A tough Marine sergeant got word that the grandfather of one of his men had died.
一个粗鲁的陆战队中士接到命令说他的一名士兵的祖父去世了。
At roll call he snapped, “Hey, Smith, your grandfather died!”
他在点名时大声说道：“嘿，史密斯，你爷爷死了！”
The Marine fainted on the spot.
那名陆战队员一下子昏倒在地。
A week later the grandmother of another Marine died. The sergeant once again call his men together.
一周后，另一名陆战队员的奶奶死了。中士又一次将他的士兵叫到了一块。
“Jones,” he yelled, “your grandmother died last night!”
“琼斯，”他大声说道，“你奶奶昨天夜里死了！”
The Marine burst into tears.
那名陆战队员顿时泪如雨下。
Finally, word got back to the captain about the sergeant’s insensitivity. He was called on the carpet and told to be less direct and gruff when one of his troops suffered a tragedy.
最后，中士没有人情味的话传到了上尉那里。他被上尉叫去狠狠批评了一顿，并吩咐他说，当他的士兵遇到伤心事时，他不要直截了当粗鲁地说出来。
A week later the sergeant was notified that Private Miller had just lost his grandmother.
又过了一周，中士被通知说，列兵米勒刚刚失去奶奶。
Remembering what the captain had said, he lined up his troops.
想起上尉说过的话，他叫队伍排队站好。
“Everyone whose grandmother is alive, please take one step forward. Not so fast, Miller!”
“奶奶活着的每个人，请向前跨一步。米勒，别跨那么快！”
拓展学习：汉译英常见错误 | 军事指挥官的称呼
