简单的英语小故事精选

2017-03-22

简单的英语小故事：Paris Goes to Jail in LA

The biggest news in the whole world occurred two weeks ago when Paris Hilton was sentenced to 23 days in a Los Angeles jail. The heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune, who was a favorite of the paparazzi, had been cited for driving on a suspended license, among other things.

When the judge decided that she must go to jail, people everywhere voiced their approval or disapproval. The news was on the radio, TV, and the Internet. Why her situation was such worldwide news mystified almost everyone. After all, her only known value to society thus far had been her ability to party with one boyfriend after another, one week after another. As many said, she was famous for being famous—nothing more.

When she finally went to jail, there must have been 100 photographers taking pictures of her. At first, the jail officials put her in a private cell, but her claustrophobia caused her to have panic attacks. They released her the next day. The following day, however, the judge ordered her back to jail to finish her sentence.

The sheriff said she was treated like all the other prisoners. She ate baloney sandwiches and other nutritious food, just like the others. When she finally was released from jail, at 12:01 a.m. on a Tuesday night, dozens of photographers again congregated around her to snap the “perfect” photo. She spent the first day relaxing—and recovering—at home in her parents’ mansion.

Then she went on the Larry King radio show and talked about her experience. She hadn’t liked being in jail, she said, but it had turned her life around. She had found God, and now she was going to do all she could to help needy people improve their lives.

简单的英语小故事：A Year with No TV

Starting in February 2009, broadcasts of all TV signals will be digital, replacing current analog signals. For people who have cable or satellite TV, this is a non-issue, because their reception will not be affected. But people who use rabbit ears or outside antennas won’t be able to receive the new digital signals. They’ll have to buy a converter for each TV, which will cost about $50 each. For Chris, that was too much.

Instead, Chris was simply going to give his two TVs away to a thrift shop. Then he would wait until the prices went way down on digital tuner TVs, and buy one when the price was right. He loaded the TVs into his car.

The lady at the thrift shop wasn’t interested at first. She changed her mind when he said that they were only 13” TVs, and that they worked perfectly. He was relieved when she accepted them. Had she not, he would have had to deposit them at a hazardous waste facility, which meant waiting in line, in his car, for hours on end.

Chris got home feeling good. Now he was going to enjoy at least a year of no TV. The “idiot box” was a good name for that waste of electricity. He felt like a new man for having got rid of his two TVs. When Donna called that night, he proudly told her the news. Donna, whose native language was Chinese, was not happy.

“What do you mean, you have no TV?” she yelled over the phone. “How are you going to teach me anything when I call to ask you about new vocabulary on the 11 o’clock news?” She had a few more things to say. Chris sighed. When she finished, he promised her he would buy a new digital TV the very next day.

简单的英语小故事：Let’s Buy Some Paint

“Let’s go to Wal-Mart,” Elizabeth told Kenneth. She wanted to buy some paint supplies. He suggested that they go to Home Depot instead because employees there could tell them exactly what to buy. After arriving there, Elizabeth found a friendly looking worker who was momentarily free.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Could you help us?” She explained that she wanted to paint her office. “Neither me nor my husband knows how to do it, so please tell us the basics,” she added. He smiled and told her that it was simple. All they needed were two gallons of white glossy paint, a roller, a tray and an insert to pour the paint in, and an extension-handle to reach the high parts of each wall.

“Don’t we need primer?” Kenneth asked.

“Oh, yes, of course. I was getting to that. If you don’t put primer on first, the paint won’t stick to the walls. Here are two gallons of good, but inexpensive, primer. And a brush would be a good idea for use in the corners and edges. And that should take care of it. Just put the primer on first. Let it dry for a couple of hours. Then put on one coat of paint. Let it dry. Then, if you want to, put on another coat, but it shouldn’t be necessary.”

As they were putting the items into the trunk, Kenneth told her they should buy a ladder, too. “We’re going to have to use the brush to paint up near the ceiling. The roller won’t do in a corner,” Kenneth said.

“We don’t need a stepladder. I can sit on your shoulders,” Elizabeth laughed. They went back inside and bought a stepladder.