小故事

Never Talk to the Parrot
千万不要和鹦鹉说话
Mrs. Johnson phoned the repairman because her dishwasher quit working.
约翰逊太太的洗碗机坏了，她打电话叫修理工来。
He couldn't accomodate her with an "afterhours" appointment and since she had to go to work, she told him, "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, and I'll mail you a check.
他不能在下班以后来，而约翰逊太太也要上班。于是，她对他说：“我会把钥匙放在门垫下。你修好洗碗机，把账单留在餐桌上，我会把支票寄给你。”
"By the way, I have a large rottweiler inside named Killer; he won't bother you. I also have a parrot, and whatever you do, do not talk to the bird!"
“另外，我养了一只名叫‘杀手’的大猎犬，他不会骚扰你的。我还有一只鹦鹉，你做什么都好，就是不要和它说话！”
Well, sure enough the dog, Killer, totally ignored the repairman, but the whole time he was there, the parrot cursed, yelled, screamed, and about did his nuts.
确实，那只叫“杀手”的大狗完全不理会修理工。可是，他在那儿修理洗碗机时，那只鹦鹉一刻不停地咒骂、高喊、尖叫，把他烦死了。
As he was ready to leave, he couldn't resist saying, "You stupid bird, why don't you shut up!"
修理工要走时，终于忍不住说道：“你这只笨鸟，闭上你的鸟嘴！”
To which the bird replied, "Killer, get him!!!"
对此，鹦鹉说道：“杀手，上！！！”

重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. quit doing sth.
停止；退出；放弃做某事；
eg. I was trying to quit smoking at the time.
当时我正在努力戒烟。
eg. You are never a loser unless you quit trying.
你永远不会失败，除非你停止尝试。
2. by the way
顺便地；附带说一句；
eg. Oh, by the way, there is a telephone message for you.
噢，对，有你一个电话口信。
eg. By the way, I'm going to clean out all the old files by tomorrow.
顺便说一下, 我将在明天把所有的旧文档都清理掉.
3. sure enough
果真，果然（尤用在讲故事时）；
eg. Peter had his head in a tar barrel sure enough.
不出所料，彼得陷入了困境。
eg. Sure enough, it did develop.
的确如此，事情有了发展。
4. do one's nuts
大发雷霆；极端恼火；
eg. I told him what she had said about him and he did his nut.
我把她议论他的话告诉了他，他大发雷霆。
eg. We heard your sister doing her nut.
我们听到你妹妹在大发脾气。
5. be ready to do sth.
准备好做某事；
eg. The research group is ready to start its work.
这个研究小组已准备好随时开始工作。
eg. At the age when most people retire, he is ready to face a new career.
在大多数人都退休的年龄，他却准备好面对新的职业。
6. couldn't resist doing sth.
忍不住做某事；不禁做某事；
eg. I couldn't resist telling him the secret.
我忍不住把那个秘密告诉了他。
eg. I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer.
我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
7. shut up
（使）住口；（使）闭嘴；
eg. Shut up. I'm trying to think.
别说了，我在想问题。
eg. A sharp put-down was the only way to shut her up.
对她冷嘲热讽是让她闭嘴的唯一方法。