"'The most beautiful spot on campus is not the ClaSsrooms, nor the sports ground, nor the small lawn with a fountain at the school gate; it is our cafeteria. Look! The windows are so clean , that you scarcely notice any glass on them' --" "He paused, his eyes flashing with a glint of humour and his brows shooting upward. "Listen! Isn't it humorous?" Humorous? But what was humorous about it? The students were hard put to it. "'If you were not careful enough,'" the teacher read on, '"and had a fall on the floor, you would be amazed to find that you had not fallen at all because you did not get a single particle of dust on your clothes. If you had worked in the cafeteria long enough, you would have forgotten what a fly looks like ... '" He paused again, his tongue clicking admiration. Working up a very funny expression on his face, he went on, "Listen, please! Could anyone else have made it more humorous?" He laughed so hard that he could scarcely continue.
注釋
①這是一篇諷刺小說，充滿了人物形象的細節描寫，譯時用語應盡力準確、生動，描繪出與原文具
有同樣幽默效果的形象。
②譯“洋教師”應指明是哪一個國家或講哪一種語言的，不但使情節更有真實感，也更符合英語習慣。
③英美人量身高以英尺、英寸計，二米約為六英尺五英寸。
④看上下文，這里的"玩笑，不是"jokes"，應是“sense of humour”
⑤末句以直接陳述語譯出效果似更好。
（劉先農譯注）
※本文作者：佚名※