时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:动物街64号 Zoo Lane 第一季


英语课

"Dad, Can You Tell Me How to Get Rich?"
My dad put down the evening paper. "Why do you want to get rich, son?"
"Because today Jimmy's mom drove up in their new Cadillac, and they were going to their beach house for the weekend. He took three of his friends, but Mike and I weren't i
nvited. They told us we weren't invited because we were 'poor kids'."
"They did?" my dad asked incredulously.
"Yeah, they did." I replied in a hurt tone 1.
My dad silently shook his head, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and went back to reading his paper. I stood waiting for an answer.
The year was 1956. I was 9 years old. By some twist of fate, I attended the same public school where the rich people sent their kids. We were primarily a sugar plantation 2 town. The managers of the plantation and the other affluent[1] people of the town, such as doctors, business owners, and bankers, sent their children to this school, grades 1 to 6. After grade 6, their children were generally sent off to private schools. Because my family lived on one side of the street, I went to this school. Had I lived on the other side of the street, I would have gone to a different school, with kids from families more like mine. After grade 6,these kids and I would go on to the public intermediate 3 and high school. There was no private school for them or for me.
My dad finally put down the paper.
"Well, son," he began slowly. "If you want to be rich, you have to learn to make money."
"How do I make money?" I asked.
"Well, use your head, son," he said, smiling. Which really meant, "That's all I'm going to tell you," or "I don't know the answer, so don't embarrass me."


The next morning, I told my best friend, Mike, what my dad had said. As best I could tell, Mike and I were the only poor kids in this school. Mike was like me in that he was in this school by a twist of fate. Someone had drawn 4 a jog in the line for the school district, and we wound up in school with the rich kids.
"So what do we do to make money?" Mike asked.
"I don't know," I said. "But do you want to be my partner?"
He agreed and so on that Saturday morning, Mike became my first business partner. We spent all morning coming up with[2] ideas on how to make money. Finally, that afternoon, a bolt[3] of lightning came through our heads. It was an idea Mike had gotten from a science book he had read. Excitedly, we shook hands, and the partnership 5 now had a business.
For the next several weeks, Mike and I ran around our neighborhood, knocking on doors and asking our neighbors if they would save their toothpaste tubes for us. With puzzled looks, most adults consented with a smile. Some asked us what we were doing. To which we replied, "We can't tell you. It's a business secret."
My mom grew distressed 6 as the weeks wore on[4]. We had selected a site next to her washing machine as the place we would stockpile[5] our raw materials. In a brown cardboard 7 box that one time held catsup[6] bottles, our little pile of used toothpaste tubes began to grow.
One day my dad drove up with a friend to see two 9-year-old boys in the driveway with a production line operating at full speed. Fine white powder everywhere. On a long table were small milk cartons from school, and our family's hibachi grill[7] was glowing with red hot coals at maximum heat.
Dad walked up cautiously 9, having to park the car at the base of the driveway, since the production line blocked the carport[8]. As he got closer, he saw a steel pot sitting on top of the coals, with the toothpaste tubes being melted down. In those days, toothpaste did not come in plastic tubes. The tubes were made of lead. So once the paint was burned off, the tubes were dropped in the small steel pot, melted until they became liquid, and with my mom's pot holders 10 we were pouring the lead through a small hole in the top of the milk cartons.
The milk cartons were filled with plaster 11-of-Paris[9]. The white powder everywhere was the plaster before we mixed it with water. The milk cartons were the outer containers for plaster-of-Paris molds.
My dad watched as we carefully poured the molten lead through a small hole in the top of the plaster-of-Paris cube.
"What are you boys doing?" he asked with a cautious 8 smile.
"We're doing what you told me to do. We're going to be rich," I said.
"Yup[10]," said Mike, grinning and nodding his head. "We're partners."
"And what is in those plaster molds?" dad asked.
"Watch," I said. "This should be a good batch[11]."
With a small hammer, I tapped at the seal that divided the cube in half. Cautiously, I pulled up the top half of the plaster mold and a lead nickel 12 fell out.
"Oh, my God!" my dad said. "You're casting nickels 13 out of lead."
"That's right," Mike said. "We're making money."
My dad smiled and shook his head. Along with a fire and a box of spent toothpaste tubes, in front of them were two little boys covered with white dust and smiling from ear to ear.
He asked us to put everything down and sit with him on the front step of our house. With a smile, he gently explained what the word "counterfeiting[12]" meant.
Our dreams were dashed[13]. "You mean this is illegal?" asked Mike."Yes, it is illegal," my dad said gently. "But you boys have shown great creativity and original thought. Keep going. I'm really proud of you!"
Disappointed, Mike and I sat in silence for about twenty minutes before we began cleaning up our mess. The business was over on opening day. Sweeping 14 the powder up, I looked at Mike and said, "I guess Jimmy and his friends are right. We are poor."
My father was just leaving as I said that. "Boys," he said. "You're only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You've done something. I'm very proud of the two of you. I will say it again.Keep going. Don't quit."
Mike and I stood there in silence. They were nice words, but we still did not know what to do.
"So how come you're not rich, dad?" I asked.
"Because I chose to be a schoolteacher. Schoolteachers really don't think about being rich. We just like to teach. I wish I could help you, but I really don't know how to make money."
Mike and I turned and continued our clean up.
"I know," said my dad. "If you boys want to learn how to be rich, don't ask me. Talk to your dad, Mike."
"My dad?" asked Mike with a scrunched[14] up face.
"Yeah, your dad," repeated my dad with a smile. "Your dad and I have the same banker, and he raves 15 about[15] your father. He's told me several times that your father is brilliant when it comes to making money. He seems to be building an empire, and I suspect in a few years he will be a very rich man."
With that, Mike and I got excited again. With new vigor 16, we began cleaning up the mess caused by our now defunct[16] first business. As we were cleaning, we made plans on how and when to talk to Mike's dad. The problem was that Mike's dad worked long hours and often did not come home until late. His father owned warehouses 17, a construction company, a chain of stores, and three restaurants. It was the restaurants that kept him out late.
Mike caught the bus home after we had finished cleaning up. He was going to talk to his dad when he got home that night and ask him if he would teach us how to become rich. Mike promised to call as soon as he had talked to his dad, even if it was late. The phone rang at 8:30 p.m. Mike's dad had agreed to meet with Mike and me.



