3123A famous story begins like that, It was a clear summer day and my family was preparing dinner for the New Years Eve. Can this story be true?故事說那是晴朗的夏日,一家人正在準備跨年晚餐。這可能是真的嗎?⌄
答案:Yes — 可以。 南半球有些地區的十二月是一年中的夏季;題目沒有說故事發生在北半球。
Q03124英文趣味題
3124The single difference between the two cities A and B was that the citizens of A always said the truth, while the citizens of B never did. Once, a man who had never been to either city arrived at one of them. Which question should the man have asked in order to identify the city he was in? Have in mind, that people from A often visited their friends in B and vice versa.A城的人總說真話,B城的人總說假話,兩城居民又常互訪。初次到達其中一城的人,問什麼才能知道自己在哪一城?⌄
答案:Are you a citizen of this city? — 問對方:「你是這座城的居民嗎?」 在A城,A城居民會如實答是,B城訪客會把不是說成是;在B城則兩種人都答不是。因此是對應A城,不是對應B城。
Q03125英文趣味題
3125You have two right triangles. The sides of the first one are 3 m, 4 m and 5 m. The sides of the second are 3 m, 4 m and 7 m. The area of the second triangle is bigger.判斷這句話:兩個直角三角形的邊長分別是3、4、5公尺和3、4、7公尺,第二個面積較大。⌄
3126John went to a party one night. The next day he was asked if he met a lot people at the gathering. Figure it out for yourself, John said. Of the girls I spoke to, all but two were blondes, all but two were brunettes, and all but two were redheads. How many girls did he talk to?John在聚會遇到幾位女孩。他說:除了兩人之外都是金髮,除了兩人之外都是棕髮,除了兩人之外都是紅髮。他遇到了幾人?⌄
3129At the beginning of the day, I was behind a car at a stoplight, whose vanity plate read: 4SBWIU. What is the driver of this car most likely a fan of?前車的自選車牌是4SBWIU。車主很可能喜歡哪一類作品?⌄
答案:Movies — 電影。 4S近音force,B是be,WIU可拆作with you;連起來像《星際大戰》的「Force be with you」。這是依車牌讀音作的玩笑猜測,不是人物身分判定。
Q03130英文趣味題
3130My first stop was the supermarket. When I had completed my shopping and was in the parking lot, I spied this snazzy auto with the following vanity plate: 10S42. What sport is the driver of this vehicle most likely a fan of?在超市停車場看到車牌10S42。它暗示車主喜歡什麼運動?⌄
答案:Tennis — 網球。 10S近音tennis,4近音for,2讀two,可連成tennis for two(兩人網球)。
Q03131英文趣味題
3131On the on-ramp to the freeway, I was behind an auto with the following plate: 4IS. What is the likely profession of the driver of this car?前車車牌是4IS,可能暗示哪種職業?⌄
3132Well, I got caught in noon rush hour. As luck would have it, I saw yet another vanity plate. This one told me that the driver at least checks in his / her rear view mirror. What plate did I see?某車牌讓人想到車主也會檢視後照鏡。它可能寫什麼?⌄
答案:OICU2 — OICU2。 逐個念成Oh, I see you too(喔,我也看見你了);與後方駕駛對視的情境形成文字玩笑。
Q03133英文趣味題
3133I went to my favorite restaurant to pick up some carry out for an early dinner. I saw the owners car parked out front. The vanity plate asked a question. What do you suppose the plate read?餐廳老闆的自選車牌在問一個問題,可能寫什麼?⌄
3135The train leaves in 2 minutes and the distance to the train station is 2 miles. If you drive the first mile at 30 miles/h, at what speed should you drive the second mile?火車兩分鐘後出發,車站在兩英里外。第一英里以每小時30英里前進,第二英里得多快才趕得上?⌄
答案:It does not matter. — 速度已無法改變結果。 第一英里已花1/30小時,也就是兩分鐘;還沒走第二英里,預定出發時間就到了。
Q03136英文趣味題
3136Here is something like a warm-up before you get to the next one. Three friends, Peter, Nick and Tom were competing in a race. After they finished, a person ,who was late for the race, asked them who was the winner. Tom said I didnt finish first and Peter didnt finish second. Then Nick said Tom didnt finish second either. Who was the winner?Peter、Nick、Tom賽跑。Tom說自己不是第一,Peter不是第二;Nick又說Tom也不是第二。誰是第一?⌄
