I have a habit of grinning in doctor's office and especially if they are giving me some bad news.

我有一个坏习惯就是在医生办公室里咧嘴大笑，特别是在他们给我讲坏消息的时候。

This behavior was still acceptable when i was a child, some found it cute, some thought I was too innocent to understand.

当我还是个小孩时，这还能够接受，有的认为这有点可爱，有的认为是因为太天真没法理解。

But now as an adult it gets really embarrassing. The doctor very seriously, is trying to explain something, and here I am grinning, pursing my lips to stop me from grinning, nodding furiously to show that I totally understand and getting red thinking how stupid I must be looking to him. The doctor's sombre expressions? change very quickly to astonishment¹ and concern.

但现在，作为一名成年人，这很尴尬。医生严肃认真的在跟我解释，而我却在笑，崛起嘴唇努力控制自己不大笑，拼命点头表示我完全理解，但是对于医生来讲我应该很愚蠢吧。医生阴沉的表情很快转变成惊讶和担心。

They almost always end up asking twice if I fully understand what they have just explained.

他们几乎都会再问一遍我是否完全理解他们刚才所解释的内容。

My paternal² grandfather passed away this time last year, and recently my uncle called my father to tell him that the tomb will be cleaned in a ceremony, and to ask if my father will be flying back to China to attend. My father, after some thought, said that when he dies, I should bring him back to the same tomb and bury him together with my grandfather. I replied, “Okay, when do you want to go back?”

我的祖父去年去世了，最近我的叔叔打电话来告诉我父亲，墓地将举行一个仪式来清扫，问我父亲是否能够回中国参加。我父亲思考了一阵，对我讲说当我死去你必须将我带回中国和你祖父一起葬在同一个墓地。我答应了并问他想什么时候回去？

My mother, who was listening nearby, nearly hyperventilates from laughing.

我母亲在一旁听了几乎笑的喘不过气来。

(I mean when do you want to go back to China to attend the ceremony!! Geez…)

（其实我只是问他想什么时候回中国参见仪式而已）

One time in college I took a poetry class.

大学时候我上了一堂诗歌课。

During one class session, the instructor³ told a story. It was a very serious, true story that involved people dying.

在课堂会话期间，老师开始讲故事。那是一个非常严肃而且真实的古树，故事中有人逝去了。

The thing is, he had told that exact same story a few weeks earlier. All of the other students were attentive⁴.

但是几周前他已经讲过同一个故事，所以的同学都很投入在听。

For some reason, this struck me as humorous: the retelling of the story, but everyone else attentive — and I had a difficult time restraining my laughter. I had to turn away. And being one of those times when you start laughing knowing that laughing is totally inappropriate, you start laughing at yourself and it just gets worse and worse.

由于某种原因，我认为这很滑稽，重讲故事，，但是所有人都很投入，于是我克制不住自己的笑声。我不得不转过脸去。很多次当你开始大笑并且知道这样的笑是不合时宜的，你就会开始笑你自己，而且变得一发不可收拾。

It might have not been so bad if the class wasn’t twelve students seated around a conference table.

如果不是因为课堂上12个学生围坐在会议桌上的话情况可能没这么糟。