Наша история на английском. Забавные короткие истории на английском языке
Doctor: Could you pay for an operation if I thought that it was necessary?
Patient: Would you think the operation was necessary if I couldn"t pay for it?
Teacher: Tom, your homework, in which you wrote about a cat, is very much like your brother"s story. How is that?
Tom: Nothing strange about that, we have only one cat at home.
Little Girl: Mother, my cat can talk.
Little Girl: I ask her what is two minus two and she says nothing.
Mother: What are you jumping up and down for, Paul?
Paul: I took my medicine and forgot to shake the bottle.
Hello! Is that Ted Wells?
Yes. Who is speaking?
Who? I don"t hear.
I say Sam: Sid, Ada, Mary. Do you hear?
Yes, I do. But which of you three is speaking now?
Mother: You are seven today. Happy birthday to you, Tommy.
Tommy: Thank you, Mummy.
Mother: Do you like to have a cake with seven candles on it for your birthday par-ty?
Tommy: I think I better have seven cakes and one candle, Mummy.
Tourist: Excuse me, but does this bus stop at Tenth Street?
Passenger: Yes. Watch me and get of one station before I do.
Tourist: Thank you.
Are you still looking for your dog, Bill?
Why don"t you put an advertisement in the paper?
What"s the use! The dog can"t read.
The waitress brought the soup to everyone in the dining-room of a small hotel. Mr. Smith got the last plate, and the waitress stayed for a moment beside his table; she was looking out of the window.
“It looks like rain,” she said.
“Yes,” said Mr. Smith (he had tasted the soup), “and it tastes like rain too.”
Mr. Gray was on holiday by the sea. He was staying in a small hotel but it was not о good hotel. The meals were very small. One day he sat down to dinner. His plate looked wet. He held it up to the waiter and said, “This plate is wet. Please bring me another.” “That"s your soup, sir,” replied the waiter.
At last the visitor had to say something about food.
“I don"t like this pie, Mrs. Fiddles,” he said. “Oh, don"t you?” said the angry landlady. “I was making pies before you were born.” “Perhaps this is one of them.”
“I"m doing very well in my driving lessons,” Betty said. “Yesterday I went 50 miles per hour. Tomorrow I"m going to try to open my eyes when I pass another car.”
The policeman stopped a woman driver for going too fast.
“When I saw you coming round that corner, I said to myself, “At least 45” the officer told her.
“Well,” was the answer. “I always look older in this hat.”
“Why were you driving too fast, madam?” the policeman asked.
“My breaks aren"t very good”, she answered, “and I was hurrying home before I had an accident
A gentleman was sitting quietly in a first-class compartment. Two ladies got in. One of them saw that the window was open, and she shut it
before sitting down.
“Open it again,” said the second lady. “I"ll die of suffocation if there is no fresh air.”
“I won"t open it,” said the first lady. “I"ll die of cold if the window is open.”
A quarrel started, and it continued until the gentleman-spoke:
“Let"s have the window shut until this lady has died of suffocation, and then we can have it open until this lady has died of cold. After that it will be nice and quiet in here again.”
The young doctor had just finished his train-ing. He didn"t know what the patient"s illness was.
“Have you had this before?” he asked.
“Yes, doctor.”
“Oh! Well! You"ve got it again.”
John Smith couldn"t sleep, so his doctor gave him some sleeping pills. He took a pill that night.
He felt well when he woke up, and he went to work cheerfully.
“I slept very well last night,” he told his boss.
“That"s good,” his boss said. “But where were you yesterday?”
“My boyfriend is wonderful,” said Helen. “He is rather nice, I must say,” said Kate. “He tells everyone that he is going to marry the most beautiful girl in the world,” said Helen.
“I am so sorry,” said Kate. “Perhaps he will change his mind and marry you after all.”
When a girl shows a ring and says that she is going to be married, it is usual to ask: “Who"s the lucky man?” It"s a silly question because everybody knows that the lucky man is her fa-ther.
“I love you so much! Do you think you could live on my salary?”
“Of course I could. But what would you live on?”
Mr. Brown finished his breakfast. Then he asked the waiter to bring the manager of the hotel.
"Yes, sir, what can I do for you?" said the manager when he arrived.
"You must have a very clean kitchen here," said Mr. Brown.
"That is very kind of you to say so, sir,” said the manager. "But what makes you think we have a very clean kitchen?"
