The meanest2 principal3 in the world was worried that his private4 school would close because of lack of5 students. One day the principal called in his assistant and demanded that he go out and recruit more students or be fired.
The next day five new students signed up6. The day after that another ten signed up. Within a week the enrollment was sky high.
Pulling his assistant aside one day, the principal asked, "How did you get so many new students to sign up?"
It was easy, replied the assistant. "I just started a rumor7 that you were quitting8."
Notes:
1. recruitment 招生
2. mean 吝嗇的
3. principal 校長(zhǎng)
4. private 私人的
5. lack of 缺乏
6. sign up 報(bào)名,簽名
7. rumor 謠言
8. quit 放棄,辭職
世上最吝嗇的校長(zhǎng)擔(dān)心他的私立學(xué)校會(huì)因?yàn)槿狈ι炊P(guān)閉。一天,這個(gè)校長(zhǎng)把助理叫來(lái),命令他出外招生,如果招不到便要解雇他。
第二天,有五個(gè)新生來(lái)報(bào)名,第三天又來(lái)了10名新生,一個(gè)星期后報(bào)名人數(shù)已經(jīng)變得非常多。
校長(zhǎng)把助理拉到一邊,問(wèn):“你是怎么讓這么多新生來(lái)報(bào)名的?”
“這很容易”,助理回答道,“我只是散布了一個(gè)謠言而已,說(shuō)你就要辭職了?!?
Useful link:
全英共有約2500所獨(dú)立學(xué)校或私立學(xué)校(Independent Schools),遍布在英國(guó)各地。這些學(xué)校有時(shí)被稱為“收費(fèi)學(xué)?!保‵ee-paying),因?yàn)橄鄬?duì)英國(guó)公立學(xué)校對(duì)本國(guó)學(xué)生不收學(xué)費(fèi)而言,私立學(xué)校無(wú)論是對(duì)本國(guó)還是國(guó)際學(xué)生都收取同樣的學(xué)費(fèi)。