[00:01.040] |
--- lesson 15 Fifty pence worth of trouble |
[00:06.680] |
--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below. |
[00:12.320] |
--- Did George get anything for his fifty pence? what? |
[00:19.200] |
Children always appreciate small gifts of money. |
[00:22.840] |
Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income. |
[00:32.720] |
With some children, small sums go a long way. |
[00:37.480] |
If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money boxes. |
[00:44.840] |
Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box. |
[00:49.080] |
For most of them, fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate. |
[00:55.520] |
My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty. |
[01:01.360] |
Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there. |
[01:08.360] |
I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him to save it. |
[01:13.280] |
Instead he bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble. |
[01:17.840] |
On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. |
[01:27.560] |
George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover. |
[01:35.800] |
He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out. |
[01:43.440] |
A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck. |
[01:51.360] |
The fire brigade was called and two fire fighters freed George using a special type of grease. |
[01:58.880] |
George was not too upset by his experience |
[02:01.840] |
because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with a large box of chocolates. |