"Well," replied Mr. Brown, "everything tastes of soap."
"What"s the meaning of this fly in my
"I don"t know, sir. I"m a waiter, not a fortune teller."
A man was just finishing his lunch in a restaurant. The waitress asked if he would like coffee.
"Yes, please," he replied.
The waitress went away but came back quickly and asked, "With cream or with-out, sir?"
"Without cream," he replied.
Then, after a much longer wait, the waitress returned. "I"m very sorry," she said. "There is no more cream. Will you have it without milk?"
Little Tommy liked to ask questions. One day he asked his father one more question. His father did not know the answer. "Don"t ask me so many ques-tions," he said. "You have already asked me nearly a hundred questions today. I didn"t ask my father half as many ques-tions."
"Well, Daddy, perhaps you would know more of the answers to my questions if you had asked more," said Tommy.
Mr. and Mrs. White had a very good table in their dining-room. It was made of the best wood. When Mr. and Mrs. Brown visited the Whites, little Tommy White was hammering nail after nail into the costly table.
"Isn"t that a rather expensive game?" Mr. Brown asked.
"Oh, no," Mr. White answered. "I get the nails at the shop on the corner. They are really quite cheap."
Billy didn"t ask for a cake. He reached past the lady visitor and took one.
"Billy!" said his mother sharply. "Haven"t you got a tongue?"
"Yes, Mum," Billy replied. "But it won"t reach as far as the cakes."
How Many Were There?
The police in a big city were looking for a robber. One day they caught him and took him to prison. But while they were taking photo-graphs of him — from the front, from the left, from the right, with a hat, without a hat — he suddenly attacked the policeman and ran away.
Then a week later the telephone rang in the police-station, and somebody said, “You’re look-ing for Bill Cross, aren’t you?”
“Well, he left here for Waterbridge an hour ago.”
Waterbridge was a small town 100 miles from the city. The city police immediately sent four different photographs of the robber to the police in Waterbridge. Less than twelve hours later they got a telephone call from the police in Waterbridge. “We have caught three of the men,” they said happily, “and we hope to catch the fourth this evening.”
The Sea on Strike
Many years ago, a London theatre performed a play with a terrible storm at sea in one of the scenes. The waves were made by some boys who jumped up and down under a large piece of green cloth. Each boy received a shilling a night for his work.
The play was very popular and the hall was usually full. But the director of the theatre wanted to make still more money from the performances, and he decided to lower the boys" pay from a shilling to sixpence. This made the boys angry, and they decided to go on strike for a shilling a night.
During the next performance, when the storm began, there was enough loud noise on the stage, but the sea was absolutely calm, not one wave could be seen. The theatre director immediately ran behind the stage, raised a corner of the green cloth and shouted, “Waves! Waves! Why aren"t you making waves?!” One of the boys sitting under the cloth asked him, “Do you want sixpenny waves or shilling waves?"
“All right, all right!" the director said. “I"ll give you a shilling, only give me the waves!”
Tremendous waves immediately began to appear on the sea, and everybody agreed that they had never seen a better storm in the theatre.
An Anecdote About Mark Twain
One of Mark Twain"s hobbies was fish-ing, and he used to go fishing even in the closed season when fishing was not al-lowed. Like many fishermen, he some-times invented stories about the number of fish he caught.
One day during the closed season, Mark Twain sat fishing under a little bridge. A man crossing the bridge saw him fishing there. The man stood watching Mark Twain fishing, and then he asked, “Have you caught many fish?"
“Not yet,” Mark Twain answered. “I"ve only just begun. But yesterday I caught thirty big fish here.”
“That"s very interesting,” the man said. “Do you know who I am?"
“No,” Mark Twain said. “I don"t think I ever saw you before."
“I"m the fishing inspector for this dis-trict," the man said.
"And do you know who I am?” Mark Twain asked quickly.
“No, of course not,” said the inspector.
"I am the biggest liar on the Mississip-pi,” Mark Twain told him.
Tea Leaves
There was a time when drinking tea was almost unknown in European countries; many people had never even heard of tea. This anecdote is about an old woman and her son, who lived at that time.
The woman"s son was a sailor, and every time he returned from a far-away country, he brought his mother a gift. Naturally, he tried to bring something unusual that she could show to her friends.
