C

    A man died and was on his way to another world, either heaven (天堂) or hell (地狱). When he was halfway there, he saw a beautiful, huge palace. The owner came out and asked the man to stay and live in the palace.

    "And now I just want to eat and sleep without doing any work."The man said: "I have been working hard my whole life.

    The owner of the palace said: "If so, there is nowhere else better than here for you. There is a wealth of seafood and many other delicious foods in my palace. You can eat whatever you want without anyone stopping you. And you can rest assured (肯定的) that nothing needs to be done by you."

    "That is great! This must be heaven!" said the man. And he settled down (定居) in the palace.

    At first, the man felt very happy with a life of eating and sleeping. But gradually, he felt a bit lonely and bored.

    So he went to the owner and said: "Just eating and sleeping every day is very boring. Now I'm losing interest in this kind of life. Could you help me find a job?"

    The owner replied: "Sorry, there are no jobs here at all."

    After another few months, the man could not stand it any more and went to the owner again. "I really can't stand this kind of life any more," he said. "If you do not offer me a job, I would prefer (宁愿) to go to hell rather than (也不) live here."

    The owner of the palace smiled. "Where do you think we are now?" he said. "Heaven? We are actually (实际上) in hell!"