3137Try thinking out a random 3-digit number and writing it twice on a piece of paper, forming a 6-digit number (for example the number is 123, than you will have to put down 123123 on the paper). Now divide this 6-digit number by 7. There will be no remainder, I guarantee. Now divide the result by 11. No remainder again, I guarantee. Now divide the new result by 13. What happened?把任意三位數連寫兩次,依序除以7、11、13,結果會是什麼?⌄
答案:The result is your original number — 原來的三位數。 若原數是n,連寫後是1000n+n=1001n;7×11×13=1001,三次相除後回到n。
Q03138英文趣味題
3138In a rectangular room there are 10 chairs. It is possible to arrange the chairs in such a way so that an equal number of chairs is set against each wall of the room.長方形房間有十張椅子,能讓每面牆前的椅子數都相同嗎?⌄
3139A farmer had a yard, whose shape was a square, and in the four corners of this square there were apple trees. Some years later the farmer decided to make his yard twice as big and preserve the square shape. However, after the enlargement the four apple trees were still by the fence.正方形院子的四角各有一棵蘋果樹。面積擴成兩倍後仍是正方形,又讓四樹都在圍欄旁,可能嗎?⌄
3140The name of what is coded in the following: 86,smopuim?字串86,smopuim藏著什麼名稱?⌄
答案:the name of a software product — 一項軟體產品的名稱。 把整個字串旋轉180度,在適合的字形下可看成Windows 98;數字與字母的方向一併改變,原答案給的是軟體這個類別。
Q03141英文趣味題
314110% of all the people living in a certain town in Georgia have unlisted phone numbers. If you selected 100 names at random from the towns phone book, on average, how many of these people would have unlisted phone numbers?某城有10%居民的電話不列在電話簿。若從電話簿隨機抽100個名字,其中平均多少人的電話不公開列出?⌄
3142Can you take a picture of a person with a wooden leg?你能拍攝一位有木腿的人嗎?(原文 with a wooden leg 也能描述拍攝工具。)⌄
答案:No — 不能用木腿拍照。 with a wooden leg既可接在person後描述有木腿的人,也可解成「用木腿」拍照。原答No採後一讀法;有木腿的人當然可以被拍攝。
Q03143英文趣味題
3143Two children were on their way to school, when they began to question what day of the week it was. They were so confused in their reckoning that one of them gave the following riddle to help sort the matter out: When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, then today will be as far from Sunday as that day was which was today when the day before yesterday was tomorrow! On which day of the week were the children heading to school?當「後天」變成「昨天」,那時的今天與星期日的距離,等於「前天」曾是「明天」時的今天與星期日的距離。原來的今天是星期幾?⌄
3144Three goddesses were sitting in an old Indian temple. Their names were Truth (who always tells the truth), Lie (who is always lying) and Wisdom (who sometimes lies). In order to figure out which goddess was which you posed the following questions to each: Asking the left one: Who is sitting next to you? Truth, she answered. Asking the middle one: Who are you? Wisdom. And at last question for the right one: Who is your neighbor? Lie, she replied. From left to right in what order are goddesses sitting?三位神依次坐著:真話神總說真話、謊話神總說假話、智慧神可說真也可說假。左邊說旁邊是真話神,中間自稱智慧神,右邊說旁邊是謊話神。從左至右怎麼排?⌄
答案:1. Wisdom 2. Lie 3. Truth — 智慧神、謊話神、真話神。 左邊不可能是真話神,否則中間也是真話神;中間也不可能是真話神,因為自稱智慧神。因此右邊是真話神,可靠地指出中間是謊話神,剩下左邊是智慧神。
Q03145英文趣味題
