English Original
George W. Bush visits an elementary school where a fourth-grade class is discussing words and their meanings. The teacher invites the President to lead a discussion on the word "tragedy." Bush asks the students for an example.
One boy suggests, "If my best friend, who lives next door, is playing in the street and a car runs him over, that would be a tragedy."
"No," Bush replies, "that would be an accident."
A girl raises her hand and says, "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove off a cliff, killing everyone, that would be a tragedy."
"I'm afraid not," the President explains. "That's what we would call a Great Loss."
The room falls silent. No other children volunteer. President Bush scans the room and asks, "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"
Finally, from the back of the room, Johnny raises his hand and says quietly, "If Air Force One, carrying Mr. and Mrs. Bush, was struck by a missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy."
"That's right!" exclaims the President. "And can you tell me WHY that would be a tragedy?"
"Well," Johnny says, "because it wouldn't be an accident, and it sure as hell wouldn't be a Great Loss."
中文翻译
乔治·W·布什参观一所小学，当时一个四年级班级正在讨论单词及其含义。老师邀请总统引导大家讨论“悲剧”这个词。布什请学生们举例说明。
一个男孩说：“如果我住在隔壁的最好的朋友在街上玩，一辆车开过来撞了他，那将是一场悲剧。”
“不，”布什回答，“那将是一场意外。”
一个女孩举手说：“如果一辆载着50个孩子的校车冲下悬崖，导致所有人丧生，那将是一场悲剧。”
“恐怕不是，”总统解释道，“那我们会称之为‘重大损失’。”
教室一片寂静。没有其他孩子主动发言。布什总统环视教室，问道：“难道这里没有人能给我举一个悲剧的例子吗？”
最后，教室后排的约翰尼举起手，轻声说道：“如果载着布什先生和夫人的空军一号被导弹击中，炸成碎片，那将是一场悲剧。”
“没错！”总统惊呼道，“那你能告诉我为什么那是悲剧吗？”
“嗯，”约翰尼说，“因为那不会是意外，而且它也绝对算不上是‘重大损失’。”