Sir William Thompson was very deaf but he did not like people to know this. One evening he had invited several friends to dinner， and while they were sitting at the table， one of the friends told a funny story. Everyone laughed， and SirWilliam， who had laughed as loud as anyone， said，“That was a very funny joke， but I know a funnier one. Would you like to hear it？” They all said they would， so Sir William began hisstory. When it ended， everyone laughed louder than ever andSir William smiled happily. But he didnt know the reason for their laughter. He had told the very same story that his friend had just told.

威廉·湯普森爵士非常聾，但他卻不愿意讓別人知道這 件事。一天晚上，他邀請了幾位朋友吃飯。在就餐的時候，一 位朋友講了個有趣的故事，大家都笑了，湯普森也和別人一 樣放聲大笑，他說：“這是個十分有趣的笑話，但是我還知道 一個更有趣的笑話，你們愿意聽嗎？”朋友們都說愿意聽。于 是，湯普森開始講他的故事。當故事講完時，大家笑得比方才 還厲害，湯普森的臉上露出了欣慰的笑容。但他卻不知道別人發(fā)笑的原因。原來，他講的正是方才那位朋友講的故事。