the squad¹ were having "visual training". one smart recruit was asked by the officer to count how many men composed a digging party in a distant field. the party was so faraway that the men appeared as mere² dots, but unhesitatingly the recruit replied：

班里正在进行“视力训练”。一个聪明伶俐的新兵被班长叫出来数远处旷野上采掘队的人数。采掘队在很远的地方，那些人看起来只是一些小点儿。但是这个新兵毫不犹豫地回答。

"sixteen men and a sergeant³ , sir."

“十六个兵外加一个中士，长官。”

"right, but how do you know there's a sergeant there?"

“正确，可是你怎么知道那儿有一个中士？”

"he's not doing any digging, sir."

“他不干活，长官。”