English Original
The phone rang in the obituary department of the local newspaper.
"How much does it cost to have an obituary printed?" asked the woman.
"It's five dollars a word, ma'am," the clerk replied politely.
"Fine," said the woman after a moment. "Got a pencil?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Got some paper?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Okay, write this down: 'Cohen dead.'"
"That's all?" asked the clerk disbelievingly.
"That's it."
"I'm sorry ma'am, I should have told you - there's a five word minimum."
"Yes, you should've," snapped the woman. "Now let me think a minute... okay, got a pencil?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Got some paper?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Okay, here goes: 'Cohen dead. Cadillac for Sale.'"
中文翻译
地方报社的讣告部门电话响了。
“登一篇讣告要多少钱？”一位女士问道。
“五美元一个字，夫人，”办事员礼貌地回答。
“好的，”女士沉默片刻后说，“拿着笔吗？”
“是的，夫人。”
“有纸吗？”
“是的，夫人。”
“好，这样写：‘科恩去世了。’”
“就这些？”办事员难以置信地问。
“就这些。”
“抱歉，夫人，我本该告诉您——讣告最少要五个字。”
“没错，你早该说的，”女士厉声说道，“现在让我想想……好了，拿着笔吗？”
“是的，夫人。”
“纸呢？”
“是的，夫人。”
“好，这样写：‘科恩去世了。凯迪拉克出售。’”