3145You are on your way to visit your Grandma, who lives at the end of the valley. Its her birthday, and you want to give her the cakes youve made. Between your house and her house, you have to cross 7 bridges, and as it goes in the land of make believe, there is a troll under every bridge! Each troll, quite rightly, insists that you pay a troll toll. Before you can cross their bridge, you have to give them half of the cakes you are carrying, but as they are kind trolls, they each give you back a single cake. What is the minimum number of cakes you will have to leave home with to make sure that you arrive at Grandmas with exactly 2 cakes?帶蛋糕探望奶奶,沿路過七座橋。每次給橋下的巨魔一半蛋糕,巨魔又還你一個。要抵達時正好剩兩個,最少帶幾個?⌄
3146My grandson is about as many days as my son is weeks, and my grandson is as many months as I am in years. My grandson, my son and I together are 120 years. Can you tell me my age in years?孫子的年齡天數約等於兒子的年齡週數,孫子的年齡月數又等於我的年齡歲數。三人歲數合計120,我幾歲?⌄
3147You meet two men who are playing a game. One of them tells only lies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and during the rest of the week he speaks the truth. The other one lies only on Thursday Friday and Saturday and says the truth the rest of the time. Today they both say they were lying yesterday. Which day of the week is it?甲週一、二、三說假話,其餘日子說真話;乙週四、五、六說假話,其餘日子說真話。今天兩人都說昨天在說謊,今天星期幾?⌄
3185My first is four-sixths of a step that is long, My second is a person of state; My whole is a thing that is known to be wrong, And is a strong symptom of hate.長步伐的前六分之四,加上一位統治者,拼成一種通常被認為不對、帶著敵意的動作。是哪個英文單字?⌄
3186There is a word of seven letters; the first two refers to man, the first three refers to woman, the first four signifies a great man, the seven a great woman.七個字母的英文單字:前兩個指男性,前三個指女性,前四個指英雄,完整七個指女英雄。是哪個字?⌄
3187I am a word of five letters. Take away my first and I am the name of what adorns the estate of many of the nobility of England. Take away my first and second, and I am the name of a place where all the world was once congregated. Take away my last, and I am the name of a beautiful mineral. Take away my two last, and I am the name of a fashionable place of resort. I am small in stature, but capable of doing a great deal of mischief, as I once did in London in the year 1666.五字母的詞,拿掉首字母是園地,拿掉前兩字母是故事中的方舟,拿掉末字母是礦石,再拿掉末兩字母是度假水療地。本體很小,卻可能惹大禍。是什麼?⌄
3188My first is a very uncomfortable state, In cold weather it mostly abounds. My second’s an instrument formed of hard steel, That will cause the stout foe to stagger and reel, And when used, is a symptom of hate. My whole is an author of greatest renown, Whose fame to the last day of time will go down.前半部是寒冷時常有的不舒服狀態,後半部是鋼製的攻擊工具,合起來是一位作家。是哪個英文名字?⌄
3189My first is found in every house, From wintry winds it guards. My second is the highest found— In every pack of cards. My whole, a Scottish chief, is praised By ballad, bard, and story, Who for his country gave his life, And, dying, fell with glory.前半部在屋裡抵擋寒風,後半部是牌組裡常被算作最高的牌。合起來是一位蘇格蘭英雄的名字,猜什麼?⌄
3190In camps about the centre I appear; In smiling meadows seen throughout the year; The silent angler views me in the streams, And all must trace me in their morning dreams, First in the mob conspicuous I stand, Proud of the lead, and ever in command.在camps中央、meadows與streams裡能看到,在morning dreams中也會出現,又站在mob開頭的是什麼?⌄
答案:The letter M. — 字母M。 各線索所指是單字中的m,不是軍營、草地、溪流裡的實物;command也含m。
Q03191英文雙關
3191I am a word of three syllables, each of which is a word; my first is an article in common use; my second, an animal of uncommon intelligence; my third, though not an animal, is used in carrying burdens. My whole is a useful art.三音節各自都能當英文單字:常見用品、一種很聰明的動物,以及用來搬運重物的東西。合成一種實用技藝,是什麼?⌄
