英语笑话听力+文本：国王的兄弟

【生词预览】

charity善心，kingdred亲属关系，moan呻吟

笑话原文】

The King’s Brother

A poor man, presenting himself before the King of Spain, asked his charity, telling him that he was his brother.

Thinking desiring to know how he claimed kindred to him, the poor fellow replied, “We are all descended² from one common father and mother——Adam and Eve.” Upon which the king gave him a little copper³ piece of money.

The poor man began to moan himself, saying, “Is it possible that your Majesty⁴ should give no more than this to your brother? ”

“Away, away,” replied the king， “if all the brothers you have in the world give you as much as I have done, you'll be richer than I am.”

中文译文】

国王的兄弟

一个穷汉去见西班牙国王，说自己是他的兄弟，求他施恩周济。
国王想知道他何以攀认亲戚，穷汉回答说，我们有共同的祖先亚当和夏娃。听了这话，国王就给了他一个小铜子儿。

于是穷人开始叫屈，说：难道您国王陛下就给兄弟这么一点点钱吗？走开，快走，国王回答，如果世界上你所有的兄弟们都像我这样给你一个铜板，你就比我还有钱了。

词汇讲解】

1.charity善心。也可以指“慈善团体／慈善事业”：These homeless children received some money and clothes from some charities.
一些无家可归的孩子收到了来自一些慈善机构的钱和衣物。

2.kindred亲戚。也可以指“同宗的, 同源的, 有关的”：He found kindred spirits in the peace movement.他在和平运动中找到了志同道合的人。

3.moan呻吟。The prisoner moaned a prayer for help.囚犯呻吟着祈求帮助。
也可以指“抱怨”：She's always moaning that she has too much work to do.她总是抱怨她有太多的事要做。

4.descend¹源于。不及物动词：（from）起源（于），是…的后裔／（on）袭击／（to）把身份降至，沦为

5.copper铜币。 Have you any coppers⁵ in your change?你的零钱里有铜币吗?
也可以指“铜”：Copper conducts electricity well.铜是电的良导体。口语里还可以指“警察”。

6. your Majesty陛下。
 

1 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

4 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

5 coppers   

铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币

参考例句：

• I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。
• He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。