Shouts & Murmurs

Word Problems About Dealing with a Friend’s Weird Boyfriend

关于如何应对朋友奇葩男友的应用题
Elizabeth expresses hurt that Jessica would judge Tim based on just one quirk. Jessica replies that it’s not just one quirk. How many quirks does Tim have?
伊丽莎白表示很受伤,说杰西卡怎么能因为一个怪癖就评判蒂姆。杰西卡回答说,不止一个怪癖。请问蒂姆有多少个怪癖?
October 22, 2026
People listening to a man speak at a party.
Photograph by David De Lossy / Getty

1. Jessica will be hosting a small get-together at her house on Friday. If she invites 9 friends, how many people, including Jessica, will be in attendance?

1. 杰西卡周五要在家里办一个小型聚会。如果她邀请了9位朋友,那么包括杰西卡在内,一共有多少人参加?

A) 8

B) 9

C) 10

2. Jessica’s friend Elizabeth calls to ask if she can bring her boyfriend, Tim, to the small get-together. Suddenly, Jessica’s voice gets all high and weird, and she starts talking about how, if Tim comes, she’s worried that there won’t be enough hot dogs for everyone. If Tim comes, how many people will be in attendance?

2. 杰西卡的朋友伊丽莎白打电话来问,能不能带她男朋友蒂姆一起来参加小型聚会。突然,杰西卡的声音变得又尖又怪,她开始说,如果蒂姆来了,她担心热狗不够所有人吃。如果蒂姆来了,一共有多少人参加?

A) 10

B) 11

C) 12

3. Elizabeth says that it’s fine—that she and Tim can just bring extra hot dogs, and buns, if needed. But Jessica insists that Elizabeth doesn’t know the specific brand of hot dogs and buns she’s already acquired, which means that if, for instance, Elizabeth brought Hawaiian buns and chicken sausages, there would be an inconsistency. Elizabeth says she knows that Jessica doesn’t like Tim. How long is the silence that follows?

3. 伊丽莎白说没关系——她和蒂姆可以自己带热狗和面包过来,如果需要的话。但杰西卡坚持说,伊丽莎白不知道她已经买好的热狗和面包是什么特定品牌,这意味着,比如说,如果伊丽莎白带了夏威夷甜面包和鸡肉肠,就会不搭。伊丽莎白说,她知道杰西卡不喜欢蒂姆。请问接下来的沉默持续了多久?

A) 10 seconds

B) 30 seconds

C) 60 seconds

4. Jessica carefully clarifies that it’s not that she doesn’t like Tim, it’s just that she has some reservations. Elizabeth asks her to elaborate, so Jessica brings up that time Tim showed up to her birthday party, which was at a bar, like, in public, and started cutting his nails even after repeatedly being asked by the staff to stop. How many times was Tim asked to stop cutting his nails?

4. 杰西卡小心翼翼地澄清说,不是她不喜欢蒂姆,只是她有一些保留意见。伊丽莎白请她具体说说,于是杰西卡提起那次蒂姆来参加她的生日派对——那是在一个酒吧,就是,在公共场所——他开始剪指甲,而且是在工作人员反复要求他停止之后还在剪。请问蒂姆被要求停止剪指甲多少次?

A) 2

B) 3

C) 5

5. Elizabeth gets defensive and tells Jessica that public nail-cutting is actually normal where Tim’s from. Jessica tries to confirm that Tim is from Connecticut, which Elizabeth ignores, because he is. Elizabeth expresses hurt that Jessica would judge Tim based on just one quirk. Jessica replies that it’s not just one quirk. How many quirks does Tim have?

5. 伊丽莎白变得防御起来,告诉杰西卡说,在蒂姆的老家,公共场合剪指甲其实很正常。杰西卡试图确认蒂姆是不是来自康涅狄格州,伊丽莎白没有理会,因为他确实是。伊丽莎白表示很受伤,说杰西卡怎么能因为一个怪癖就评判蒂姆。杰西卡回答说,不止一个怪癖。请问蒂姆有多少个怪癖?

