Fifty pence worth of trouble

　　Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and ants are always a source of extra income. With some children, small sums go a long way. If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box. For most of them, fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.

　　My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty. Very few of the fifty

　　pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found heir way there. I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead he bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed is right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could no get his arm out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck. The fire brigade was called and two fire fighter freed George using a special type of grease. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with large box of chocolates.

小词拓展

rattle

发出咔咔的声音 rattle sth.

rattle sb.让某人恐惧，紧张

He was clearly rattled by the question.

rattle sb's cage让人生气

My boyfriend always rattles my cage.

rattle sth. out不假思索脱口而出

I can rattle off the names of eight great men of letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.

thrifty节约的=frugal

浪费的 wasteful, prodigal

佳句赏析

Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and ants are always a source of extra income.

爹妈经常给零花钱，但叔叔阿姨也总能给点儿

of course 的插入格式和source of extra income值得学习

With some children, small sums go a long way.

对一些小孩儿来说，一点儿钱能用挺久

small sums指代一点钱，go a long way用的很形象，像是钱在身上或者在存钱罐里走了好久才走出来一样