The phone rang in the obituary¹（讣告） department of the local newspaper. "How much does it cost to have an obituary printed?" asked the woman. "It's five dollars a word, ma'am," the clerk replied politely. "Fine," said the woman after a moment. "Got a pencil?" "Yes ma'am." "Got some paper?" "Yes ma'am." "Okay, write this down: 'Cohen dead'." "That's all?" asked the clerk disbelievingly. "That's it." "I'm sorry ma'am, I should have told you - there's a five word minimum." "Yes, you should've," snapped the woman. Now let me think a minute... okay, got a pencil?" "Yes ma'am." "Got some paper?" "Yes, ma'am." "Okay, here goes: 'Cohen dead. Cadillac for Sale.'"

 

地方报社负责刊登死亡讣告的部门电话响了。“登一篇讣告多少钱？”一位女士问。“五美元一个字，太太。”书记员礼貌地回答。“好的，”女士沉默了一小会儿，“拿着笔呢吗？”“是的，夫人。”“纸呢？”“是的，夫人。”“好的，这样写：‘科恩去世了’”“就这些了？”书记员疑惑地问道。“对，就这些。”“很抱歉，夫人，我刚才没有告诉您，在我们这登讣告最少也得五个字。”“没错，你就应该告诉我，”女士有点生气了，“现在我得考虑一下，嗯…拿着笔呢吗？”“是的，夫人。”“纸呢？”“是的，夫人。”“好的，这样写：‘科恩去世了，出售一辆卡迪拉克轿车。’”

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