How did the policeman discover that the whole thing was a joke?
警察是怎么发现整件事都是个笑话的?
It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else.
从来没有人解释过为什么大学生似乎比任何人都更喜欢恶作剧。
Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax.
学生们专注于一种特殊类型的恶作剧：骗局。
Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire
邀请消防队扑灭不存在的火灾
is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulde in.
这是一种粗俗的欺骗形式，没有一个有自尊的学生会沉溺于其中。
Students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims.
学生经常创造有趣的情况，除了受害者之外，每个人都很有趣。
When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university,
当一名学生最近在他的大学外看到两名工人使用气动钻时,
he immediately telephoned the police
他立即打电话给警察
and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen
并告诉他们两个学生打扮成工人
were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill.
用气动钻把路撕碎了。
As soon as he had hung up, he went over to the workmen
他一挂断电话，就去找工人
and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away,
并告诉他们，如果一个警察命令他们离开,
they were not to take him seriously.
他们不把他当回事。
He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people.
他补充说，一名学生打扮成警察，正在对人们开各种愚蠢的玩笑。
Both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.
警察和工人都感谢学生提供的这份预先信息。
The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on.
学生躲在附近的一个拱门里，在那里他可以看到和听到发生的一切。
Sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away.
果然，一名警察赶到现场，礼貌地要求工人走开。
When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen,
当他收到一个工人非常粗鲁的答复时,
he threatened to remove them by force.
他威胁要用武力把他们赶走.
The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help.
工人们叫他随他的便,警察打电话求助.
Shortly afterwards, 4 more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen.
不久之后，又有4名警察赶到，并向工人们劝诫。
As the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill.
由于这些人拒绝停止工作，警察试图抓住气动钻。
The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper.
工人们激烈地挣扎着,其中一个发脾气了.
He threatened to call the police.
他威胁要报警。
At this, the police pointed out ironically
对此，警方讽刺地指出
that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest.
这几乎没有必要，因为这些人已经被捕了。
Pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station.
其中一名工人假装认真地说话，问他是否可以在被带到车站之前打个电话。
Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone.
许可被授予，一名警察陪他到一个公用电话。
Only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.
只有当他看到这名男子实际上正在打电话给警察时，他才意识到他们都是骗局的受害者。
