英文短篇故事（纽约）286 Smoker Seeks Nonsmoker

Jerry had a long face. "What's the problem?" asked Ben, his college roommate. "This girl in my speech class won't go out with me," Jerry said. Ben asked, "Did she give you a reason?" Jerry said no. "Well, there could be several reasons," said Ben. "Maybe she has a boyfriend. Maybe she's going for the dean's list. Maybe she doesn't like your looks. Maybe she doesn't like your personality. But I think I know the real reason." Jerry asked, "What's that?" Ben said, "The same reason most people don't want you for a roommate—you smoke! Your clothes smell. Your breath smells. Your hair smells. You're infecting people with second-hand lung cancer. Who wants to date a guy like that? I'm sure she's a nonsmoker. Forget about her. You need to find a girl who smokes.” Jerry said, “I did that once. Kissing her was like licking an ash tray."