讲故事几乎是世界上最古老的一门艺术,既是一种和人类生存发展攸关的文化娱乐活动,又是一种鲜活的即兴创作教育。本文是，希望对大家有帮助!
：The Chipped Teeth
“Don’t get your teeth veneered,” Elmer’s girlfriend said. “I know a girl who did that, and she has had bad breath ever since.”
Elmer had never heard of such a thing. “That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Veneers are made of plastic. Plastic doesn’t give you bad breath.”
Hannah asked him if he had ever used a public phone right after some stranger had talked on it. “The plastic phone stinks from their breath,” she said. “Why do you always have to argue withme?” He told her that he didn’t argue with her—she was the one who always argued with him.
Elmer saw his dentist a week later. He asked if veneers could cause bad breath. The dentist told him that it was possible, because plastic can retain odor. He said a more common cause of badbreath from dental work was fillings. Several patients had come to him because they thought they had gotten bad breath from new fillings. He replaced the fillings with different material, andtheir bad breath went away.
“Well, should I get veneers for my two front teeth?” Elmer asked. “I used to have tiny chips in each tooth. Now, those chips are bigger.” His dentist told him that applying veneers wouldrequire destroying too much enamel, which the two teeth were already deficient in. “I’ll bet you used to suck on lemons,” he said. Elmer nodded.
His dentist suggested grinding down the chipped areas a little bit so that their edges wouldn’t be so jagged. The grinding, accompanied by a burning odor, took only a couple of minutes. WhenElmer ran his tongue over his “new” teeth, they felt nice and smooth. So he decided that the $100 dentist bill was probably worth it. More importantly, he wouldn’t have to worry about losinghis girlfriend because of a couple of veneers.
：Don’t Take My Property
“Eminent domain” is the power of the government to take private property and use it for the public good. Government officials simply notify a property owner that they want his property andoffer him a fair price. The owner can accept or reject that offer. If he thinks the offer is too low, he can go to court. In court, a jury will decide the fair price, which the government mustpay.
Usually, the owner cannot prevent the government from taking his land for public use, which includes roads, schools, government buildings, and economic development. However, the USSupremeCourt recently expanded the meaning of “economic development” to include the construction of shopping centers, amusement parks, and even car washes. Property owners nationwide are now atgreater risk of losing their property for the “private” good instead of the “public” good. They will see their land converted to Burger Kings and Chevy dealerships instead of post offices andparks.
Just last week, the Ozark city council demanded that Johnny Miller sell all his land to the city.
“It isn’t right,” said Miller. “My family has owned this property for four generations. We grow crops and raise cattle. We’re active in Ozark’s social clubs and civic groups. Now the councilwants to kick us out so that Walt Disney can build a new theme park here. I’m not selling. I’m going to fight this--since when is a mouse more important than an American family?”
：School Bus Crashes
An elementary school bus driver pulled into a gas station in Ohio because he had to use the bathroom. Instead of turning off the engine and taking the key with him, the driver left the busrunning. “It was cold outside, and I didn’t want the kids to get chilly while I was using the bathroom,” he told a police officer. There were 20 kids on the bus. The driver forgot to set theemergency brake because he was in a hurry, he said.
The bus slowly started rolling away from the gas station. As the bus picked up speed, the kids began yelling and screaming. Ten-year-old Jake had the composure to run forward to the driver’sseat and grab the steering wheel. He pressed hard on the brake pedal and managed to stop the bus as it approached a guard rail overlooking a creek bed. Jake turned off the ignition. After thecops arrived at the scene, they congratulated Jake on his heroic effort.
“That is one cool kid,” said the police sergeant. “I told him he would make a great police officer when he grows up.”
Jake wasn’t impressed with what he had done. “Stopping the bus,” he said, “was easy compared to playing Grand Theft Auto III,” his favorite action video game. The bus driver, walking alongthe highway when arrested by the police, was initially charged with “leaving a child unattended while motor vehicle is running.” While that is only a minor driving violation, the countydistrict attorney said he hoped to upgrade the charge to a felony because of the number of children involved.
“Whatever he is charged with,” the DA said, “I will see that he never drives a bus in this county again.”
