English Original
My close friend Alan is chronically late, and not by a little. Anyone who knows him understands he's utterly undependable, often arriving an hour late—if he shows up at all. Yet, people tolerate this frustrating trait because he's one of the funniest and most charming individuals you'll ever meet.
One memorable occasion illustrates this perfectly. A group of us, including Alan, planned to meet at Brent's house at 8:00 PM for a quick drink before an 8:30 dinner reservation. By 9:30, Alan still hadn't arrived. Everyone was hungry and furious, especially Brent, who had already called the restaurant three times.
Just as we decided to leave without him, Alan appeared. As we were piling into Brent's car, Brent had to clear some items from the back seat to make room. Only Alan could have quipped, "Gee, Brent, you had an hour and a half. Couldn't you at least get the car cleaned out?" The ensuing laughter made us all forget our hunger and anger.
中文翻译
我的密友艾伦有长期迟到的习惯，而且不是只晚一点点。认识他的人都知道他完全不可靠，经常迟到一小时——如果他最终出现的话。然而，人们容忍了这个令人沮丧的特点，因为他是我见过的最风趣、最有魅力的人之一。
一次难忘的经历完美地说明了这一点。我们一群人，包括艾伦，计划晚上8点在布伦特家见面，喝杯东西，然后赶8点半的晚餐预订。到了9点半，艾伦还没出现。每个人都又饿又气，尤其是布伦特，他已经给餐厅打了三次电话。
就在我们决定不等他出发时，艾伦出现了。当我们挤进布伦特的车时，布伦特不得不从后座清理一些东西腾出空间。只有艾伦会打趣道："哎呀，布伦特，你有一个半小时呢。你至少能把车收拾一下吧？" 随之而来的笑声让我们所有人都忘记了饥饿和愤怒。