相信这个笑话的中文版大家都有听过,今天我们来欣赏一下英文版好了~

The Cemetery Shortcut
为抄近路走墓地

Two men were walking home after a Halloween party and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs.
万圣节派对过后,两男人图个乐呵,打算抄近路穿过墓地回家。

Right in the middle of the cemetery they were startled by a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from the misty shadows.
走到墓地中央时,他们被从迷雾中传来的“答、答、答”声惊吓到了。

Trembling with fear, they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones.
正当两人害怕得浑身颤抖时,他们看到是个老头拿着铁锤和凿子,在一块墓石上凿着什么。

"Holy cow, Mister," one of them said after catching his breath, "You scared us half to death -- we thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working here so late at night?"
“哇塞,先生,”其中一人喘了口气说,“你把我们吓得半死啊,我们还以为遇上鬼了呢!那么晚了你在这里做什么?”

"Those fools!" the old man grumbled. "They misspelled my name!"
“那帮白痴!”老头抱怨道,“他们把我名字拼错啦!”

【注释】

1. Just for laughs 这个俗语在不同情况下,它的意思略有不同。

其一,它可以解释为:做某件事纯属为了高兴,例如:

Come on and get your jacket -- let's go out and have a couple of beers just for laughs.
来吧,穿上你的外套,我们到外面去喝两杯啤酒高兴高兴。

另外,just for laughs 有时也可以指做愚蠢的事或有害的事,例如:

Just for laughs they tossed Mary in the swimming pool with all her clothes on. Then they found out she didn't know how to swim.
就是为了开玩笑,他们把玛丽连衣服带鞋的整个扔进了游泳池,结果他们发现,玛丽根本不会游泳。

2. 笑话中出现了一个"Holy cow",它是什么意思呢?来看维基上的解释:"Holy cow!" is an exclamation of surprise used mostly in American and Canadian English. 原来它是一个表达惊讶的感叹词,多用于美国和加拿大。