新视野大学英语视听说教程第四册 Unit 10 Task 3: We don’t know what to do with them.
A Russian, a Cuban, an American businessman, and an American lawyer were passengers on a fast train speeding across the French countryside. As time wore on, the men gradually became friendly with one another, introducing themselves and shaking hands. Eventually, the Russian took out a large bottle of vodka and poured each of his traveling companions a drink. Just as the American businessman was sipping the vodka and praising its fine quality, the Russian hurled the half-full bottle out of the open window.
“What did you do that for?” asked the startled American businessman.
“Vodka is plentiful in my country,” said the Russian, “In fact, we have thousands and thousands of liters of it---far more than we need.”
The American businessman shook his head and leaned back in his seat, obviously baffled by the Russian’s reasoning.
A little later, the young Cuban passed around a box of fine Havana cigars. The men enjoyed this treat and made admiring remarks about the pleasures of smoking good Havana cigars. At that very moment the Cuban took a couple of puffs of his cigar and then tossed it out of the open window.
“I thought the Cuban economy was not good this year,” the American businessman said. “Yet you threw that perfectly good cigar away. I find your actions quite puzzling.”
“Cigars,” the Cuban replied, “are a dime a dozen in Cuba. We have more of them than we know what to do with.”
The American businessman sat in silence for a moment. Then he got up, grbbed the lawyer, and threw him out of the window.
