A woman found herself standing at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter greeted her and said，“These are the Gates to Heaven，my dear. But you must do one more thing before you can enter.”
The woman was very excited and asked of St. Peter what she must do.
“Spell a word，”St. Peter replied.
“What word？”she asked.
“Any word，”answered St. Peter.“It’s your choice.”
The woman promptly replied，“Then the word I will spell is love. L-O-V-E.”
St. Peter welcomed her in，and asked her if she would mind taking his place at the gates for a few minutes while he took a break. So the woman was left sitting in St. Peter’s chair when a man approached the gates，and she realized it was her husband.
“What happened？”she cried，“Why are you here？”
Her husband stared at her for a moment，then said，“I was so upset when I left your funeral，I got in an accident. Did I really make it to Heaven？”
“Not yet，”she replied，“You must spell a word first.”
“What word？”he asked.
The woman responded，“Honorificabilitudinitatibus.”
1.Pearly Gates - 珍珠门，通常指天堂之门。
2.St. Peter - 圣彼得，基督教中耶稣的十二门徒之一，常被认为是天堂的守门人。
3.Heaven - 天堂。
4.spell - 拼写。
5.love - 爱。
6.Honorificabilitudinitatibus - 不胜光荣，一个非常长的单词，出现在莎士比亚的剧本《爱的徒劳》中，意为“不胜光荣”或“充满荣誉”。
夫妻相会
一女子站在天堂门口。圣·彼德迎接她道：“亲爱的，这是通往天堂之门，但是，你必须再做一件事情才能进去。”
女子很兴奋，问圣·彼德自己该做什么。
“拼写一个单词。”圣·彼德回答道。
“什么单词？”她问。
“什么单词都行，”圣·彼德说，“你自己选择吧。”
女子不假思索道：“我要拼的单词是love。 L—0—V—E。”
圣·彼德欢迎她进入天堂。他让该女子帮他看一下门，因为他想休息一会儿。女子便坐上了圣·彼德的椅子。这时，一男子走到门口，她发现正是自己的丈夫。
“怎么回事？”她大叫道，“你怎么会在这儿？”
她丈夫瞪了她一会儿说：“参加完你的葬礼后我太悲伤了，结果发生了事故。我是不是已经到天堂了？”
“还没有，”她答道，“你必须得拼写一个单词。”
“什么单词？”他问道。
女子答道：“Honorificabilitudinitatibus（不胜光荣）。”
（注：该词出现在莎士比亚的剧本Love’s Labour’s Lost中。）
上一篇：高频情景口语对话：假期