【生词预览】

spoil宠溺，dote on溺爱，tantrum发脾气

【笑话原文】

But the Teacher Cried

The six-year-old John was terribly spoiled .His father knew it, but his grandma doted on him. He hardly left her side. And when he wanted anything, he either cried or threw a temper tantrum. Then came his first day of school, his first day away from his grandmother's loving arms.

When he came home from school his grandma met him at the door.

"Was school all right?" she asked, "Did you get along all right? Did you cry?"

"Cry?" John asked. "No, I didn't cry, but the teacher did!"

【中文译文】

但是老师哭了

六岁的小约翰娇生惯养。他爸爸知道这一点，可是他的奶奶很溺爱他。他简直离不开奶奶。而且当他想要什么东西的时候，他要么哭闹，要么就发脾气。终于，他要第一次去学校上学了，第一次离开奶奶温暖的臂弯。

当他从学校回到家时，奶奶就在门口等他。

“在学校一切都好吗？”奶奶问，“你过的怎么样？哭了吗？”

“哭？“约翰问。”不，我没有哭。不过老师哭了。“

【词汇讲解】

1.spoil溺爱。它还有“损坏”的意思：It would spoil my reputation.这会损害我的名誉。She spoiled the soup with too much salt.她搁了太多的盐，把汤给毁了。“破坏兴致”Rain spoiled the picnic.下雨天使野餐变得兴味索然。

2.dote on 溺爱，喜爱。Children doted on him, and he would play with them and tell them stories.孩子们十分喜欢他，他也总是和他们一起玩，给他们讲故事。dote还有“智力衰退”的意思：She began to dote right after her 91 st birthday.她一过91岁生日就开始头脑糊涂了。

3.tantrum发脾气（n.）。be in a tantrum在发脾气。Small children have occasional tantrums when they don’t get what they want.小孩子们没有得到想要的东西有时会耍脾气。

4.either…or或者…或者。either是个常用的词，可表示“任一的／每一方”：You may read either book.两本书中你可以读随便哪一本。Flowers bloom on either side of the walk.小道两旁盛开的花朵。

5.loving充满深情的。a loving friend亲爱的朋友。A child needs two loving parents.孩子需要慈爱的双亲。“热爱的”peace-loving people热爱和平的人民。“细心周到的”：She looked after her little sisters with loving care.她关心备至地照看她的小妹妹们。

6.get along进展。The patient is getting along very well.病人情况良好。此外，这个短语还有“过活”的意思：get along on a small income靠微薄的收入过活。“上年纪”：My father is getting along and doesn’t see too well any more.我父亲上了年纪，视力不如从前了。