Simon was an inveterate fisherman, well known for exaggerating the size of "the one that got away". But there came a day when he actually caught two enormous flounders. He immediately invited a few friends over to dine, then tried to figure out how best to serve the fish." If I use both," he told his wife, "it will seem ostentatious."
"Why not serve a piece of each?" she suggested.
"No, if I cut them up, nobody will believe I caught two giant flounders." Simon racked his brain. Then he had an idea.
The guests were seated at the table when their host strode in with a platter, holding the biggest flounder they'd ever seen. Suddenly Simon stumbled and fell. Everyone cried out in dismay as the fish crashed to the floor, but Simon quickly brushed himself off.
"Dear, " he called out to his wife, "bring in the other flounder!"
Notes:
(1) inveterate adj.（指习惯、感情）根深蒂固的；由来已久的
(2) exaggerate v.夸张；夸大
(3) flounder n.比目鱼
(4) figure out想出；理解
(5) ostentatious adj.炫耀的；卖弄的
(6) rack one's brain绞尽脑汁
(7) be seated就座
(8) stride v.大步走
(9) platter n.
(10) dismay n.惊慌
(11) brush oneself off摆脱窘境
Exercises:
根据短文回答下列问题：
① What kind of fisherman was Simon?
② For what was he well known?
③ What did he do after he caught two enormous flounders?
④ Did he encounter a problem?
⑤ How did he solve the problem?
两个比目鱼问题
西蒙是个老练的渔夫。人们都熟知他爱吹嘘“跑掉的那条”鱼的尺寸。但有一天他确实抓了两条极大的比目鱼。他立刻邀请几个朋友过来吃饭，然后着力搞清楚怎样上鱼。“如果两条一起上，”他对妻子说，“好像有点炫耀之嫌了。”
“何不两条鱼各上一块呢？”他妻子建议道。
“不行，如果把两条鱼都切碎了，就不会有人相信我抓了两条大比目鱼了。”西蒙绞尽了脑汁，终于想出了一个好办法。
客人已在餐桌边就座完毕，这时主人大步地走进来，手里端着一个托盘，托盘上是一个他们所见过的最大的比目鱼。突然西蒙被什么东西绊了一下摔倒了。所有的人都惊慌地叫了起来，因为鱼在地板上摔得粉碎。但是西蒙迅速地摆脱了窘境。
“亲爱的，”他对妻子喊道，“把另一条鱼端上来！”
练习参考答案：
① He was an inveterate fisherman.
② He was well known for exaggerating the size of "the one that got away
③ He immediately invited some friends over to dine.
④ Yes. It was how to serve the two enormous fish.
⑤ He deliberately let one crash to the floor and bring in the other
初二.
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