Module 5
Lesson 2
Student’s Book pages 50–51
A miser’s final wish
Before reading
The key words
|
The word / phrase |
The meaning |
The derivation |
|
miser |
someone who has a strong wish to have money and hates to spend it |
Noun |
|
bank note |
a piece of printed paper that has a particular value as money |
Noun |
|
penny |
the smallest unit of money in the UK |
Noun |
|
coffin |
a long box in which the body of a dead person is buried or burned |
Noun |
|
to lead (a life) |
to control a group of people, a country, or a situation |
Verb |
|
ceremony |
formal acts, often fixed and traditional, performed on important social or religious occasions |
Noun |
|
bank account |
an arrangement with a bank in which the customer puts in and removes money and the bank keeps a record of it |
Noun |
|
cheque |
a printed form, used instead of money, to make payments from your bank account |
Noun |
While reading
Mr Lin was a really hard-working man. Every day, he worked for ten or twelve hours and he slept for just a few. Mr Lin had only one purpose in mind: to make a lot of money, and to spend as little of it as possible. He was a miser.
As he did not trust in banks, Mr Lin kept all of the bank notes that he saved inside shoe boxes. Every night, before going to sleep, Mr Lin sat and looked at his money. One night, he called his wife and said: “When I die, I want you to take all of my money and place it inside my coffin. I want to take all of my money with me, even the few pennies I have saved.”
Mrs Lin, who was a very good wife and loved him in spite of the miserly life he was leading, said: “I promise you that when you die I will put all the money in the coffin with you”.
One day Mr Lin died. Mrs Lin was sitting next to her closest friend during the ceremony. When the ceremony finished and before the coffin was closed, Mrs Lin said: “Wait just a minute!” She had a large shoe box with her. She stood up, went to the coffin, and placed the shoe box inside it. Then, the coffin was closed and buried.
Her friend said: “I hope you weren't crazy enough to put all that money in the coffin!” “I’m a good wife,” said Mrs Lin, “I promised him that I was going to put his money in that coffin with him, and I did it.” “You mean to tell me you put every penny of his money in the coffin with him?” “Of course,” said the wife. “I got it all together, put it into my bank account and then wrote him a cheque.”
The text talks about:
-Mr Lin who is the main character.
-Mr Lin has a strong wish to have money and hates to spend it.
-Money doesn’t bring happiness.
After reading
-Did money bring happiness to Mr Lin?
-No, he was leading a miserable life.