1 tone
n.语气,音调,气度,色调;vt.(up)增强
  • There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
  • Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。
2 plantation
n.种植园,大农场
  • His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
  • The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。
3 intermediate
adj.中间的,居间的,中级的;n.中间体,媒介物
  • This country is now at an intermediate stage of development.这个国家目前正处于发展的中间阶段。
  • Gray is intermediate between black and white.灰色介于黑色和白色之间。
4 drawn
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
5 partnership
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
6 distressed
痛苦的
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
7 cardboard
n.硬纸板,卡纸板
  • She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
  • There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
8 cautious
adj.十分小心的,谨慎的
  • We should not only be bold,but also be cautious.我们不仅要大胆,而且要谨慎。
  • He was cautious about his work.他对工作非常谨慎。
9 cautiously
adv.小心地,谨慎地;小心翼翼;翼翼
  • She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door. 她小心翼翼地沿着车道向门口走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 holders
支持物( holder的名词复数 ); 持有者; (支票等)持有人; 支托(或握持)…之物
  • Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
  • It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识,才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事,同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。
11 plaster
n.石膏,灰泥,膏药;v.涂以灰泥,敷以膏药,使...平
  • He mixed up some plaster to repair the wall.他和了一些灰泥去补墙。
  • She applied the plaster on his shoulder.她将膏药贴在他的膀子上。
12 nickel
n.镍,(美国和加拿大的)五分钱
  • Nickel can be used for making coins.镍可做成钱币。
  • May I have a nickel?能给我五分钱吗?
13 nickels
镍( nickel的名词复数 ); (美国和加拿大的)五分镍币,五分钱
  • The mint coins millions of nickels and dimes each year. 造币厂每年都要铸数以百万计的分币和角币。
  • A dime is the equivalent of two nickels. 一角硬币等于两个五分镍币。
14 sweeping
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
15 raves
n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 );愤怒地说;咆哮;痴心地说
  • She raves about that singer. 她醉心地谈论那位歌手。 来自辞典例句
  • His new play received raves in the paper. 他的新剧本在报纸上受到赞扬。 来自辞典例句
16 vigor
n.活力,精力,元气
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在,她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。
17 warehouses
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )
  • The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
  • Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。
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