine cents each. I pointed out that the book was in good condition and Nash was a fun poet. Therefore the price was reasonable. He said it was a matter of principle and he couldn’t accept it for such a high price. Ultimately, I agreed to sell him the book for nine cents. Triumphant, he paid with a $10 bill。

“Keep the change,” he said generously。

零钱不用找了

在美国教堂的义卖市场上卖旧书时，我与一名可能要买书的顾客发生了一场争论。他对购买袖珍《奥金？纳什集》颇感兴趣，但是说它要五十美分开价过高，其它的平装书每本才卖五或九美分。

我指出这本书保存状况颇好，纳什是个有趣的诗人。因此这个要价是合理的。他说这是个原则问题，这么高的价格他是没法接受的。最终，我同意以九美分的价格将这本书卖给他。他得意洋洋地拿出一张十美元的票子要付帐。

“零钱不用找了，”他慷慨地说。

Too polite

A French lady frequently visited a small antique shop but rarely purchased anything. Furthermore, she always found fault with the merchandise and prices. The manager and her salesclerk took the lady’s grumpy complaints in their stride, but one day she really went too far。

“Why is it I never manage to get what I ask for in your shop?” demanded the lady。

A smile on her face, the clerk calmly replied, “Perhaps it’s because we’re too polite。”

太有礼貌

有位法国女士经常光顾一家小古董店，但几乎从不买什么东西。而且，她总是对商品和价格吹毛求疵。对于那位女士的粗暴埋怨，经理和她的销售员总是轻易应付一下就了事，但是有一天她未免做得太过分了。

“为什么在你们店里我从来都没找到过我想要的东西？”那名女士指责说。

女店员脸上带着微笑，沉着地回答道：“也许是因为我们太有礼貌了。”