banker – Ingliando

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The Fisherman and the Banker

(adapted for didactic purposes from the original story by Courtney Carver)

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An American banker was walking along a beautiful beach in a small Mexican village when he saw a fisherman in his boat with a few freshly caught fish.
“Good catch,” he said. “How long did it take you?”
“Oh, not very long, ” answered the fisherman.
“In that case why didn’t you stay out at sea a little longer and catch some more?” asked the banker.
“Well,” replied the fisherman, “there are enough fish here to feed my family and me.”
“So what do you do with the rest of your time?” asked the banker.
“I get up late in the morning and go fishing for a while. Then I play with my kids. After lunch I have a nice long siesta with my wife. Then, in the evening, I stroll into the village and sip wine and play guitar with my friends.”
The banker chuckled condescendingly. “Listen,” he said, “I’m a graduate from Harvard University and I can give you some really good advice. First of all you should stay out fishing all day so that you can start selling your fish in the market and buy a bigger boat. With a bigger boat you’ll be able to catch even more fish and make enough money to buy a second boat and then a third one and so on. After a while, instead of selling your fish in the market, you can sell them directly to a fish factory. Eventually you can even open your own fish factory. Then you can move from this little village to Mexico city, and finally to New York where you can be the managing director of your own thriving fishing company.
“And how long will all this take?” asked the fisherman, a little bewildered.
“Oh, about 15 to 20 years,” answered the banker.
“And then?” asked the fisherman.
“Then it starts to get really interesting,” replied the banker. “When the moment is right, you put your company on the stock exchange and make millions!”
“Millions?” repeated the fisherman. “And then what?”
“Well, then you can move to a little village by the sea, where you can get get up late in the morning, go fishing for a while, play with your kids, have nice long siestas with your wife, stroll into the village in the evening and sip wine and play guitar with your friends.”

COMPREHENSION

TRUE FALSE

Propongo agli studenti più avanti di fare questo esercizio senza riguardare il testo.

The fisherman isn’t happy with his catch.
The banker wants to help the fisherman.
The fisherman wants to buy more boats.
The fisherman usually sells his surplus fish in the market.
The banker feels that the fisherman can do more with his life
The banker considers himself to be more intelligent than the fisherman.
The banker’s plan is for the fisherman to open a fish factory in New York.
The fisherman likes his present lifestyle.
The fisherman is interested in the banker’s plan.
The end result will be a big improvement for the fisherman.

ATTENZIONE
RISPOSTE CORRETTE QUI SOTTO

F – He only wants enough fish for his family and for himself.
T – The banker wants to help the fisherman to make lots of money.
F – The fisherman is quite happy with the boat that he already has.
F – The fisherman doesn’t catch surplus fish.
T – The fisherman’s lifestyle is very unproductive in the banker’s opinion.
T – The banker clearly considers the fisherman to be pretty stupid.
F – According to the plan, the head office will be in New York, not the fish factory.
T – The fisherman shows no sign of being unsatisfied with his lifestyle.
F – The fisherman shows no real interest in the banker’s plan.
F – After 20 years of hard work the fisherman will finally return to his old lifestyle!