Speed Reading 1

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 their 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.

Comprehension 理解

1.What do most children do with the money they are given?

（a)They put it in their pockets.

(b）They wait until their money boxes are full before spending it.

(c)They go straight to a sweet shop and spend it.

(d) They spend a little of it on chocolate.

2. When the writer gave him fifty pence,George

(a）did not hear the writer's advice

(b)decided that saving it was more trouble than it was worth

(c）waited until the next day before deciding to spend it on sweets

(d)set out for the sweet shop,but lost it on his way

3. Once the fire fighters had come to George's rescue

(a)George had his arm greased and was able to get it out of the drain

(b)George took his fire fighters and got some chocolate at the sweet shop

(c)the lady who had failed to rescue George gave him a box of chocolates

(d) George was rewarded by the owner ofthe swet shop forhis trouble