James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. All that he had was $24.52 (about 153 yuan). The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! How on earth (究竟) was he going to get the rest of the money? He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang out with people when you were the only one without a bicycle. He thought about what he could do. There was no point asking his parents, for he knew they had no extra money. There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn (挣) it. He would have to find a job. He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice. “Well, you can start right here,” said Mr Clay. “You see, my windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.” That was the beginning of James’ part-time job. For the next three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He took dogs for walks, cleaned out cupboards and repaired books. The day finally came when James counted his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode home proudly, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued (珍惜) his bicycle far more because he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle. 小题1:Why didn’t James ask his parents for help?
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