Once, the young man came back from India with a box of tea for his mother. She didn"t know anything about tea, but she liked the smell, and invited all her friends to come and taste it. When her son came into the room, he saw cakes and fruit and sweets on the table, and a big plate filled with tea-leaves. His mother and her friends were sitting round the table, eating the leaves with butter and salt. Though they all smiled, it was clear that they didn"t enjoy eating the leaves.
“Where is tea, Mother?” the sailor asked.
His mother pointed to the plate in the middle of the table.
“No, no, that is only the leaves of the tea,” the sailor said. “Where is the water?”
“The water!” his mother said. “I threw the water away, of course! out of the set!” He smiled to himself, lit his pipe and began reading his favourite book
Уровень B. Прочее.
I would like to tell you about
I would like to tell you about the story, happened to me 5 years ago. I am not crazy. I hope you will believe me.
It was cold winter and I was really happy about leaving the school, because Christmas holidays has already begun. My name is Edgar, I"m 16 years old, studying in common russian school. I do not have a lot of friends, because I do not like having fun and talking to somebody, if you are interested in my biography.
I had a best friend, called Mark. He was the same age as me and did not have friends, except me. All night long we were spending time, talking and reading horror books. It was awesome and very creepy. I had the same interests as my friend, so we liked the same stories. But one of them was my favorite, because there was an interesting and mysterious thing that i spot. It was the shortest book I have ever read, which contained only 5 pages but sixth was torn away. We had found this book in the old small library and had stolen it away. Me and my friend are not the thiefs, by way, but we really needed it to Study and find out what riddle was hidden in that strange book, written by the unknown author. So, our story began.
Having read that book incompletely, we realized that all events happened in our town! It describes about the old abandoned clinic that settled in the woods. We needed more information.
2 weeks ago, after studying it attentively and searching huge amount of information on the internet, we puzzled out where is that old building situated. My friend has written down the coordinates quickly and we went in the forest.
Unluckily, our small "group" has reached the hospital when it began to dusk. I saw many broken windows and dirty things. Allin all it was very horribly. We went down the stairs in the catacombs and decided to split.
I really regret about that decision. After 15 minutes I have spent in the dark I began to call my friend. Nobody answered. One more 10 minutes passed that I spend, walking and turning in a different directions. Suddenly I stunned. I do not know what exactly I saw till nowadays. There was a creature straight ahead from me, which has been sitting, shaking hands and eating something. I decided to silently go away but after he spot me, I ran away at once. I had been running till I reached my house.
At conclusion, I want to say that of course, nobody believed me, even my parents. I have not seen my friend 3 years already and I did not go to the forest and will not go there anyway.
Я хотел бы сказать вам об истории, которая случилась со мной 5 лет назад. Я не сумасшедший. Я надеюсь, вы поверите мне.
Было холодно зимой, и я был очень рад окончанию школы, потому что рождественские праздники уже начались. Меня зовут Эдгар, 16 лет, учусь в обычной русской школе. У меня немного друзей, потому что я не люблю веселиться и говорить с кем-либо, если вы заинтересованы в моей биографии.
У меня был лучший друг, которого зовут Марк. Он был того же возраста, что и я, и у него не было друзей, кроме меня. Всю ночь мы проводили время, разговаривая и читая страшные книги. Это было потрясающе и очень жутко. У меня были те же интересы, что и у моего друга, так что нам нравились одни и те же истории. Но одна из них была моей любимой, потому что в ней была интересная и таинственная вещь, которую я обнаружил. Это была самая короткая книга, которую я когда-либо читал, в которой содержалось всего 5 страниц, но шестая была оторвана. Мы нашли эту книгу в старой небольшой библиотеке и украли ее. Мы не воры, если что, но нам действительно нужно было изучить и понять, что за загадка была спрятана в этой странной книге, написанной неизвестным автором. Итак, наша история началась.
Прочитав эту книгу полностью, мы поняли, что все события произошли в нашем городе! Она описывает старую заброшенную клинику, которая располагалась в лесу. Нам нужно было больше информации.
2 недели назад, после внимательного изучения и поиска огромного количества информации в Интернете, мы поняли где расположено это старое здание. Мой друг быстро записал координаты, и мы пошли в лес.
К несчастью, наша маленькая «группа» достигла больницу, когда начало смеркаться. Я увидел множество разбитых окон и грязные вещи. В целом все это выглядело очень ужасно. Мы спустились по лестнице в катакомбы и решили разделиться.
