Jack and Lydia are on holiday in France with their friends, Mike and Anna.
Mike loves to visit historical buildings. Jack agrees to sightsee some historical buildings with him.
Lydia and Anna decide to shop in the city. "See you boys when we get back!" the girls shout.
In the village Jack and Mike see a beautiful old church, but when they enter the church, a service is already in progress.
"Shh! Just sit quietly, so that we don't stand out. And act like the others!" Mike whispers.
Since they don't really know French, Jack and Mike quietly sit down. During the service, they stand, kneel and sit to follow what the rest of the crowd do.
"I hope we blend in and don't look like tourists!" Mike tells Jack.
At one point, the priest makes an announcement and the man who sits next to Jack and Mike stands up.
"We should stand up, too!" Jack whispers to Mike.
So, Jack and Mike stand up with the man. Suddenly, all the people burst into laughter!
After the service, Jack and Mike approach the priest, who speaks English.
"What's so funny?" Jack asks.
With a smile on his face the priest says, "Well boys, there is a new baby born, and it's tradition to ask the father to stand up."
Jack and Mike look at each other and Mike shakes his head. He smiles and says, "I guess we should understand what people do before we act like the others!"
THE END
【关键词】
1、 sightsee (vt.) 游览；观光
2、 service (n.) 礼拜仪式
3、 in progress (phr.) 进行中
4、 stand out （phr.）突出
5、 blend in (phr.) 融入
6、 tourist (n.) 游客
7、 priest (n.) 牧师
8、 announcement (n.) 声明
9、 burst into laughter (phr.) 爆发大笑
10、 approach (vt.) 走近
【译文】随大流
杰克和丽迪娅在法国度假，同行的还有他们的朋友麦克和安娜。
迈克喜欢参观古迹。杰克同意跟他一起去游览一些历史建筑。
丽迪娅和安娜决定在这个城市购物。 “我们回来见吧！”女孩们喊道。
在村里，杰克和迈克看到一座美丽的古老教堂。他们进入教堂时，礼拜仪式正在进行中。
“嘘！我们就静静地坐着，这样就不会太显眼。就像其他人一样！”迈克低声说道。
由于对法语一窍不通，杰克和迈克静静地坐下来。在仪式进行期间，他们或站或跪或坐，别人怎么做，他俩就跟着做。
“我希望我们融入其中，看起来不像游客！”迈克对杰克说。
此时，牧师宣读了一个声明，坐在杰克和迈克旁边的那个男人站了起来。
“我们也该站起来！”杰克对迈克低声说。
于是，杰克和迈克同那个男人一起站起来。突然间，所有人都大笑起来！
仪式结束后，杰克和迈克走近牧师，他会讲英语。
“有什么好笑的？”杰克问道。
牧师面带微笑地说：“孩子们，有一个新婴儿诞生，要求他父亲站起来是传统。”
杰克和迈克面面相觑，迈克摇了摇头。他笑了笑说：“我想我们应该首先理要解别人所做的事情，然后才好跟随！”
（完）
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