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 單詞和短語
worm [wə:m] n. 蟲，蠕蟲
take care of 照料，照顧
tax [tæks] n. 稅，稅額;vt. 向……征稅
Television station 電視臺
譯 文
蠕 蟲 之 王
喬迪•杰勒德在十歲的時候決定要找一份工作。他認為養蟲子或許會比較有趣。他可以把這些蟲子賣給農場主或者需要釣魚的人們。春天的時候，他買了很多蟲子。他把這些蟲子放進干凈的泥土里，整個夏天一直給它們喂水、樹葉和谷物。蟲子們長勢很好，個個都很胖，所以銷量很好。但是那年冬天喬迪沒有把它們轉移到一個溫暖的地方，寒冬里蟲子都凍死了。、
第二年春天，喬迪繼續養蟲子。這次他買了更多的蟲苗，并且細心地照料它們。有很多人買喬迪的蟲子。冬天又來臨的時候，喬迪把蟲子移進屋里，這樣它們就安然地過冬了。
喬迪12歲的時候，他收到了一封信，信來自他的居住地——紐約。信上說：“任何出售商品的人都要交稅。”喬迪每天賣蟲子只有50美分的收入，但他仍然要上交一部分錢給政府。喬迪把發生在自己身上的這件事告訴了很多人。不久電視臺派人到喬迪家。喬迪向他們訴說了自己的問題。電視臺把與喬迪的談話放在電視上播映，很多人都知道了此事。人們紛紛向政府寫信，信上說法律不公平，不應該對孩子收稅。最后法律做了更改。像喬迪一樣銷售商品的孩子可以免稅。
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
練 習
1. 喬迪是什么時候開始賣蟲子的?
A. 他10歲的時候 B. 他14歲的時候 C. 他12歲的時候
2. 喬迪的蟲子是什么時間死的?
A. 夏季 B. 春季 C. 冬季
3. 什么時候政府開始向喬迪征稅的?
A. 在他剛開始賣蟲子的時候 B. 當他12歲的時候 C. 當為了幫助孩子們改變法律后
答 案
1. A 2. C 3. B
