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Thread: Eng->Rus, please help to translate

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    Eng->Rus, please help to translate

    Here is a short story from series named '... AND THEN THE FIGHT STARTED...'

    After retiring, I went to the Social Security
    office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the
    counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my
    age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my
    wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but
    I would have to go home and come back later.

    The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I
    opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.

    She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is
    proof enough for me' and she processed my Social
    Security application.

    When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my
    experience at the Social Security office.

    She said, 'you should have dropped your pants.
    You might have gotten disability, too.'

    And then the fight started...


    Please help me to translate the last sentence ('you should have dropped your pants.
    You might have gotten disability, too.'
    ), I seem to have got confused with tenses there

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    Re: Eng->Rus, please help to translate

    Quote Originally Posted by alexone
    She said, 'you should have dropped your pants.
    You might have gotten disability, too.'
    Она сказала: "Тебе стоило бы опустить свои брюки.
    Ты мог бы получить также и пособие по нетрудоспособности."

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    Re: Eng->Rus, please help to translate

    Thanks Crocodile. Your translation helped me to understand the story correctly.

    Now is another one short story:
    Pray For Gifts

    Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents the week before Christmas. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs.

    "I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE...

    I PRAY FOR A NEW NINTENDO...

    "I PRAY FOR A NEW VCR..."

    His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, "Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn't deaf."

    To which the little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is!"


    Why is the last sentence started namely with turn "To which", but not "To that" for instance? May that sentence be started with "On that" (On that the brother replied)?

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    Re: Eng->Rus, please help to translate

    Quote Originally Posted by alexone
    Thanks Crocodile. Your translation helped me to understand the story correctly.
    My pleasure!
    Quote Originally Posted by alexone
    Why is the last sentence started namely with turn "To which", but not "To that" for instance? May that sentence be started with "On that" (On that the brother replied)?
    Well, I'm not really a native English speaker, so please take my opinion with a grain of skepticism, but I'd say that the former two options would work equally well, and the third ("On that") does not sound very natural to me.

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    Re: Eng->Rus, please help to translate

    "To which" is definitely correct here. It is a little formal, but not unusual in a written story or joke.

    I'm afraid I can't explain why "to that" is wrong. There are other situations where "to that" is correct, but not here.

    It would also be fine to leave out the phrase and begin "The little brother replied ..."

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