Я действительно сожалею об этом решении. После 15 минут, которые я провел в темноте я начал звать моего друга. Никто не ответил. Прошло еще 10 минут, что я потратил, идя и поворачивая в разных направлениях. Вдруг я замер. Я до сих пор не знаю что я там увидел. Там было существо прямо от меня, которое сидело, шевелило руками и ело что-то. Я решил молча уйти, но после того как он заметил меня, я сразу убежал. Я бежал, пока я достиг моего дома.
В заключение я хочу сказать, что, конечно, никто не поверил мне, даже мои родители. Я не видел своего друга уже 3 года и я больше не ходил в лес и не пойду туда в любом случае.
Мы в Lingvistov часто говорим, что наша задача - это интересное изучение английского языка. Когда вас захватывает сам процесс и вы видите его смысл, то английский язык без сомнения учится быстро и безболезненно. Поэтому мы решили разнообразить повседневность, наполненную грамматикой и скучными учебными текстами, и предложить подборку анекдотов на английском языке! Смешные истории на английском языке помогут вам в развитии языковых навыков, пополнять ваш словарный запас и просто улучшат настроение.
Woops Sorry About That
Marvin, was in the hospital on his death bed. The family called Marvin’s Preacher to be with him in his final moments. As the Preacher stood by the bed, Marvin’s condition seemed to deteriorate, and Marvin motioned for someone to quickly pass him a pen and paper. The Preacher quickly got a pen and paper and lovingly handed it to Marvin. But before he had a chance to read the note, Marvin died. The Preacher feeling that now wasn’t the right time to read it put the note in his jacket pocket. It was at the funeral while speaking that the Preacher suddenly remembered the note. Reaching deep into his pocket the Preacher said “and you know what, I suddenly remembered that right before Marvin died he handed me a note, and knowing Marvin I’m sure it was something inspiring that we can all gain from. With that introduction the Preacher ripped out the note and opened it. The note said “HEY, YOU ARE STANDING ON MY OXYGEN TUBE!”
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L"
TEACHER: No, that"s wrong.
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
Bad Date Joke
“Hi Sarah, listen I only have a minute. I’m about to get picked up for a blind date, can you call me in a half hour just in case it’s going bad? Yes? Ok great! We’ll speak.” Raquel gave herself a quick spray of perfume, checked herself out one more time in the mirror, and headed outside to wait for the guy. Sure enough after twenty minutes Raquel was discreetly checking her watch. After ten more long minutes her phone finally buzzed. Raquel listened for a few seconds, grimly pursed her lips, and turned to her date, “I feel terrible, but my Grandmother is terribly sick, and I must go home now .” “No problem!” Said her date with a big grin, “in a few more minutes my dog was going to get run over!”
The child and his mother
A curious child asked his mother: “Mommy, why are some of your hairs turning grey?”
The mother tried to use this occasion to teach her child: “It is because of you, dear. Every bad action of yours will turn one of my hairs grey!”
The child replied innocently: “Now I know why grandmother has only grey hairs on her head.”
Homework
PUPIL – “Would you punish me for something I didn’t do?”
TEACHER – “Of course not.”
PUPIL – “Good, because I haven`t done my homework.”
* * *
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother"s. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, sir. It"s the same dog.
* * *
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don"t have to, my Mom is a good cook.
* * *
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father"s cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn"t punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
Math, Physics, & Philosophy
Dean, to the physics department. "Why do I always have to give you guys so much money, for laboratories and expensive equipment and stuff. Why couldn"t you be like the math department - all they need is money for pencils, paper and waste-paper baskets. Or even better, like the philosophy department. All they need are pencils and paper."
Mental Patient
John and David were both patients in a Mental Hospital. One day, while they were walking, they passed the hospital swimming pool and John suddenly dove into the deep end. He sank to the bottom and stayed there. David promptly jumped in and saved him, swimming to the bottom of the pool and pulling John out. The medical director came to know of David"s heroic act. He immediately ordered that David be discharged from the hospital as he now considered him to be OK. The doctor said, "David, we have good news and bad news for you! The good news is that we are going to discharge you because you have regained your sanity. Since you were able to jump in and save another patient, you must be mentally stable. The bad news is that the patient that you saved hung himself in the bathroom and died after all." David replied, "Doctor, John didn"t hang himself. I hung him there to dry."
