Lesson 15 Fifty pence worth of trouble 五十便士的麻烦
Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and aunts 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 adrain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not 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 fighters 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 a large box of chocolates.
New Words and Expressions 生词和短语
- appreciate（1．1）/ə'pri:ʃieit/v. 欣赏，感激
- pavement（1．11）/'peivmənt/n. 人行道 pocket money（1．2）/'pɔkit-'mʌni/零用钱
- stick（1．14）/stik/(stuck/stʌk/, stuck)v. 卡住，夹住，不能再动
- rattle（1．5）/'rætl/v. 格格作响
- thrifty（1．6）/'θrifti/adj. 节俭的
- brigade（1．14）/bri'geid/n. 旅，（消防）队
- nephew（1．8）/'nefju:/n. 侄子，外甥
- grease（1．15）/gri:s/n. 润滑油
- bounce（1．11）/bauns/v. 弹起，跳起
Notes on the text 课文注释
- with some children, 介词with此处作“对于”讲。
- go a long way, 可以维持很久。
- If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, 如果50便士的分币没有用来换糖果的话。exchange…for…作“以……换……”讲，注意英语中的便士有两种复数形式pence和pennies, 但用法不同。如：a fifty pence是指1个50便士的硬币，而fifty pennies是指50个1便士的硬币。
- have found their way there, 其中there是指储蓄罐。find one's way在这里作“进入”讲，即放到“储蓄罐”里。
- what is more, 更有甚者。是固定词组，此处用作插入语。
参考译文
孩子们总是喜欢得到一些零花钱。爸爸妈妈当然经常会给孩子零花钱，但是，叔舅婶姨也是孩子们额外收入的来源。对于有些孩子来说，少量的钱可以花很长一段时间。如果50便士不拿来换糖吃，则可以放在储蓄罐里叮当响上好几个月。但是能把储蓄罐装满的只有屈指可数的几个特别节俭的孩子。对大部分孩子来说，用50便士来买一大块好的巧克力，是算不了什么的。
我的外甥乔治有一个储蓄罐，但总是空空的。我给了他不少50便士的硬币，但没有几个存到储蓄罐里。昨天，我给了他50便士让他存起来，他却拿这钱给自己买了50便士的麻烦。在他去糖果店的路上，50便士掉在地上，在人行道上跳了几下，掉进了阴沟里。乔治脱掉外套，卷起袖子，将右胳膊伸进了阴沟盖。但他摸了半天也没找到那50便士硬币，他的胳膊反倒退不出来了。这时在他周围围上了许多人，一位女士在乔治胳膊上抹了肥皂、黄油，但乔治的胳膊仍然卡得紧紧的。有人打电话叫来消防队，两位消防队员使用了一种特殊的润滑剂才使乔治得以解脱。不过，此事并没使乔治过于伤心，因为糖果店老板娘听说了他遇到的麻烦后，赏给了他一大盒巧克力。