3192There was a man who was not born, His father was not born before him, He, did not live, he did not die, And his epitaph is not o’er him.一個人not born,父親也not born;他did not live也did not die,墓誌也not over him。如何解讀這個看似矛盾的英文句子?⌄
答案:There was a man who was Nott born, His father was Nott born before him; He did Nott live, he did Nott die, And his epitaph is Nott o’er him. — 把not改讀成姓氏Nott。 原書答案用Nott born、did Nott live、did Nott die等同音字;姓Nott的人出生、活過、去世。這是聲音遊戲,不是沒有出生的人。
Q03193英文雙關
3193What part of London is in France?London的哪一部分也在France裡?⌄
答案:Letter N. — 字母N。 London和France都包含n;不是倫敦實際有一區位於法國。
Q03194英文雙關
3194What vessel is that which is always asking leave to move?哪種vessel總在問自己能不能動?⌄
答案:Canister. — Canister。 canister是罐子,近音Can I stir?(我可以動一下嗎);vessel在這裡是容器,不是船。
Q03195英文雙關
3195How is it that you can work with an awl, but not with a forceps; while I can work with a forceps, and not with an awl?為什麼你能用awl、不能用forceps,而I能用forceps、不能用awl?⌄
答案:The forceps p i nches, the awl p u nches. — forceps會pinch,awl會punch。 pinches含i,punches含u(讀作you);不是在判斷兩人的工具使用能力,而是在比較英文動詞的字母。
Q03196英文雙關
3196Add , was the word the master gave to Dick, Dick scratched his head, and looking rather thick, Replied, “ Hereafter it would make it stick .” “Dick,” cried the master, “rudeness is a sin; Behold the stocks, I’ll surely put you in .” “That,” answered Dick, “won’t alter it a feather, Hereafter it would make it hold together .” “Dick,” said the man, “if you insult me so, Your shoulders and my rod I’ll put in Co. ” “ ’Tis all the same,” said Dick, “my worthy master, Hereafter it would make it stick the faster .”Dick說,把here放在add、in、co後,都會讓東西黏在一起。這三種說法怎麼成立?⌄
3197Whether old Homer tippled wine or beer, Julep or cider, history is not clear; But plain it is—the bard, though wont to roam, But for one liquid, never had left home.原書說,Homer若不是為了一種liquid,就不會離開home。是哪種liquid?⌄
答案:The letter R. — 字母R。 英語音韻裡r曾被歸為liquid(流音),home加r變Homer。題目不是在問荷馬喝了哪種飲料。
Q03198英文雙關
3198I am composed of twelve letters. My 2, 8, 9, is a substance dug out of the earth. “ 6, 11, 12, 8, is a numeral. “ 4, 2, 3, is an ancient instrument of war. “ 12, 8, 1, is a vessel used in former times. “ 5, is a vowel. “ 4, 7, 1, 9, is a hard substance. “ 10, 9, is a pronoun. My whole is now before you.十二字母的答案本來就在你眼前:2、8、9拼礦物;6、11、12、8拼數字;4、2、3拼武器;12、8、1拼容器;5是母音;4、7、1、9拼硬物;10、9拼代名詞。答案是什麼?⌄
答案:“Now before you.” — Now before you。 去掉空格為nowbeforeyou,依序取字母得到ore、four、bow、urn、e、bone、ye。最後一句提示其實已把答案直接說出。
Q03199英文雙關
3199There is one word in the English language which is universally considered a preventive of harm; change a certain letter in it, and you make it an act of cruelty.原書把哪個英文單字稱為防止傷害的措施,但換一個字母就變成殘酷的行為?⌄
3200My first may be fashioned of iron or wood, And at window or door for safety is placed; In village or town it does more harm than good, Leading people their health, time, and money to waste. My second’s a lady, bewitching and fair, And for love of her people will labor and strive; Will rise before dawn, and be wearied with care, And pursue her with ardor as long as they live. My whole is what ladies admire and approve, The shopkeeper’s boast—the purchaser’s prize; ’Tis a ninepenny chintz—’tis a one-shilling glove— It is something which makes people open their eyes.前半能是門窗的木製或鐵製保護,也能是使人花錢傷身的場所;後半是人們追逐的收穫。合起來是買家希望找到的好東西。是哪個字?⌄