[00:00.44]Lesson 15
[00:02.65]Fifty pence worth of trouble
[00:10.16]Did George get anything for his fifty pence? What?
[00:16.65]Children always appreciate small gifts of money.
[00:20.60]Mum or dad, of course, provides a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income.
[00:30.99]With some children, small sums go a long way.
[00:35.17]If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money boxes.
[00:43.16]Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box.
[00:48.59]For most of them, fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.
[00:56.95]My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty.
[01:02.34]Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there.
[01:10.05]I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him to save it.
[01:14.63]Instead, he bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble.
[01:19.56]On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain.
[01:29.81]George took off his jacket,
[01:32.21]rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover.
[01:37.54]He could not find his 50 pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out.
[01:45.86]A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck.
[01:55.35]The fire brigade was called and two fire fighters freed George using a special type of grease.
[02:02.73]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.
孩子们总是喜欢得到一些零花钱。爸爸妈妈当然经常给孩子零花钱，但是，叔舅婶姨也是孩子们额外收入来源。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便士让存起来，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，赏给他一大盒巧克力。