O primeiro ordenado (The first pay packet)
QECR B1192 palavras
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.
Palavras que talvez não conheças
- to fill shelvesrepor prateleiras
- envelopeenvelope
- trainersténis, sapatilhas
- uniformfarda, uniforme
- washing machinemáquina de lavar
- stupidestúpido, parvo
Perguntas
Respondem-se com o texto à frente. Não é memória: é perceber.
What was the writer's job?
Filling shelves in a supermarket early in the morning — Filling shelves at six in the morning, três semanas de julho. A loja de ténis é onde gasta o dinheiro, não onde trabalha.
The envelope had ___ hundred and ten euros in it.
two — Two hundred and ten euros: duzentos e dez.
The writer thought carefully before spending the money.
False — Falso: foi STRAIGHT there after work, ainda com a farda vestida. O plano era antigo, mas a compra foi imediata.
Why is the short line 'I wore them twice' important?
Because it shows the purchase was a mistake, without saying so — Quatro palavras sozinhas num parágrafo. O texto não diz «enganei-me»: põe o que custou ao lado das vezes que as usou e deixa-te fazer a conta.
Why did the mother say nothing at the time?
Because she wanted her child to learn from the mistake alone — O texto não o explica senão onze anos depois, e então di-lo ela: «aprendeste-o sozinho». Calar-se era o método.
What does the last sentence mean?
That losing the money taught the writer something worth more than the money — Joga com dois sentidos de «pagar»: pagou 210 euros por uns ténis e ao mesmo tempo pagou uma lição. E acrescenta quem lha deixou pagar: a mãe, calando-se.