Il primo stipendio (The first pay packet)
QCER B1192 parole
I was sixteen and I worked for three weeks in a supermarket, filling shelves at six in the morning. It was July, the shop was cold and I was the only person there under fifty.
On the last Friday they gave me an envelope with two hundred and ten euros in it. I had never held that much money in my hand.
I had a plan. There was a pair of trainers in a shop in the centre, white, expensive, and I had been looking at them since April. I went straight there after work, still in my uniform, and I bought them.
I wore them twice.
What I remember now is not the trainers. It is my mother's face when I put the empty envelope on the kitchen table, and the fact that she said nothing at all. She did not tell me I had been stupid. She waited eleven years, until I bought my first washing machine after comparing four models for a month, and then she said: 'You see? You learnt it yourself.'
I still think that was the most expensive lesson anybody has ever let me pay for.
Parole che forse non conosci
- to fill shelvessistemare gli scaffali
- envelopebusta
- trainersscarpe da ginnastica
- uniformdivisa
- washing machinelavatrice
- stupidstupido
Domande
Si risponde con il testo davanti. Non è memoria: è capire.
What was the writer's job?
Filling shelves in a supermarket early in the morning — Filling shelves at six in the morning, tre settimane di luglio. Il negozio di scarpe è dove spende i soldi, non dove lavora.
The envelope had ___ hundred and ten euros in it.
two — Two hundred and ten euros: duecentodieci.
The writer thought carefully before spending the money.
False — Falso: è andato STRAIGHT there after work, ancora in divisa. Il piano era vecchio, ma l'acquisto è stato immediato.
Why is the short line 'I wore them twice' important?
Because it shows the purchase was a mistake, without saying so — Quattro parole da sole in un paragrafo. Il testo non dice «ho sbagliato»: mette quanto è costato accanto alle volte che le ha messe e ti lascia fare il conto.
Why did the mother say nothing at the time?
Because she wanted her child to learn from the mistake alone — Il testo non lo spiega fino a undici anni dopo, e allora lo dice lei: «l'hai imparato da solo». Tacere era il metodo.
What does the last sentence mean?
That losing the money taught the writer something worth more than the money — Gioca su due sensi di «pagare»: ha pagato 210 euro per delle scarpe e insieme ha pagato una lezione. E aggiunge chi gliela ha lasciata pagare: sua madre, tacendo.