【生词预览】

take out带出去，certain某个

【笑话原文】

Not to Be Taken Out

Mark Twain once went to borrow a certain book from a neighbour in Tarry town.

"May I borrow a book from you?" he asked politely.

"Yes, you're more than welcome to it," the neighbour told him.

"But I must ask you to read it here. You know I make a rule never to let any book go out of my library."

Some days later the neighbour wished to borrow Twain's machine for cutting grass in the garden.

"Why, certainly," Twain told him, "You're more than welcome to it.
But I must ask you to use it here. You know that I make it a rule never to let it go out of my garden."

【中文译文】

概不外借

在特里镇，马克.吐温有一次去一位邻居那儿借本书。
“我可以向您借本书吗？”他礼貌地问道。
“当然，非常乐意，”邻居告诉他，“但我要求你在这儿读。你知道我有一条规定，那就是决不让一本书拿出我的图书室。 ”
几天后，这位邻人想从吐温那儿借台割草机。
“噢，当然，”吐温告诉他，“非常乐意借给你。但我要你在这儿用。你知道我从来不允许它拿出我的花园。”

【词汇讲解】

1. take out“把…带出去”：Please take the children out, their noise is making my head ache.请把孩子们领出去, 他们吵得我头痛。也可以指“清除”There's a nasty mark on the tablecloth, and I don't think the usual washing powder will take it out.桌布上有一块污迹，我想用普通洗衣粉是洗不掉的。

2.certain某个，某些。A certain Mr. Brown telephoned while you were out.你出去的时候, 有个叫布朗的先生来过电话。I am prepared to make certain concessions.我准备做某些让步。

3.politely礼貌地。也可以指“客气地，委婉地”：He cannot refuse if you ask politely.如果你客气一点的话,他是不会拒绝的。He has a politely diffident manner.他的态度是客气中带有羞怯。

4.library图书馆。也可以指“（书、唱片等）个人收藏”：He owns a library of two thousand volumes.他拥有2000册藏书。也有“文库／资料室”的意思。

5.machine机器。泛指机器，要根据上下文推断具体指什么机器。也可以指“机动车辆、飞机”：He thundered down the street on his new machine.
他驾驶着新车在大街上呼啸而去。