English Original
Mrs. Green, manager of a large company, frequently held meetings with other business people in a room within her building. She did not smoke, but many attendees did, leaving the air in the meeting room often unbearable.
One day, after a particularly long meeting, her throat and eyes were sore, and she was coughing persistently. To solve the problem, she called a major air conditioning company and asked them to calculate the cost of keeping the meeting room air truly clean.
A few days later, the company sent Mrs. Green two estimates to choose from. One estimate was for $5,000 to install a new air conditioning system. The other was for $5.00 to purchase a sign that read: NO SMOKING.
中文翻译
格林太太是一家大公司的经理，经常需要在她所在大楼的一个房间里与其他商人开会。她不吸烟，但许多与会者吸烟，导致会议室里的空气常常令人难以忍受。
一天，在一次特别长的会议后，她喉咙和眼睛疼痛，并且咳嗽不止。为了解决这个问题，她联系了一家大型空调公司，请他们计算一下使会议室空气真正保持洁净所需的费用。
几天后，该公司向格林太太提交了两份估价单供其选择。一份估价单是花费5000美元安装一套新的空调系统。另一份则是花费5美元购买一个写着“请勿吸烟”的标识牌。