甜滑可口的冰激凌一直都是小孩子們的最愛。當一份圣代冰激凌和一份普通冰激凌擺在你面前時，你會選擇哪個呢？本文給出的答案會帶給你很多啟示……

By Pender Avans

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This is from an old story, back in the 1930s, in the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less. A 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” the little boy asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins he had. “Well, how much is a plain[2] dish of ice cream?” he inquired[3]. By now, more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing very impatient[4]. “Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely[5] replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier[6] and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry. As she wiped down the table, there placed neatly beside the empty dish were two nickels and five pennies.[7] You see, he couldn’t have the sundae because he had to have enough money to leave her a tip[8].

Vocabulary

1. Ice Cream Sundae: 圣代冰激凌，一種加水果、果仁、糖漿、果醬、巧克力醬等的冰激凌。

2. plain: 普通的。

3. inquire: 詢問。

4. impatient: 不耐煩的。

5. brusquely: 粗魯?shù)?，無禮地。

6. cashier: 收銀員。

7. wipe down: 把……上下擦干凈；neatly: 整齊地；nickel: 五分錢；penny: 一分面額的硬幣。

8. tip: 小費。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：丹妮）