Introduce the story: Today we'll talk about a little boy who lost some money.
Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: Did George get anything for his fifty pence? What?
Answer: Yes, he got fifty pence worth of trouble.
Vocabulary:
appreciate v. 欣赏，感激
pavement n. 人行道
pocket money 零用钱
stick v. 卡住，夹住，不能再动
rattle v. 叮当作响
thrifty adj. 节俭的
brigade n. 旅，（消防）队
nephew n. 侄子，外甥
grease n. 润滑油
bounce v. 弹起，跳起
Passage:
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.
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。
Notes:
1 with some children, 介词 with 此处作“对于”讲。
2 go a long way, 可以维持很久。
3 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。
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 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.
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，掉进了下水道里。乔治脱掉外套，卷起袖子，将右胳膊伸进了下水道盖
子。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。
Notes:
4 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。
5 what is more, 更有甚者。是固定词组，此处用作插入语。
15.2【阅读理解】Fifty pence worth of trouble
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
Comprehension:
1 What do children always appreciate? (Small gifts of money.)
2 Who gives them pocket money? (Mum or dad do.)
3 Which other people are a source of extra income? (Uncles and aunts.)
4 What do children often spend money on? (Sweets.)
5 What do they do with their money if they don't spend it? (Put it in a money box.)
6 What can we call children who fill up a money box? (Thrifty.)
7 What's a small price to pay for a bar of chocolate? (Fifty pence.)
8 What about your nephew, George's, money box? (It's always empty.)
9 What else do you give him apart from fifty pence pieces? (Pound coins.)
10 How much did you give him yesterday? (Fifty pence.)
11 What did you advise him to do with it? (Save it.)
12 What happened to the fifty pence after George dropped it? (It bounced along the
pavement and disappeared down a drain.)
13 Where was George going at the time this happened? (To the sweet shop.)
14 What did George try to do? (Push his right arm through the drain cover.)
15 What happened to his right arm? (It got stuck.)
16 How did a lady try to free his arm? (With soap and butter.
17 Did she succeed? (No, she didn't.)
18 Who was called? (The fire brigade.)
19 How did they free his arm? (With a special type of grease.)
20 How did the lady in the sweet shop reward George? (With large box of
chocolates.)
15.3【拓展写作】Fifty pence worth of trouble
Step 3: Composition
Suppose you were among the crowd of people that gathered round George. Write an
imaginary account of what happened. Expand the following into a paragraph of about
150 words.
I was walking along the street when I … I could hear people shouting and … On
arriving at the scene, I ...A lady carrying a large bar of soap and a saucepan full of
water... She asked the boy if ... Then she rubbed his arm with butter, but... Meanwhile,
someone had telephoned ... The boy had begun to cry, but when ...At first, the firemen
decided to...but they changed their minds and... The boy was soon freed and though
his arm hurt, he … (82 words)
Key to composition
I was walking along the street when I saw a crowd ahead of me. I could hear
people shouting and making a noise. On arriving at the scene, I saw a small boy on
the pavement with his arm in a drain cover. A lady carrying a large bar of soap and a
saucepan of water knelt down beside the boy. She asked the boy if he was in pain and
he said he wasn't. Then she rubbed his arm with butter, but he couldn't get it free.
Meanwhile, someone had telephoned the fire brigade The boy had begun to cry, but
when he saw the firemen. he cheered up. At first, the firemen decided to cut through
the drain cover, but they changed their minds and rubbed the boy’s arm with special
type of grease. The boy was soon free and though his arm hurt, he was smiling. (150
words)
课外练习：
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 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 of the sweet shop for his trouble.
4 Fifty pence is not to pay for bar of chocolate.
(a)many
(b) much
(c) plenty
(d) big
5 I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him he it.
(a)saves
(b) should save
(c) would save
(d) was saving
6 He to the sweet shop when he dropped his fifty pence.
(a)had gone
(b)was going to go
(c)went
(d) was going
7 He could not find his fifty pence anywhere get his arm out.
(a) nor could he
(b) nor he could
(c) neither he could
(d)either he could not
8 A lady put .
(a)on his arm soap and butter
(b) his arm on soap and butter
(c)soap and butter on his arm
(d) on his arm with soap and butter
9 With some children, small sums .
(a) last a long time
(b) are very durable
(c)have far to go
(d)gain in value
10 A crowd of people gathered and lady...
(a)on a tour
(b)in turn
(c) in a circle
(d) in a cycle
11 George was stuck.
(a)strictly
(b)well and truly
(c)hardly
(d) by no means
12 George was not too by his experience.
(a)moved
(b)distressed
(c)excited
(d)embarrassed
答案：1c 2d 3a 4b 5b 6d 7a 8c 9a 10c 11b 12b