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月華羅:
Q: What are the best comebacks when s... 这篇在翻译的时候是需要找背景资料的，原文中关于对话双方的内容并不完整，然后只是挑出了句子可能并不能很好理解，善良的我给你找来了很多相关的小故事： （注：故事流传可能版本不一致，所以大部分都是找的两个故事，比较长，但是当小故事读起来也不费劲） 1.1 Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts called at the White House early one morning. He was told that the President was downstairs, that he could go right down. He found the President polishing his boots. Somewhat amazed, Senator Sumner said, "Why, Mr. President, do you black your own boots?" With a vigorous rub of the brush, the President replied, "Whose boots did you think I blacked?" 1.2 Lincoln was a humble man. A high government official once discovered Lincoln polishing his own boots. "Mr. President, gentlemen don't black their own boots," was the protest. Lincoln looked up and innocently replied, "No? Whose boots do they black?" 2.1 Wilkes was extremely ugly and had a dreadful squint but he was very witty. During one of his fights with the government he was invited to make up a table at cards but declined, saying: 'Do not ask me, for I am so ignorant that I cannot tell the difference between a king and a knave.' The Earl of Sandwich's comment that Wilkes would die either of the pox or on the gallows brought the response: 'That depends, my lord, whether I embrace your mistress or your principles.' 2.2 In a famous exchange with John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, where the latter exclaimed, "Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox," Wilkes is reported to have replied, "That depends, my lord, on whether I embrace your lordship's principles or your mistress." 3.1 In 1942, actress Ilka Chase, who had just written her autobiography, "Past Imperfect,'' received this barb from an actor: "I thought your book was wonderful. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. By the way, who wrote it for you?'' Chase replied, "I'm so glad you liked it. By the way, who read it to you?'' 4.1 However, by far the most famous quotations attributed to her are taken from alleged exchanges between her and Winston Churchill, though, like the statements above, these are not well documented and may be misattributed. Examples include an instance in which Churchill is supposed to have told Lady Astor that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, "You’re not handsome enough to have such fears." Lady Astor is also said to have responded to a question from Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball by saying, "Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?" Possibly the most famous of all such anecdotes reports that Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!" The retort is variously attributed, but is apparently actually due to Churchill's great friend F. E. Smith, Lord Birkenhead. 4.2 Nancy Astor was an American socialite who married into an English branch of the wealthy Astor family (she holds the distinction of being the first woman to be seated in Parliament). At a 1912 dinner party in Blenheim Palace—the Churchill family estate—Lady Astor became annoyed at an inebriated Winston Churchill, who was pontificating on some topic. Unable to take any more, she finally blurted out, "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your coffee." Without missing a beat, Churchill replied, “Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it.” |
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