故事 Story

        老刘家左边住着一位铜匠，右边住着一位铁匠，他们整天都敲敲打打地工作，害得老刘每天都休息不好。老刘向别人抱怨道："只要他们俩愿意搬家，我宁愿请他们大吃一顿！"
        几天后，铜匠和铁匠告诉老刘，他们俩要搬家了。老刘喜出望外，马上请他们吃了一顿饭。饭后，老刘问他们要搬到哪儿去。
        铜匠说："我搬到铁匠家"。
        铁匠说："我搬到铜匠家"。

There is a coppersmith living to the left of Lao Liu's house, and a blacksmith to his right. They are working all day long. The loud noise keeps Lao Liu awake every night. Lao Liu always complains to the others:" If my two neighbors agree to move, I would rather treat them to a good dinner!"

Several days after, the coppersmith and the blacksmith tell Lao Liu that they are willing to move. Lao Liu is so happy that he immediately treats them to a good meal. After eating, he asks where they are going to move.

The coppersmith says:" I'm going to move to your right".

And the blacksmith says:" I'm going to move to your left."

词语注释 Note

邻居：(línjū) n.  neighbor
铜匠：(tóngjiàng) n.  coppersmith
铁匠：(tiějiàng) n.  smith
敲敲打打：(qiāoqiāo dǎdǎ)  keep hammering
抱怨：(bàoyuàn) v.  complain
宁愿：(nìngyuàn) adv.  would rather
喜出望外：(xǐ chū wàng wài)  be overcome with joy

语言点Language Point

宁愿
        "宁愿"是一个副词，一般放在动词的前面。它表示的是说话人比较了两种做法的利害得失之后做出的选择。虽然这一选择并不是最好的，但是和另外的选项相比，说话人更愿意这样做。例： 
        我宁愿不去，也不愿意带他去。 
        他宁愿走着回去，也不想在这里多等一分钟。 
        在文章中，老刘虽然不愿意请他的两个邻居吃饭，但是和天天忍受噪音的折磨相比，"请人吃饭"自然是一个更轻松的选择了。

宁愿(nìngyuàn): would rather
宁愿(nìngyuàn) is an adverb, which is usually put before a verb. It means the speaker makes a choice after weighing up the gains and losses. Although the choice may not be the best, comparing with the other alternatives, the speaker more likes to do this. For instance:

我宁愿不去，也不愿意带他去。
wǒ nìngyuàn bú qù，yě bú yuànyì dài tā qù.
I prefer not to go there than to go there with him.
他宁愿走着回去，也不想在这里多等一分钟。
tā nìngyuàn zǒuzhe huíqù，yě bù xiǎng zài zhèlǐ duō děng yì fēnzhōng.
I would rather walk on foot than stay here for another minute.

In the story, Lao Liu does not want to treat his two neighbors, but he prefers to do this because it is a rather easy and better choice considering the bothering noise he has to live with.

• working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ]   a.情愿的，乐意的   (初中英语单词)
• complain [kəm´plein]   vi.抱怨，叫屈；控诉   (初中英语单词)
• overcome [,əuvə´kʌm]   vt.战胜，克服   (初中英语单词)
• adverb [´ædvə:b]   n.副词   (初中英语单词)
• speaker [´spi:kə]   n.演讲人；代言人   (初中英语单词)
• instance [´instəns]   n.例子，实例，例证   (初中英语单词)
• blacksmith [´blæk,smiθ]   n.铁匠，锻工   (高中英语单词)
• considering [kən´sidəriŋ]   prep.就...而论   (英语四级单词)