英语博客：The cost of teeth is rising.

　　We've had teeth all over the house recently. My children just happen to be at the ages where they are all losing teeth. For my oldest boys, it's no longer a novelty¹. They have gaps here and there where teeth are growing in. And the contrast between their new, big, adult teeth, and their baby teeth is quite amusing². My third son still gets excited about losing teeth because of the prospect³ of getting money. In his mind, each dollar he gets is a step closer to him obtaining a Star Wars Lego kit⁴. My daughter, on the other hand, is still taken up by the mystery around the Tooth Fairy. Does she exist? How does she sneak⁵ into the bedroom and take the tooth away without waking anybody up? Is she beautiful? Surely Mom isn't the Tooth Fairy. And Dad certainly can't be. So, fairies do exist, right? And is what the older brothers say true, or are they just being old meanies, as usual. The big boys laugh about the idea of believing in fairies. But, you know, I don't think that upsets Domini very much. She has a natural resistance to anything her brothers say or do anyway, so what they say might actually encourage her to believe in fairies even more. I personally believe in garden fairies. I admit it. I haven't seen them, but I'm sure that they live at the bottom of the garden, are tiny, have wings, and are very quick, and very smart. All inteligent people know that.... The Tooth Fairy must be a cousin of some sort. There, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. One thing that I have noticed about fairies is that they keep up with the cost of living. They no longer leave coins; they leave paper money. They know a good commodity⁶ when they see one. I suspect that they know more about the value of teeth than we do. They have their bills, and we have ours, so they need a good quality tooth in exchange for a dollar.  After all, food, clothes, wing maintenance⁷ services, and babysitters, are all more expensive than they used to be. So, with the fall out of teeth in this house, I find that a couple of quarters just isn't enough. The nice sound of two coins clinking together is not acceptable⁸ anymore. It's the lonely, silent dollar that is wanted. It's dangerous to mess around with fairy tales. And it's wise to keep the children and the fairies happy.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: novelty, the prospect of, mean, commodity.
1. That novelty shop sells the most unusual items.
2. I'm excited at the prospect of winning the marathon.
3. That person is mean. Perhaps, he doesn't have any friends and that's why he's like that.
4. Wood is a commodity that is globally more in demand.

1 novelty   

n.新奇事物，新奇（感），新颖廉价的物品

参考例句：

• My mother bought a novelty pen for me.我妈给我买了一支新颖的笔。
• At first I enjoyed all the parties,but the novelty soon wore off.起初我喜欢参加一切聚会，但这种新奇感很快就消失了。

2 amusing   

adj.有有趣的，好玩的

参考例句：

• The girl was amusing herself with a doll.那女孩在玩洋娃娃自娱。
• He related some amusing stories in his childhood to his children.他向孩子们述说了他少年时代的一些趣事。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

5 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

6 commodity   

n.日用品，商品，物品

参考例句：

• The authorities took measures to roll commodity price back.当局采取措施使物价全面回降。
• Commodity prices remain stable and there are plenty of goods on the market.商品价格稳定，市场货源充足。

7 maintenance   

n.维修，保养，扶养费，维持，保持

参考例句：

• His small farm provides maintenance,but not much more.他的小农场能使他们维持生活，但仅此而已。
• He has to pay maintenance to his ex-wife.他必须给前妻赡养费。

8 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。