Two days later I got a telephone call. It was the manager. He said that there
had been a terrible mistakeand that I could have my job back. It turned out
that the computer was making the mistakes all along; it had a defective moth-
erboard. I was so happy that I danced around the kitchen with the phone in
my hand.
I returned to work the next day and sat down to a new computer. This one
was friendly, and we became a real team immediately.
Exercise 4.15Sample answers are provided.
How I Became a Millionaire
Many people dream about becoming rich and living the life of a king or
queen. They hope they’ll win a lotteryor inherit a fortune. But it doesn’t work
out that way for most.
One morning I got out of bed and ran down the stairs to get the mail. I had
a feeling that this was going to be my lucky day. And I was right. Among the
letters I found was one from the state lottery commission. It stated that I was
the latest big winner. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had won two million dol-
lars! I was a millionaire!
I called my best friend, Anna, who screamed when I told her the news.
She was as excited as I was and ran over to my house in her robe. She asked,
“What are you going to do now that you’re rich?” And she asked, “What are
you going to spend all that money on?” I didn’t know the answer. Where do
you begin to spend money when you never had a lot of money to spend
before? I was new at this, but I knew I would catch on fast. You learn some
things fast.
Anna and I went downtown, but not on the bus. We took a cab, and on the
way home I rented a stretch limousine. I felt like a queen. I could afford any-
thing I wanted, and I wanted to buy the best of everything. But Anna was wiser
than me. She suggested I invest some of the moneyand set up a budget for
the rest. I realized that was smart and decided I would put some money in a
savings account. But I would spend the rest on luxuries of every kind. Why
not? I was a millionaire!
I bought several new dresses for myself, and for Anna I bought a watch,
two bracelets, and a dress for evening wear. She was elated and said, “I’m
going to look like a queen in these.” We both loved shoes, so we spent three
hours trying on shoes. And I stocked up on perfumeand a variety of lingerie.
I was on a buying spree, and nothing was going to stop me.
Answer Key 231