News Stand
A newsboy was standing on the corner with a stack of papers, yelling, "Read all about it. Fifty people swindled! Fifty people swindled!" Curious, a man walked over, bought a paper, and checked the front page. What he saw was yesterday"s paper. The man said, "Hey, this is an old paper, where"s the story about the big swindle?" The newsboy ignored him and went on calling out, "Read all about it. Fifty-one people swindled!”
School Question
Mother: "Why are you home from school so early?"
Я давно преподаю английский язык, и в мою методику входит самостоятельное чтение, которое выглядит примерно так: после каждого занятия я посылаю ученику на e-mail рассказ на английском, который он дома читает (иногда еще и слушает, если к тексту есть аудио), а на следующее занятие пересказывает мне.
Теперь я решила выложить эти рассказы, чтобы их могли использовать все желающие – как те, кто самостоятельно изучает английский и ищет что-нибудь интересное почитать, так и такие же, как я, учителя в постоянном поиске материала для своих учеников.
Рассказы на английском распределены по трём категориям: попроще, средней сложности и посложнее. К большинству текстов прилагается аудио, в этом случае рассказ можно послушать прямо на странице чтения или скачать в формате mp3. Здесь, к сожалению, нет материалов для детей – все тексты рассчитаны на взрослых. Некоторые из них адаптированы, другие – нет. Авторы самые разные: часть рассказов написана О’Генри, некоторые – Марком Твеном, другие принадлежат перу менее известных и более современных английских и американских писателей. Но абсолютно все опробованы на моих студентах и одобрены ими.
Список текстов постоянно пополняется. Читайте, слушайте, учитесь и учите других!
Избранные статьи
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Я хочу, чтобы все материалы на этом сайте оставались бесплатными. Если вы поддержите его развитие, я смогу чаще добавлять тексты и аудио, писать новые полезные статьи и расширять функционал. А ещё я буду очень вам благодарна:)
Всем известно, смех — лучшее лекарство от стресса. Совместите приятное с полезным: читайте эти короткие забавные истории и практикуйте свой английский с удовольствием.
Если вам надо написать мистическую историю на английском языке, отдельно я подготовила
My meeting with a traffic cop
Моя встреча с гаишником — Забавная история из жизни
It was seven years ago.
I was driving to work.
I drove up to the office and broke a traffic rule — I crossed a double solid line on the road.
At that time, a police officer was standing on the street.
I thought he saw me go over the double lines.
But he kept standing.
I drove further slowly because I was near my office.
At that time, a car backed up.
The driver didn’t see my car, and smashed into it.
That police officer ran up to us and said to me:
«I have seen everything: you violated traffic rules, you have a dead body in your trunk, and drugs in your car.
Can I see your driver’s license?»
I’m standing, I’m hearing, and I can’t say anything.
Then he laughed and said: “Miss, please smile, you looked so upset that I had to tell you something to cheer you up” and let me go.
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Это было 7 лет назад.
Я ехала на работу.
Я уже подъехала к офису, но нарушила правила дорожного движения — пересекла двойную сплошную линию.
А там как раз стоял сотрудник ГАИ.
Я думала, он видел как я пересекла сплошную.
Но он продолжал стоять.
Тут подбегает гаишник и говорит:
« Я всё видел — вы нарушили правила, у вас в багажнике труп и наркотики.
Можно ваши водительские права?»
Я стою слушаю и не могу ничего сказать.
Тут он рассмеялся и сказал: «Девушка улыбнитесь, вы стоите такая расстроенная, я должен был вас хоть как то рассмешить/приободрить», после чего отпустил меня.
Fortune and the man
One day a man was walking along the street. He carried an old bag in his hands. He was wondering why people who had so much money were never satisfied and always wanted more. “As to me,” he said, “if I had enough to eat, I should not ask for anything else.”
Just at this moment Fortune came down the street. She heard the man and stopped.
“Listen,” she said, “I want to help you. Hold your bag, and I shall pour diamonds into it. But every diamond which falls on the ground will become dust. Do you understand?”
“Oh, yes, I understand,” said the man. He quickly opened his bag and stream of diamonds was poured into it. The bag began to grow heavy. “Is that enough?” asked Fortune. “Not yet.” The man’s hand’s began to tremble.
“You are the richest man in the world now.” Said Fortune.
“Just a few more, and a few more,” said the man. Another diamond was added and the bag slipped. All the diamonds fell on the ground and became dust.
Fortune disappeared, leaving the man in the street.
