A Math Teacher's Story

数学老师的魔法

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Years ago, I was taking an algebra class over the summer, and had a teacher who liked to reminisce about his past with funny stories.

记得多年前，一位非常喜欢缅怀过去，满腹幽默故事的老师教了我整个夏天的代数课。

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He relates that he had been a math teacher in the Air Force,

一次，他讲起了从前执教的经历。他曾是空军部队的数学老师，

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where it was his duty to force sleepy young recruits to stay awake for an hour of math at 8:00 in the morning in a large, warm, dimly-lit auditorium.

每天早晨八点要到一个宽敞、温暖而光线昏暗的大礼堂上一个小时的课。他要让那群昏昏欲睡的新兵学生保持清醒，认真听讲。

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One day, he came into the auditorium and saw his class even sleepier and less attentive than usual.

有一天，他刚走进教室就发现学生们睡眼惺忪，无精打采，比平时还糟。

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He realized that something drastic would have to be done.

他意识到必须采取强有效的措施了。

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Now this classroom was very old,

当时，他上课的教室十分陈旧。

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and the blackboards, which had been nailed on to the walls with old black iron nails,

黑板是用黑铁钉钉在墙上的，

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had become loose over the years.

但在使用多年后已经松动了，

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As a result, these black nails jutted almost invisibly from the blackboard

所以原本突出的黑铁钉现在几乎看不到了，

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and this teacher kept banging his hands on them while erasing the board.

再加上，老师边擦黑板边把钉子往里按紧，这下就更隐蔽了。

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He decided to put them to good use.

他决定要好好利用这几样道具。