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An American friend recently told me of a reunion with the son of the German family whose home he had lived in for a year as an exchange student. My friend had spent the year acquiring fluent German, which he spoke to the family. 一位美国朋友最近告诉我，他与当年在德国作交换生时寄宿家庭的儿子又见了一面。当年他在德国学习了一年，掌握了流利的德语，那时他用德语与这家人沟通。 The reunion, several decades later, took place among a crowd who were speaking English. Afterwards, the German son said to my friend: “I never realised you were witty.” Because in German, he never was. It was too hard to joke in a foreign tongue. 时隔几十年后的这次重聚是在一群讲英语的人的聚会上。之后，这个德国人告诉我朋友说：“我以前不知道你这么风趣。”因为在说德语的时候，他从来不风趣。用外语开玩笑太难了。 Anyone who has learnt another language will be familiar with this. We are more ponderous in our acquired language. We are slower on the uptake, having to construct each riposte in advance. 所有学另一门语言的人对此都深有体会。在使用非母语时，我们会更加慢条斯理。我们的反应会变得迟缓，在开口发表高见之前不得不事先打腹稿。 | 