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Однажды бедняк шел по улице. В его руках был старый мешок. Он шел и думал: «Почему люди, у которых очень много денег никогда не бывают довольными и все время хотят иметь больше денег.»
«Как по мне», думал он, если б мне хватало только на пропитание, мне и не нужно было ничего большего.»
В этот момент Судьба проходила мимо него. Она услышала бедняка и остановилась.
«Слушай» — сказала она, «Я хочу тебе помочь. Давай свой мешок, я наполню его бриллиантами. Но если хоть один бриллиант упадет на землю, всё содержимое мешка превратится в пыль. Понимаешь?
«О конечно, понимаю», — ответил бедняк. Он быстро открыл свой мешок и бриллианты посыпались в его мешок. Мешок становился тяжелым.
«Достаточно?» спросила Судьба.
«Нет еще» — ответил мужик, руки его задрожали.
«Ты самый богатый человек на свете» — сказала Судьба.
«Еще! Еще немного!» сказал бедняк.
В этот момент очередной бриллиант упал в переполненный мешок.
Мешок выскользнул из рук бедняка и упал на землю, а бриллианты стали в тот же миг пылью.
Судьба исчезла, оставив бедняка на улице.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Everyone has heard of Sherlock Holmes. Everyone has read stories about Sherlock Holmes at one time or another. Sherlock Holmes was a famous detective. Actually, he was the most famous detective of all times.
The author of the Sherlock Holmes stories was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Once Sir Arthur arrived in Paris. He took a cab and asked the cabman to take him to the Ritz, the hotel where he was going to spend the night.
The cabman brought him to the hotel. When he received the fare he said:
“Thank you very much, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”
“How do you know who I am?” asked Sir Arthur. He was very much surprised.
“Well, sir, I read in the newspaper yesterday that you were coming to Paris from the South of France. I also noticed that your hair was cut by a barber in the South of France. Your clothes and especialy your hat told me that you were English. I put all the information together and quessed that you were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”
“That is wonderful,” said Sir Arthur.
“You could recognize me though you knew very few facts.”
“Besides,” added the cabman. Your name is on both of your travelling bags. That also helped.”
So, the cabman played a good joke on Conan Doyle.
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Все слышали о Шерлоке Холмсе. В то или иное время все читали рссказы о Шерлоке Холмсе. Шерлок Холмс был известный детективом.Собственно, он был самым известным детективом всех времен.
Автором рассказов Шерлока Холмса был сэр Артур Конан Дойл. Однажды сэр Артур прибыл в Париж. Он взял такси и попросил таксиста отвезти его в Ритц, в гостиницу, где он собирался провести ночь. Извозчик привез его в гостиницу. Когда он получил оплату за проезд, он сказал:
«Большое вам спасибо, сэр Артур Конан Дойл».
«Откуда вы знаете, кто я?» — спросил сэр Артур. Он был очень удивлен.
«Что ж, сэр, вчера я прочитал в газете, что вы едете в Париж с юга Франции. Я также заметил, что вы пострижены парикмахером на юге Франции.
Ваша одежда и особенно ваша шляпа говорят, что вы англичанин Я собрал всэти факты вместе и понял, что вы сэр Артур Конан Дойл.
«Замечательно», — сказал сэр Артур. «Вы смогли меня узнать зная очень мало фактов».
«Кроме того», — добавил извозчик, «Ваше имя находится на обеих ваших дорожных сумках. Это тоже помогло.»
Таким образом извозчик хорошо пошутил над Конан Дойлем.
Honesty is the best policy
A woodman was once working on the bank of a deep river. Suddenly his axe slipped from his hand and dropped into the water.
“Oh! I have lost my axe,” he cried. “What shall I do? Who can help me?”
Mercury heard the poor man’s cries and appeared before him.
‘What is the matter, poor woodman?” he asked. “What has happened? Why are you so sad and unhappy?”
Mercury listened to the man’s story and then said, “Perhaps I can help you.” He dived into the river and brought up a golden axe. “Is this yours?” he asked. “No, that is not mine,” was the answer.
Mercury dived a second time and this time brought up a silver axe. “Is this yours?” he asked. Again the answer was “No.” So Mercury dived a third time and brought up the very axe that the woodman had lost. “That’s my axe,” cried the man. “Yes, that is my axe. Now I can work again.”
