LA WEB DE READING
COMPREHENSION PREFERIDA POR LOS HISPANOHABLANTES
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PORTUGAL:
COSTA AND RICK
Monica Molton
Everyone just
calls me "Costa"
I'm Manuel Balthazar Costa, I'm 27,
and I'm married to Gloria. Everyone just calls me 'Costa'. We have
a son Tiago, 5 and a daughter Sara, 3. I was a
dairy farmer in
Portugal.
I came to Britain first on honeymoon in 1992, when I saw snow
for the first time. I fell in love with the countryside in
Britain. So, in 1996, when times were very hard on the farm, I
decided to come back to Britain. I had no work to come to, and
spoke almost no English. Gloria was
heavily pregnant, and Sara
was born fifteen days after we arrived.
It was very hard at first. I asked my friend Rick
to print me some
leafletsadvertising my services as a gardener, and I
posted 2000 of them through
letterboxes myself. I got just two
jobs from that, but the people recommended me to their friends,
and they recommended me to their friends, and so on.
At first I had real problems understanding my
customers. I
remember a man
kept telling me ‘Four?’
– except he was really
asking me ‘What for?’ But gradually my English has improved, and
now I have over 50 customers.
People just
call me "Rick"
I'm Henrique Sa Carvalho, aged 23,
but people just call me 'Rick'. I was a student in Portugal. I came to
Britain in 1993 to realise my
goal of becoming a computer
engineer. Like Costa, I had no job to come to, but I took work
washing up in a restaurant. After three months I was
promoted to
chef, and worked there for three more years. I learned most of
my English here and at evening classes.
When the restaurant closed I became a
salesman with a printing
company. It was
while I was here that I printed Costa's leaflets!
I didn't stay long. The hours were long, the money was poor, and
I had no time to go to school.
So I sold my convertible sports car, bought
tools and a
van, and
started
gardening. The money is much better, but the hours
are
still long!
In 1998 I married my girlfriend, Bernadette, and a few months
later
Il started a computing course.
This led to my
goal of being a Computer Service Engineer for Microsoft. It's
strange to think that I told my teachers at school in Portugal
that I'd never need English!
READING
COMPREHENSION
ACTIVITY
SAY WHICH STATEMENTS ARE ABOUT RICK AND
WHICH ARE ABOUT COSTA.
THEN CHECK
HERE
YOUR ANSWERS.
1.
He got a lot of work through recommendation.
2.
He got married and started a computing course.
3.
He became a chef and learnt English at evening classes.
4.
He was a dairy farmer in Portugal.
5.
He took work washing up in a restaurant.
6.
He returned to Britain and looked for work.
7.
He was a student who wanted to be a computer engineer.
8.
He came to Britain on honeymoon.
9.
He advertised his services as a gardener.
10.
He became a salesman with a printing company, then a gardener.
GLOSSARY
Costa
Rick
dairy farmer: productor de
leche on honeymoon: de luna de miel almost no: casi
nada de heavily pregnant:
con gravidez muy avanzada to print me: que me imprimiera leaflets: folletos
advertising: publicitando posted: envié por correo letterboxes: buzones jobs: empleos customers:
clientes kept telling me:
seguía diciéndome
goal:
objetivo, meta washing up: lavar
los platos promoted:
ascendido salesman: vendedor while I was here:
fue mientras hacía eso I didn't stay long:
no lo hice mucho tiempo tools:
herramientas van: camioneta,
furgón gardening:
jardinería are still long: todavía eran muchas this led: esto
condujo that I'd never need: que nunca necesitaría inglés
