英语博客:Tatoo（在线收听）

It is supposed to be a good thing to reward your kids every now and then for going to school, or doing their chores. Domini, my daughter is no exception. When she changed preschools, she went through a time of adjustment, and had to be encouraged to stay at her new school. She only goes four mornings a week, but, even so, a change is a change. I found that I could persuade her to go along with the new plan by giving her a surprise randomly after preschool. Sometimes it was a treat, and at other times it was a little toy, or art supplies. Well, it worked. She soon got into the habit of going to her new preschool, and now she loves it. She loves the teachers, and has made good friends there. So, the need for persuasion has, thankfully, disappeared. But every now and then, I will drive her to a little shop that is a few blocks away from her preschool, and there we will buy a transfer sticker, or what she likes to call a tatoo. Just outside of the shop are some little glass dispensers with pretty pictures and patterns on them. I give her two quarters which she holds onto with excitement while she chooses the one she wants. There is a flat metal plate with slots in it into which you put the money. Then, in order to receive the 'tatoo', you have to push the metal plate into the dispenser. Automatically, it pops out in a small piece of protective cardboard. It's not a big deal at all, but for Domini it is. The first time we got one, she immediately said, "Mum, I need to go to the bathroom." I thought it was a little odd, but said that we could ask in the shop if she could use their toilet. So, I stood outside the bathroom and waited and waited. "Domini, are you alright in there?" I asked. "Yes Mum, I've almost finished," was her reply. I heard the water running, and was congratulating myself on training her well to wash her hands, when she came out with a big grin and showed me her 'tatoo'. That's why she had wanted to go to the bathroom; her tatoo had to be displayed immediately.

Grammar notes.

 Useful expressions and related vocabulary: an exception, to go along with ..., a dispenser, a slot.

1. Most people in our family are short, but my brother is the exception.

2. I hope the employees will go along with our idea to change the company.

3. Push the button on the dispenser and soap will come out.

4. You have to put the right coin in the slot; only one size will fit.