比尔，吉姆，和史考特一起参加一场会议，
Bill,Jim,and Scott were at a convention together
并且在一栋七十五层摩天大楼的顶楼合住一间太套房.
and were sharing a large suite on the top of a 75story sky-scraper.
在一整天的会议之后，
After a long day of meetings
他们非常惊讶地听说他们饭店的电梯坏掉了，
they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken
他们必须要爬七十五层的一楼梯回到他们的房间。
and they would have to climb 75 flights stairs to get to their room.
比尔对吉姆和史考特说，
Bill said to Jim and Scott,
让我们把精神集中在有趣的事情上，来打发这件令人不爽快又单调 乏味的苦差事。
Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting .
前二十五层我来说笑话，
I will tell jokes for 25 flights,
后二十五层吉姆可 以唱歌，
and Jim can sing songs for 25 flights ,
剩下的路程史考特可以说些悲哀的故事。
and Scott can tell sad stories the rest of the way.
到了二十六层 ，比尔停止说笑话，吉姆开始唱歌。
At the 26th floor bill stopped telling jockes and Jim began to sing,
到了五十一层，吉姆停止唱歌，史考特开始说些悲哀的敬事。
At the 51st floor Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories.
他说：“首先 ，我要说我最悲哀的故事，我把房间钥匙留在车子里面了！”
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car!"