Mercury was so pleased with the follow’s honesty that at once he made him a present of the other two axes and disappeared before the man could say, “Thank you”.
The woodman went home very pleased with his good luck. He told his friends all about it and one of them decided to try his luck. So he went to the same place, dropped his axe into the river, and cried out: “Oh! I have lost my axe. What shall I do? Who can help me?”
Mercury appeared as before, and when he learnt that man had lost his axe, he dived into the river. Again he brought up a golden axe. “Is this yours”? he asked.
“Yes, it is,” answered the woodman. “You are not telling me the truth,” said Mercury.
You will neither have this axe nor the one that you so foolishly dropped into the water.”
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Однажды дровосек работал на берегу глубоководной реки. Вдруг топор выскользнул из его рук и упал в воду.
«Ой! Я потерял топор, — воскликнул он. «Что мне делать? Кто может мне помочь?»
Меркурий услышал крики бедняка и предстал перед ним.
«Что случилось, бедняга?» — спросил он. «Что произошло? Почему ты такой грустный и несчастный?
Меркурий выслушал рассказ человека, а затем сказал: «Возможно, я могу тебе помочь». Он нырнул в реку и поднял золотой топор. «Это твой топор?» — спросил он. «Нет, это не мой», — был ответ дровосека. Меркурий нырнул во второй раз, и на этот раз он поднял серебряный топор. «Это твой?» — спросил он. Опять ответ был «Нет». Меркурий нырнул в третий раз и поднял тот топор, который потерял дровосек. «Это мой топор, — воскликнул бедняк. «Да, это мой топор. Теперь я могу снова работать ».
Меркурий был так доволен честностью приятеля, что тотчас же сделал ему подарок из двух других топоров и исчез, прежде чем мужчина мог сказать: «Спасибо».
Дровосек вернулся домой очень довольный своей удачей. Он рассказал своим друзьям обо всем этом, и один из них решил попробовать свою удачу. Он подошел к тому же месту, уронил топор в реку и закричал: «Ой! Я потерял топор. Что мне делать? Кто может мне помочь?»
Меркурий появился, как и прежде, и когда он узнал, что человек потерял топор, нырнул в реку. Он поднял золотой топор. «Это твой топор»? — спросил он.
«Да, это мой», ответил дровосек. «Ты говоришь неправду,»- сказал Меркурий.
Ты не получишь и этот топор, и свой, который ты по глупости кинул в воду».
A present from the son
Long ago there lived an old woman in England. She had a son who was a sailor. He went to different countries and always brought presents for his old mother.
Once he went to China and brought some tea from that country.
At that time tea was very expensive and only rich people could buy and drink it. So the old woman was very happy to have such a nice present. But she didn’t know what to do with it as she had never bought tea before. She thought it was a vegetable. She told her friends about her son’s present and invited them to taste it with her. At last the day of the tea-party came. The woman called her guests to the dining-room and put a big dish of tea leaves on the table. The guests began to eat the leaves with salt just as they ate vegetables. Nobody liked it but didn’t tell the woman about it and continued to eat the leaves.
Some tome later the sailor came into the room. When he saw that all the guests were eating leaves, he smiled.
“What are you doing? Why are eating these leaves? Where is the tea?”
“Here it is, my son,” the old woman said.
“And where is the water in which you have boiled the leaves?” asked the man laughing.
“I threw it away, of course,” answered the woman.
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Давным-давно в Англии жила одна пожилая женщина. У нее был сын, который был матросом. Он ездил в разные страны и всегда привозил подарки своей старой матери.
Однажды он отправился в Китай и привез из этой страны чай. В то время чай был очень дорогим, и только богатые люди могли купить и пить такой чай. Поэтому старушка была очень счастлива иметь такой приятный подарок. Но она не знала, что с делать с таким чаем, поскольку она никогда не покупала его раньше. Она подумала, что это овощ.
Она рассказала своим друзьям о подарке сына и пригласила их попробовать этот чай. Наконец настал день чайной вечеринки. Женщина позвала своих гостей в столовую и положила на стол большое блюдо из чайных листьев. Гости стали есть листья с солью, как они делали это, когда ели овощи. Никто не понравилось, но никто не сказал об этом старушке, а продолжали есть листья.
Некоторое время спустя сын вошел в комнату.
Когда он увидел, что все гости ели листья, он улыбнулся.
«Что вы делаете?
Зачем вы едите эти листья?
А где чай?»
