从前，有甲乙两个近视眼，他们不但不肯承认自己的近视，还要夸耀自己的眼力。

In the past, there were two near-sighted men, Mr. A and Mr. B. They didn’t admit they were near-sighted, but boasted about their good eyesight instead.

有一天，他们听说有一座庙要挂上新匾，于是便相约去比一比各人的眼力。为了取胜，甲乙两人都事先悄悄地去探听匾上写的字。日期到了，两人一大早就来到庙里。

One day, they heard that a new inscribed board was to be hung up in a temple, so they made an appointment with each other to have a contest of their eyesight. In order to win, both of them stealthily inquired beforehand about the characters inscribed on the board. When the day came, they went to the temple early in the morning.

这时候，甲抬头朝悬挂匾的地方看了看，便摇头晃脑地说：“这不是‘光明正大’四个大字吗？”

Mr. A looked up at the place for hanging the board, wagged his head and said:“Aren’t these the four characters ‘Guang Ming Zheng Da’ (open and just)?”

乙接着说：“这有什么稀奇，我还能认出两旁的小字呢！你看，这不时‘某年某月’‘某某人书’吗！”

Mr.B added:“What is so strange about that? I can even make out the small characters on both sides. Look, aren’t these the year, the month, and the name of the calligrapher?”

站在旁边的人都哈哈大笑起来，说：“新匾还没有挂上，你们念的这些字写在什么地方呀？”

The people standing nearby all burst into laughter and said:“The new inscribed board hasn’t been hung up yet. Where are the characters you just read?”

*选自清朝末年俞樾（公元1821—1907年）的《笑林新雅》

* Selected from the book Xiao Lin Xin Ya (New Refined Jokes) by Yu Yue (1821-1907 A.D.) at the end of the Qing Dynasty

【生词与短语 New Words & Expressions】

1.近视新编 [jìn shì xīn biān]  A New Story About Near sightedness

2.夸耀 [kuā yào]  v. boast

3.匾 [biǎn]  n. inscribed board

4.取胜 [qǔ shèng]  v. win

5.摇头晃脑 [yáo tóu huàng nǎo]  (idiom) wag / shake one’s head

6.光明正大 [guāng míng zhèng dà]  (idiom) open and just

7.探听 [tàn tīng]  v. inquire about