Mark Twain, the famous American writer and a great master of humor, liked to play jokes on others.

马克·吐温是美国著名的作家，也是一位幽默大师，喜欢跟人开玩笑。

But once a joke was played on him.

但是，曾经他也被别人开过一个玩笑。

One day Mark Twain was invited to give a talk in a small town. At lunch he met a young man, one of his friends.

某天，他被人邀请去一个小镇做演说。吃午饭时，他碰到了一个年轻人，这个人是他的朋友。

The young man said that he had an uncle with him.

年轻人说他有位叔叔是跟他一路来的。

He told Mark Twain that his uncle never laughed or smiled, and that nobody was able to make his uncle smile or laugh.

他告诉马克·吐温他的这位叔叔从来不笑，连微笑都不会，没人能让他叔叔发笑。

"You bring your uncle to my talk tonight," said Mark Twain. "I'm sure I can make him laugh."

马克·吐温说：“今晚把你叔叔带来听我的演说，我一定能让他笑。”

That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the front. Mark Twain began to speak.

那天晚上，年轻人和他的叔叔坐在最前排，马克·吐温开始讲话。

He told several funny stories. This made everyone in the room laugh.

他讲了好几个搞笑的故事，逗得屋子里的每个人都哈哈大笑。

But the man never even smiled. Mark Twain told more funny stories, but the old man still kept quiet.

但那个人从头到尾都没笑过。马克·吐温又讲了几个有趣的故事，但那个人还是没笑。

Mark Twain continued to tell his funny stories. Finally he stopped. He was tired and quite disappointed．

马克·吐温继续讲了几个故事，最终他停了下来，又累又扫兴。

Some days later, Mark Twain told another friend of his about what had happened.

几天后，马克·吐温把这件事讲给他的另一个朋友。

"Oh," said his friend. "I know that old man. He's been deaf for y关于马克吐温ears."

他的朋友说：“噢，我认识那个人，他已经聋了好多年啦。”