«Вот он, мой сын,» — сказала старушка.
«А где вода, в которой вы заварили листья?» — спросил сын, смеясь.
«Разумеется, я вылила ее, — ответила мать.
I’m four years old at home, and two and a half in buses and trains
A mother and her young son got into a bus and sat down. The bus conductor came up to them and asked them to pay the fare. The mother said, ‘I want one ticket to Oxford,’ and gave him a shilling.
The conductor was looking at the small boy for a few seconds and then said, ‘How old are you, young man?’
The mother began speaking, but the conductor stopped her, and the boy said, ‘I’m four years old at home, and two and a half in buses and trains.’
The mother took sixpence more out of her bag and gave it to the bus conductor.
He gave her one ticket and a half.
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
В автобус вошла молодая женщина с маленьким ребенком и села на сидение. К ним подошел кондуктор автобуса и попросил оплатить проезд. Протягивая один шиллинг женщина произносит: «Мне нужен один билет до Оксфорда».
Посмотрев на ребенка, кондуктор спросил маму: «Сколько Вам лет, молодой человек?».
Женщина начала было говорить, но кондуктор остановил ее и мальчик произнес: «Дома мне четыре годика, а в автобусах и поездах — мне 2.5».
Женщина доставила из сумки еще шесть пенсов и отдала кондуктору. А тот дал ей один взрослый и один детский билет.
I prefer to play the part of a great man on the stage
Once David Garrick, a famous actor, was told by a Member of Parliament that as he was so popular he could easily become an MP too. “No thank you,” the actor replied. “I prefer to play the part of a great man on the stage than the part of a fool in Parliament.”
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Поскольку Дэвид Гаррик был известным актером, однажды, один из членов парламента сказал ему, что актер так же мог с легкостью вступить в парламент.
«Нет, спасибо», ответил актер.
«Я предпочитаю играть роль великого человека на сцене, чем дурака в парламенте.»
Can my dog have a seat in the bus?
One wet day a woman with a dog got on a bus. It was a very big dog and its feet were dirty.
The woman said, “Oh, conductor, if I pay for my dog, can he have a seat like the other passengers?”
The conductor looked at the dog and then said, “Certainly, madam, he can have a seat, but like the other passengers, he mustn’t put his feet on it.”
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
В один дождливый день в автобус села женщина с собакой. Собака была очень большая и с грязными лапами. Женщина спросила: «Кондуктор, может ли сесть собака на сидение, как другие пассажиры, если я заплачу за ее проезд?»
Кондуктор посмотрела на собаку и ответила: «Конечно, мадам, собака может сесть, но она, как и все пассажиры не должна сидеть ногами на сидении.»
Why do men in this country wear black when they marry?
Mrs. Robinson was a teacher in a big school in an American city. She had boys and girls in her class, and she always enjoyed teaching them, because they were quick and because they thought about everything carefully.
One day she said to the children: “People in a lot of countries in Asia wear white clothes at funerals, but people in America and in Europe wear white clothes when they’re happy, what color does a woman in this country wear when she marries, Mary?”
Mary said, “White, Miss because she’s happy.”
“That’s good, Mary,” Mrs. Robinson said. “You’re quite right. She wears white because she’s happy.”
But then one of the boys in the class put his hand up.
“Yes, Dick,” Mrs. Robinson said. “Do you want to ask a question?”
“Yes, Miss,” Dick said. “Why do men in this country wear black when they marry?”
ПЕРЕВОД ТЕКСТА
Миссис Робинсон была учителем в большой школе в американском городе. В классе у нее были мальчики и девочки, которых она обожала учить, т.к. они всё схватывали на лету и тщательно изучали материал. Как то она сказала детям:
«Люди многих азиатских стран одевают белые одежды на похороны, в то время как в Америке и Европе мы одеваем белую одежду на праздник, когда мы счастливы. Какого цвета оденет девушка одежду в нашей стране когда она выходит замуж?»
«Белую, Мисс, потому что она счастлива» — ответила Мария.
«Хорошо, Мария» — сказала миссис Робинсон. «Ты абсолютно права. Она одевает белое потому что, она счастлива».
Но тут один из учеников в классе поднял руку.
«Да, Дик» — сказала миссис Робинсон. «Ты хочешь задать вопрос?»
«Да, Мисс,» — ответил Дик.
«Почему у нас мужчины одевают черную одежду, когда они женятся?»
