English Original
Once, late at night, an Englishman came out of his hotel room into the corridor and asked a servant for a glass of water. The servant complied. The Englishman returned to his room, but reappeared a few minutes later to repeat his request. Again, the servant brought him water. This pattern continued every few minutes. After half an hour, the astonished servant decided to ask what the Englishman was doing with all the water.
"Nothing," the Englishman answered imperturbably. "It's simply that my room is on fire."
中文翻译
一天深夜，一位英国人从他所住的酒店房间走到走廊上，叫服务员给他拿一杯水。服务员照做了。英国人回到了房间，但几分钟后又出来重复了他的要求。服务员再次给他送来了水。每隔几分钟，这个模式就会重复一次。半小时后，惊讶的服务员决定问问这位英国人到底要这些水做什么。
“没什么，”英国人不慌不忙地回答，“只不过是我的房间着火了。”