来源：《用美国小孩的方法学英语最有效》

　　(2nd Grade)

　　King of the Worms

　　Jody Gerard was 10 years old when he decided he needed a job. He thought it might be fun to raise worms. He could sell them to farmers and people who fished. So in the spring, he bought many worms. Jody put the worms in clean dirt. He gave them water, leaves, and corn all summer. The worms got fat, and Jody sold many of them. But that winter he did not put them in a warm place. The cold weather killed all the worms。

　　The next spring Jody tried again. He bought more worms. He took good care of them. Many people bought Jody's worms. When winter came Jody took the worms inside so they would stay warm。

　　One day when Jody was 12, he got a letter. It was from the state of New York, where he lived. The letter said, "Everyone who sells things has to pay taxes!" Jody made only 50 cents per day selling worms. But he still had to pay part of that money to the state. Jody told many people in his town what had happened. Soon some people from a television station came to Jody's house. He told them about his problem. They showed a film on television of their talk with Jody. Many people saw it. The people began to write letters to the state. The letters said that the law was unfair. Finally the law was changed. Children like Jody can now sell things without paying money to the state。

　　Words and Phrases 单词和短语

　　worm [wə:m] n. 虫，蠕虫

　　take care of 照料，照顾

　　tax [tæks] n. 税，税额；vt. 向……征税

　　Television station 电视台

　　译 文

　　蠕 虫 之 王

　　乔迪•杰勒德在十岁的时候决定要找一份工作。他认为养虫子或许会比较有趣。他可以把这些虫子卖给农场主或者需要钓鱼的人们。春天的时候，他买了很多虫子。他把这些虫子放进干净的泥土里，整个夏天一直给它们喂水、树叶和谷物。虫子们长势很好，个个都很胖，所以销量很好。但是那年冬天乔迪没有把它们转移到一个温暖的地方，寒冬里虫子都冻死了。

　　第二年春天，乔迪继续养虫子。这次他买了更多的虫苗，并且细心地照料它们。有很多人买乔迪的虫子。冬天又来临的时候，乔迪把虫子移进屋里，这样它们就安然地过冬了。

　　乔迪12岁的时候，他收到了一封信，信来自他的居住地——纽约。信上说：“任何出售商品的人都要交税。”乔迪每天卖虫子只有50美分的收入，但他仍然要上交一部分钱给政府。乔迪把发生在自己身上的这件事告诉了很多人。不久电视台派人到乔迪家。乔迪向他们诉说了自己的问题。电视台把与乔迪的谈话放在电视上播映，很多人都知道了此事。人们纷纷向政府写信，信上说法律不公平，不应该对孩子收税。最后法律做了更改。像乔迪一样销售商品的孩子可以免税。

　　Practice

　　1. When did Jody first sell worms? ___________

　　A. when he was 10 B. when he was 14 C. when he was 12

　　2. When did all of Jody's worms die? ___________

　　A. i n the summer B. in the spring C. in the winter

　　3. When did the state try to get money from Jody? ___________

　　A. right after he started selling worms

　　B. when he was 12 years old

　　C. after the law was changed to help children

　　练 习

　　1. 乔迪是什么时候开始卖虫子的？

　　A. 他10岁的时候 B. 他14岁的时候 C. 他12岁的时候

　　2. 乔迪的虫子是什么时间死的？

　　A. 夏季 B. 春季 C. 冬季

　　3. 什么时候政府开始向乔迪征税的？

　　A. 在他刚开始卖虫子的时候 B. 当他12岁的时候 C. 当为了帮助孩子们改变法律后

　　答 案

　　1. A 2. C 3. B