A Useful Lesson

　　In England nobody under the age of eighteen is allowed to drink in a public bar．

　　Mr． Thompson used to go to a bar near his house quite often，but he never took his son，Tom，because he was too young． Then when Tom had his eighteenth birthday， Mr．Thompson took him to his usual bar for the first time．They drank for half an hour， and then Mr．Thompson said to his son，“Now， Tom，I want to teach you a useful lesson．You must always be careful not to drink too much． And how do you know when you've had enough？ Well， I'll tell you．Do you see those two lights at the end of the bar？ When they seem to have become four，you've had enough and should go home．”

　　“But， Dad，” said Tom，“I can only see one light at the end of the bar．”

　　有益的教訓

　　在英國，十八歲以下的人不準進酒吧喝酒。

　　湯普森先生以前常常去他家附近的一個酒吧喝酒，但他從陶寶網來不帶他的兒子湯姆去，因為他年紀太小。后來，當湯姆年滿十八歲的時候，湯普森先生第一次帶他去他常去的那家酒吧。他們喝了半個小時，而后，湯普森先生對他兒子說：“湯姆，現在我要告訴你一個有益的教訓。你必須時時小心不要喝得太多。你怎么知道你喝夠了呢？好，我來告訴你。你看見酒吧那頭有兩盞燈嗎？當那兩盞燈看起來變成四盞的時候，你就喝夠了，應該回家了。

　　“可是，爸爸。”湯姆說：“在酒吧那頭我只能看見一盞燈。”

　　One day a visitor from the city came to a small rural area to drive around the country roads, see how the farms looked, and perhaps to see how farmers earned their living. The city man saw a farmer in his yard, holding a pig up in his hands, and lifting it so that the pig could eat apples from an apple tree. The city man said to the farmer," I see that your pig likes apples, but isn"t that quite a waste of time?" The farmer replied," What"s time to a pig?"

　　一天，有一個城市里的游客來到一個小鄉村，在鄉間路上開著車，想看看農莊是什么樣子，也想看看農夫怎樣種田過日子。這位城里人看見一位農夫在宅后的草地上，手中抱著一頭豬，并把它舉得高高的，好讓它能夠吃到樹上的蘋果。城里人對農夫說，"我看你的豬挺喜歡吃蘋果的，但是，這不是很浪費時間嗎?"那位農夫回答說，"時間對豬有什么意義?"