she struck yet another match against the wall； it flamed up, and surrounded by its light, appeared before her that same dear grandmother, gentle and loving as always, but bright and happy as she had never looked during her lifetime.
她擦著了第三根火柴，又冒出了火焰。現在她覺得正坐在非常美麗的聖誕樹下面，比上次聖誕節透過那富商家的玻璃門看到的那株還要大、還要美。這株樹的綠枝上點燃著許許多多的蠟燭，顏色瑰麗的圖畫，就象櫥窗里掛著的那些一樣漂亮，仿佛在向她眨眼。小姑娘把兩隻手伸過去，火柴又熄滅了。然而聖誕樹上的燭光越升越高。她看到它們變成了明亮的星星，有一顆落下來，在天上劃出一道長長的火絲。 “現在又有一個什麼人死了。”小姑娘說。因為她的老祖母——一個唯一待她好的人，現在已經死了，曾經告訴過她，天上落下一顆星，地上就有一個靈魂回到曾賦於他生命的上帝那裡去。 她在牆上又擦了一根火柴，火光把四周照亮了。在亮光里，親愛的和生前一樣的祖母出現了。她依然是那么的慈愛和溫和，然而那快活和幸福的樣子卻是她生前從未有過的
（4）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!"
可是老師哭了
六歲的約翰嬌生慣養。他的父親知道這一點，可他的祖父母仍然寵著他。這孩子幾乎寸步不離他的祖母。他想要什麼不是哭，就是鬧。他第一天上學才離開祖母的懷抱。
約翰放學了，他奶奶在門口接他並問道：“學校怎么樣？你過的好嗎？哭了沒有？”
“哭？”約翰問，“不，我沒哭，可老師哭了。”
（5）a bet
two pals are sitting in a pub watching the eleven-'clock news.a reporter comes on about a man threatening to jump from the 20th floor of a downtown building.one friend turns to the other and says,'i'll bet you ten bucks the guy doesn't jump.'
'it's a bet,' agrees his buddy.
a few minutes later, the man on the ledge jumps,so the loser hands his pal a $10 bill.'i can't take your money,'his friend admits.'i saw him jump earlier on the six-o'clock news.'
'me,too,'says the other buddy.'but i didn't think he'd do it again.
打賭
兩個好朋友正坐在一家小酒館內觀看十一點的電視新聞。一則新聞報導說，有個男人威脅要從商業區一座大樓的二十層跳下去。一位朋友轉身對另一位說道：“我敢賭十塊錢，那傢伙不會往下跳。”