My husband, who drives an 18-wheeler, was halfway across a narrow bridge when his truck broke down. Placing hazard markers behind, he returned to his cab to wait for the tow truck.
　　A few moments later a small car drove over his markers and pulled up right behind his truck. My husband jumped out of the cab, ready to give the driver a piece of his mind -- only to discover an elderly woman at the wheel.
　　Before he could say a word, she shouted, "NEED A PUSH?"

be halfway across ... 才走了一半...
break down: 抛锚，出故障
Hazard marker: 危险标示物
cab: (机车, 卡车, 起重机的)司机室, 驾驶室
tow truck: 拖车
pull up: 停下
to give someone a piece of one's mind: 对某人大发雷霆

Oh, my God. Imagine a small car pushing an 18-wheeler!

[ 本帖最后由 Sylvia_scj 于 2008-3-31 10:41 AM 编辑 ]

wow,scj 下定决心要拿很多个"持之以恒奖"喽

是的呀。大家一起来哦。

After a recent move, I made up a list of companies, agencies, and services that needed to know my new address and phoned each one to ask for the change to be made.
　　Everything went smoothly until I called one of my frequent flyer accounts. After I explained to the representative what I wanted to do, the woman told me, "I'm sorry; we can't do that over the phone. You will have to fill out our change-of-address form."
　　"How do I get one of those?" I asked.
　　"We'd be happy to provide you with one," she said pleasantly. "May I have your new address so that I can mail it to you?"

frequent flyer account: 飞行常客的帐户，可以累积飞行里程折换免费机票和礼物。

I think it will be more convenient for the narrator to change his/her frequent flyer account.

While waiting for my first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, I noticed his certificate, which bore his full name.
Suddenly, I remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in my high school class almost 50 years ago.
Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was too old to have been my classmate. After he had examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended the local high school.
"Yes," he replied.
"When did you graduate?" I asked.
He answered, "In 1953."
"Why, you were in my class!" I exclaimed.
He looked at me closely and then asked, "What did you teach?"

discard: 放弃, 丢弃, 抛弃
discard one's wife 遗弃妻子
discard old beliefs 抛弃旧信念
discard prejudices 放弃偏见
discard the dross and select the essential 去粗取精

attend school: 上学

Who do you think was aging more rapidly？

very good !

The District Attorney stared at the jury, unable to believe its verdict.
Bitterly he asked, "What possible excuse could you have for acquitting this man?"
The foreman answered, "Insanity."
The D.A. said, "All twelve of you???"

District Attorney: 公诉人,检查官 缩写 D.A.,DA,Dist. Atty.
jury: [律] 陪审团
verdict: [律](陪审团的)裁决, 判决
acquit: [律] 宣告无罪，无罪释放
foreman: 首席陪审员：陪审团主席和发言人
insanity: 精神失常（在大部分刑事审判中，可以解除被告所犯罪行的法律责任）

Do you remember there was a war criminal of Nanking Massacre escaping from the death warrant by pretending insanity?

oh yes

A minister in Florida lamented that it was difficult to get his message across to his congregation: "It's so beautiful here in the winter," he said, "that heaven doesn't interest them." "And it's so hot here in the summer that hell doesn't scare them."

minister: 【宗】(基督教新教)牧师, (某些教派的)教长
lament: 悲叹
congregation: 集合; 聚集; 宗教的集会［会众］
(segregation: 分离; 分开; 隔离; 种族隔离)

I think the minister could get his message across to his congregation in the spring or autumn.

During summer sessions at our small Southern university, we who teach 8 a.m. classes face two major obstacles. First, attendance at these early classes is always quite low because of late-sleeping students. Second, the students who do show up find it difficult to hear us above the roar of the lawn mowers outside our windows. During this year's faculty conference, one professor laughingly proposed a creative solution to the problem. "Why don't we have the grounds crew start mowing outside the student dorms at 7 a.m.?"

summer session: 暑期短期课程
lawn mower: 割草机

The professor's proposal is so good that it could kill two birds with one stone.