Lesson 40

It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else.
人们从未解释过，为什么大学生似乎比任何人都更喜欢开恶作剧。
Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax.
学生们专门从事一种特定类型的恶作剧：骗局。
Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in.
邀请消防队去扑灭一场不存在的火灾是一种拙劣的欺骗手段，任何有自尊心的学生都不会玩弄这种把戏。
Students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims.
学生经常制造一些除了受害者之外，对每个人都很好笑的有趣情境。
When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university, he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill.
当一个学生最近看到两个工人在他大学外面使用气钻时，他立即给警察打了电话，说有两个学生打扮成工人的模样，正用气钻挖开路面。
As soon as he had hung up, he went over to the workmen and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away, they were not to take him seriously.
他一挂断电话，就走过去告诉工人们，如果警察命令他们离开，也不要当真。
He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people.
他补充说，一名学生乔装打扮成警察，正对着人们耍各种各样的恶作剧。
Both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.
警察和工人们都为这位学生提供的这条预先信息而对他表示感谢。
The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on.
这个学生躲在附近的一个拱门里，在那里他可以观察并听到发生的一切。
Sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away.
果不其然，一名警察赶到现场，礼貌地请工人们离开。
When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen, he threatened to remove them by force.
当他收到其中一名工人的非常粗鲁的回复时，他威胁要武力移除他们。
The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help.
工人们告诉他随他便，警察则打电话求助。
Shortly afterwards, four more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen.
不久之后，又来了四名警察，向工人们提出了抗议。
As the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill.
由于这些男人拒绝停止工作，警察试图没收那台气钻。
The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper.
工人们激烈地斗争，其中一个人发脾气了。
He threatened to call the police.
他威胁要报警。
At this, the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest.
对此，警察讽刺地指出，这几乎没有必要，因为这些人已经被捕了。
Pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station.
其中一个工人假装严肃地说，问他是否能在被带往警察局之前打个电话。
Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone.
许可被授予，且一名警察陪同他去了一个投币电话。
Only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.
只有当他看到那个男人实际上正在打电话给警察时，他才意识到他们全都是一场骗局的受害者。