又中又英 | Penny | 褚简宁
Many English idioms use the word "penny". If you see your friend thinking about something, you can say "a penny for your thoughts". This means you are asking what your friend is thinking about. A pretty penny means a large sum of money. If someone says the penny dropped, it means that person has finally understood something after being confused. Most people know a penny is the lowest value in the UK currency. A British pound has 100 pennies, or pence. A penny is also the lowest value in a US dollar. There are 100 pennies, or cents, in a US dollar.
When I lived in the US, I often received some pennies back when I used cash to buy something. I would put them in a jar because they are worthless. Most Americans don't bother using them or even bother picking them up if they see pennies on the streets. The US penny has a history of over 230 years, but President Donald Trump ordered the Treasury Department earlier this year to stop producing them because it costs about 3.7 pennies to produce one.
Only a small portion of the 300 billion existing pennies are in actual circulation because most people don’t use them. Pennies will remain valid for people who want to use them. Although Trump has decided to stop production of the penny, he wants to issue a commemorative $1 coin with his image on both sides for America’s 250th birthday next year. It is unclear how he can do this. US law prohibits the image of a current president or living former president on a coin. The law only allows such coins two years after the death of a president.
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许多英文成语都用上「penny」一字。若你见到你朋友在想着某事，你可以说「a penny for your thoughts」，意思就是你问你朋友在想甚么。A pretty penny是指很大一笔钱。若某人说the penny dropped，意即他对某事困惑良久，现在终于想明白了。大多数人都知道，a penny就是英国货币最低的币值，一英镑有100便士（pennies或pence）。A penny亦是美元最低的币值，一美元有100便士（pennies）或说100美分。
我住美国的时候，用现金购物不时收到些美分（pennies）零钱回来，我便将它们放在一个樽内，因为它们没甚么价值。大部分美国人都不费心要用这些零钱，甚至在街上见到美分（pennies），也不劳心要拾起。美国的美分（penny）有超过230年历史，但总统特朗普却下令要求财政部停止再生产美分，因为制造一美分的成本需要3.7美分（pennies）。
因为大部分人都不会使用美分，现存3000亿美分（pennies）只有一小部分在真实流通。对于想用的人来说，美分（pennies）仍是通用的。虽然特朗普决定停止生产美分（penny），他却想在下年制作两边印有他肖像的一美元纪念硬币，以庆祝美国建国250周年。现在还不清楚他可以怎样办成这事。美国法律禁止在硬币上印上现任或仍在世的前任总统。法例只容许在总统去世后两年，方能印制有其肖像的硬币。
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
