Thirteen equals one
13 等于 1
Was the vicar pleased that the clock was striking? Why?
牧师对时钟的敲响感到高兴吗？为什么？
Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another,
我们的牧师总是为这样或那样的事业筹集资金，
but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired.
但他从未设法获得足够的钱来修理教堂的时钟。
The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night
曾经昼夜敲钟的大钟
was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.
多年前就被损坏了，从此一直沉寂。
One night,however,our vicar woke up with a start:the clock was striking the hours!
然而，有一天晚上，我们的牧师醒来时惊醒了：时钟敲响了时间！
Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o'clock,
他看了看手表，发现是一点钟，
but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.
但钟声敲了十三下才停下来。
Armed with a torch,the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on.
牧师拿着火把，登上钟楼，看看发生了什么。
In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure
在手电筒的照耀下，他看到了一个人影
whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins,our local grocer.
他一眼就认出他是比尔·威尔金斯（Bill Wilkins），我们当地的杂货店。
'Whatever are you doing up here Bill?' asked the vicar in surprise.
“比尔，你在这里干什么？”牧师惊讶地问。
'I'm trying to repair the bell,' answered Bill.
“我正想修理铃铛，”比尔回答。
'I've been coming up here night after night for weeks now.
“几个星期以来，我一直夜以继日地来到这里。
You see,I was hoping to give you a surprise.'
你看，我希望能给你一个惊喜。
'You certainly did give me a surprise!' said the vicar.
“你确实给了我一个惊喜！”牧师说。
'You've probably woken up everyone in the village as well.
“你可能也吵醒了村里的每个人。
Still,I'm glad the bell is working again.'
不过，我很高兴铃声又开始工作了。
'That's the trouble, vicar,'answered Bill. 'It's working all right,
“这就是麻烦，牧师，”比尔回答。“一切正常，
but I'm afraid that at one o'clock it will strike thirteen times
但恐怕在一点钟钟，它会敲响十三次
and there's nothing I can do about it.'
我对此无能为力。
'We'll get used to that,Bill,'said the vicar.
“我们会习惯的，比尔，”牧师说。
'Thirteen is not as good as one,but it's better than nothing.
“13个不如1个，但总比没有好。
Now let's go downstairs and have a cup of tea.'
现在我们下楼喝杯茶吧。
