The Preacher Buys a Parrot

傳教士買鸚鵡

A preacher is buying a parrot.

一個傳教士在買鸚鵡。

"Are you sure it doesn't scream, yell, or swear?" asked the preacher.

“你確信它不會尖叫，大叫或詛咒別人嗎？”傳教士問。

"Oh absolutely. He's a religious parrot," the storekeeper assures him.

“噢，絕對不會。它是一只虔誠的鸚鵡?！钡曛飨蛩ＷC。

"Do you see those strings on his legs? When you pull the right one, he recites the lord's prayer, and when you pull on the left he recites the 23rd Psalm."

“你看見它腿上的那些細繩了嗎？當你拉動右邊這根，它會背誦天主經；當你拉動左邊那根，它會背誦贊美詩?！?/div>

"Wonderful!" says the preacher, "but what happens if you pull both strings?"

“太棒了！”傳教士說，“但是如果我同時拉動兩根繩子，會發(fā)生什么呢？”

"I fall off my perch, you stupid fool!" screeched the parrot.

“我會從樹干上掉下去，你這個笨蛋！”鸚鵡尖聲說道。

這個笑話中出現(xiàn)了三個含有“大喊”、“大叫”意思的詞語：scream，yell 和 screech。

scream 指“因痛苦、恐懼、驚奇、快樂等而發(fā)出尖叫聲”，如：
She screamed when she saw the child fall. 當她看見那個孩子跌倒時，她尖聲叫了起來。

yell 多指求援、鼓勵時的呼叫，也可指因外界因素刺激而發(fā)出尖厲聲音。如：
yell the team to victory 用喊聲鼓勵運動隊取勝

screech 指“發(fā)出尖銳刺耳的聲音”，如：
The car screeched to a halt. 車子發(fā)出尖嘎聲停了下來。