英语小故事第307期：Car Shopping in California

Bert, 25, went car shopping in Corona. After talking to a salesman inside the Chevrolet showroom, Bert went outside with him to look at some cars in the lot. After half an hour, Bert found a blue Camaro that he really liked. He went with the salesman for a test drive. He liked driving the car as much as he liked looking at it. When they returned, the salesman went inside to start the paperwork.

Bert lingered outside to enjoy a cigarette. He turned on his iPod and lit up a Marlboro. Five minutes later he finished his smoke, turned off the music, and started back inside.

Just then, he heard two loud sounds—one right after the other. Both sounds were caused by falling human bodies. Two small Cessna airplanes had just crashed 1,000 feet overhead. One body made a loud cracking sound as it went through the roof of a new Corvette. The other body landed on the back end of Bert’s Camaro. At about the same time, an engine from one of the planes crashed through the roof of the showroom. It killed the district manager of the dealership, who was on the phone ordering a pizza.

Thinking it was an earthquake, the salesman ran out of the building. When he saw Bert, he asked him for a cigarette. “I quit smoking last month,” he said to Bert. Bert told him about the fallen bodies. They both walked over to look at the corpses. Bert told the salesman how sad he felt for the dead people and their families.

After a short pause, the salesman said, “You know, we can fix this Camaro for you. It’ll look like new.”

“Really? For how much?” Bert asked.

“Not much, not much at all,” the salesman replied. Just then, a police car, a fire truck, and an ambulance pulled up. A police officer told Bert and the salesman to move away from the wreckage, but to stick around for questioning.