A) 2

B) 4

C) 16

6. Jessica recounts the time they were all on that hike and Tim ate Jessica’s protein bar but kept blaming it on Elizabeth. Also the time they were at a bookstore and Tim kept saying that he’d read a bunch of books when it was clear he hadn’t, and then, when they’d try to test his knowledge about a particular book, suddenly he’d get “too sleepy” to respond. And, finally, the time they went to the boardwalk and Tim got into a verbal altercation with a child. How old was the child with whom Tim got into a verbal altercation?

6. 杰西卡说起那次他们一起去徒步,蒂姆吃了杰西卡的蛋白棒,却一直赖在伊丽莎白头上。还有那次他们在书店,蒂姆一直说自己读过一堆书,但很明显他没读过,然后当他们试图考他某本书的内容时,他突然就变得“太困了”无法回答。还有,最后那次他们去海滨木板道,蒂姆和一个小孩发生了口角。请问和蒂姆发生口角的那个小孩几岁?

A) 4

B) 5

C) 8

7. Elizabeth breaks down in tears and admits that, O.K., sure, Tim isn’t perfect, but then reminds Jessica that she doesn’t know what it’s like out there. Jessica is lucky that she met Chuck in college and doesn’t have to date right now, because it’s really bad. Elizabeth reiterates that it’s so, so, so, so bad to the point where she could tell Jessica some fucked-up stories, but she won’t do that to her. How many years has Elizabeth been single?

7. 伊丽莎白崩溃大哭,承认说,好吧,当然,蒂姆不完美,但接着提醒杰西卡,她不知道外面的世界有多难。杰西卡很幸运,大学时就遇到了查克,现在不用去约会,因为外面真的糟透了。伊丽莎白反复强调,外面真的、真的、真的、真的糟透了,糟到她可以给杰西卡讲一些毁三观的故事,但她不会那样对杰西卡。请问伊丽莎白单身多少年了?

A) 4

B) 6

C) 9

8. Jessica didn’t realize how hard it’s been for Elizabeth and she’s happy that her friend found someone that she, at least, likes. Jessica mentions one good quality about Tim which is that he has a nice smile. This makes Elizabeth feel better and she asks Jessica to name other good qualities of Tim’s. How many good qualities is Jessica able to come up with?

8. 杰西卡之前没意识到伊丽莎白过得这么难,她很高兴朋友找到了一个至少她自己喜欢的人。杰西卡提到蒂姆的一个优点,就是他笑起来很好看。这让伊丽莎白感觉好多了,她请杰西卡再说说蒂姆的其他优点。请问杰西卡能想出多少个优点?

A) 1

B) 1

C) 1

9. After trying for sort of a long while, Jessica ultimately reminds Elizabeth that it’s not about the quantity of good qualities someone has but the quality of those qualities. Elizabeth is confused and asks if this means that she can bring Tim to the small get-together. Jessica says yes. How many people will be attending Jessica’s gathering now?

9. 在努力想了相当长一段时间之后,杰西卡最终提醒伊丽莎白,重要的不是一个人优点的数量,而是那些优点的质量。伊丽莎白很困惑,问这是不是意味着她可以带蒂姆来参加小型聚会。杰西卡说可以。请问现在一共有多少人参加杰西卡的聚会?

A) 10

B) 11, because of fucking Tim

B) 11人,因为该死的蒂姆

C) 13

10. Elizabeth asks if she and Tim should still bring some extra hot dogs and buns for the party. Jessica says no, that she went nuts at the store and bought 65 hot dogs and buns for the party, and that the whole hot-dog thing was just an excuse to uninvite Tim. If each attendee eats an equal number of hot dogs, how many hot dogs will each person eat?

10. 伊丽莎白问,她和蒂姆是否还是应该带一些额外的热狗和面包来参加聚会。杰西卡说不用,她在超市买疯了,为聚会买了65个热狗和面包,而且整个热狗的事只是不想让蒂姆来的借口。如果每位参加者吃同样数量的热狗,请问每个人吃几个热狗?

A) 6

B) 7

C) 5.9

♦

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