Not a Small Problem

◎供稿：游 鹏

Mr. Guppy was a very large man. He has a loud voice and a bad1)temper. He was not a2)giant,but he was much bigger than most men.

Life was not easy for Mr. Guppy. He could3)seldomfind clothes big enough. His feet were too large for most shoes.

In buses, trains and planes, he could not stand up straight. The4)roofswere too low.

In cars he could not move his legs.There was not enough room. At home, his bed was too short. Chairs were always too small.

In fact, wherever he went and whatever he did, Mr. Guppy had problems because of his size.

These problems were so bad that Mr.Guppy stayed at home most of the time. Life was easier at home.

Then one day, a friend said, “You spend too much time at home. You should go out more. There’s a good movie at the theater.”

“I can’t sit in theater seats,” Mr. Guppy said. “I’m too big.”

“That is no problem,” his friend said. “I’ll buy you two tickets. You can get them at the theater when you go.”

The friend sent money to the theater for two tickets. When the day came, Mr. Guppy put on his best clothes and went to the theater.

“You have two tickets for me,” he said to woman in the ticket office. “My name is Guppy.”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Guppy,” the woman said. “Here you are seats G4 and P12. l’m sorry, you and your friend can’t sit together because we are very full this evening.”

Poor Mr. Guppy. He smiled sadly,walked out of the theater and went home.

1) temper ['tempә] n. 脾气

2) giant['dʒaɪәnt] n. 巨人

3) seldom[ˈseldәm] adj. 不常，很少

4) roof[ruːf] n. 屋顶

参考译文

Guppy先生是一个高大的男人,他有一副响亮的声音和一个火爆的脾气。虽然他不是个巨人，但他的体型要比一般人高大很多。

生活对Guppy先生来说并不简单, 他很少能找到合身的衣服，并且他的脚也太大了，所以没有合适的鞋子。

在公交车、火车和飞机上,他不能直立，因为那的顶太低了。

在车里,他不能挪动自己的腿,因为车里没有足够的空间。在他的家里,床和椅子对于他来说都太小了。

事实上,无论他去何处，无论他做什么,他都会因为他的体型遇到问题。这些问题导致了他大部分时间都会呆在家里。因为对于他来说,家里的生活舒服多了。

有一天,一个朋友对他说：“你呆在家里的时间太长了,你应该多去外边走走,今天剧院里有一场很好的电影。”

“我坐不上剧院的椅子，” Guppy先生回答说，“我太大了。”

“这不是问题。”朋友继续说，“我会给你买两张票,你去的时候可以在剧院那拿到票。”

朋友把钱打给剧院然后预定了两张票。终于电影播出的这天来了,Guppy先生穿上他最好的衣服去了剧院。

“这有我的两张票，”他对剧院的售票员说,“我的名字叫Guppy。”

“哦,是的,Guppy先生，”售票员说,“这里有您的两张票G4和P12,实在对不起,您和您的朋友不能坐在一起了,因为我们剧院今天晚上人实在是太满了。”

不幸的Guppy。他苦笑着离开剧院回家了。

语法

Cost和Spend的区别

Cost可以用作名词，解释为“价钱”，也可用作动词，解释为“值……钱”。Spend只可用作动词，解释为“花费”。

Cost

That book costs $5. (verb)

How much does it cost? (verb)

The cost of that book is $5. (noun)

The cost of the ticket was too high. (noun)

Spend

I spent $25 on that dress.

How much did you spend last night?

Spend还可用来指“花费时间”。如：

I spend three hours at the library.

How long did you spend on that exam?