The smart Old Lady 聪明的老太太

An old lady who was very deaf and who thought everything too dear, went into a shop and asked the shopman:' How much this stuff?'

一位耳聋并且总是嫌东西太贵的老太太走进一家商店。 她问店员：“这东西要多少钱？”

'Seven dollars, Madam, it is very cheap.'

“七美元，太太，这是很便宜的。”

The lady said, 'It is too much, give it to me for fourteen.'

老太太说：“太贵了，十四美元差不多。”

'I did not say seventeen dollars, but seven.'

店员忙说：“我没说十七美元，是七美元。”

'It is still too much,' replied the old lady, 'give it to me for five.'

“还是太贵，”老太太说：“五美元，我就买啦。”

重点词汇讲解:

1.dear

dear在这里是表示昂贵的，高价的意思；

但是一般来说dear是表示亲爱的，经常在写信或致辞的开头会用到。

eg：Dear editors of the working class stand firm.

尊敬的工人阶级立场坚定的编辑们。

2.shopman

shopman可以表示店主，店员，推销员或者修理店中的修理工，如果要强调女性可用saleswoman。在文章取店员的意思。

店员还有多种表示方法：

clerk

shop assistant

salesclerk

3.It is too much

It is too much表示说The stuff is too much expensive.

如果加个not意思就大不一样了

It is not too much to... 意思是再怎样也不过分

比如：It is not too much to study hard.

就是说你再怎么努力学习也不过分（也是应该的）