Bill Gates Dies

    Bill Gates died in a car accident.  He found himself in Purgatory¹ being  judged by God, who was undecided whether to admit Gates to  Heaven or send him to Hell.
    "Bill," God says, "I don't know if I should reward you for all the good you did for society by putting a computer in almost every home in the world, or damn you for creating that dreadful Windows 95. I'm going to try something I've never done, I'm going to let you decide where you want to go."Gates asks God what are the differences between Heaven and Hell, and God suggests he visit both places, so he can decide for himself.
    Gates chooses to visit Hell first, and finds it a tropical paradise: sandy beaches, perfect weather, gorgeous women splashing in the clear water.
    "This is fabulous," Gates says.  "If this is Hell, let's check out Heaven!"God takes Gates up to Heaven, and he sees that it's lovely, all puffy clouds and harp² music, but not as beautiful as Hell was. Gates asks to go back to Hell, and God grants his wish.
    A few weeks later, God feels he should check up on Bill Gates and see if he is comfortable.  He finds Gates shackled³ to a wall, screaming as the hot flames burn him, tortured by demons⁴.  "How's everything going, Bill?"  God asks.
    Bill responds, his voice raw with anguish⁵ and betrayal:  "This is NOT what I expected!  What happened to the sandy beach, and the beautiful women splashing in the surf?"God replies :  "That was the screen saver."

1 purgatory   

n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的

参考例句：

• Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
• Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

3 shackled   

给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The hostage had been shackled to a radiator. 当时人质被铐在暖气片上。
• He was shackled and in darkness of torment. 他被困在黑暗中备受煎熬。

4 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。