【生词预览】
Absent-minded 心不在焉的
business trip 出差
portable 便携的、手提的
spouse 配偶
combination 密码组合
anniversary 结婚周年

【笑话原文】

An Absent-minded Husband

I was accompanying my husband on a business trip.

He carried his portable computer with him, and the guard at the airport

gate asked him to open the case.

It was locked, and the man waited patiently as my embarrassed spouse

struggled to remember the combination.

At last he succeeded. “Why are you so nervous?" I asked him.

My husband confessed: “The numbers are the date of our anniversary."

【中文译文】

心不在焉的丈夫

我陪丈夫一起出差,他带着他的手提式计算机。机场出口处检查员要他打开包。

他耐心地等着我那窘迫的丈夫设法回想起暗锁的密码。最后他终于想起来了。

“你为什么那么紧张呢?”我问他。

“密码是我们的结婚纪念日。”他承认道。

【词汇讲解】

1.absent-minded:心不在焉的。Absent是缺席的意思，mind是心思、想法的

意思，那么心思缺席了，指的就是心不在焉。

2.accompany陪伴。也有伴随的意思，例如：thunder accompanies lighting.

雷声伴着电闪。还有“补充”的意思，例如：he accompanied his speech

with gestures.他演讲时附带着做手势。

3.portable便携的，portable computer就是手提电脑。作名词的时候就是

“便携式计算机／电视机／收音机”的意思。

4. succeed做不及物动词时有“成功”的意思，做及物动词时，则有“接

在……后面”之意，例如：A silence succeeded his words.他的话说完后便

是一片静默。

5. confess承认。Confess 加名词或动名词，就是承认某事的意思。例如：I

must confess that I didn’t understand

a word she said.我得承认我一点也没听懂她说的话。

6.anniversary结婚周年。也可以只表示“纪念日”，例如：celebrate the

55th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China 庆祝中华

人民共和国成立55周年。