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A man is flying in (1) a hot air balloon and (2) realizes he is lost. He
(3) reduces his (4) altitude and
(5) spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse me, can
you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't
know where I am."
The man below says: "Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, (6) hovering
(7) approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees
north (8) latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees west (9) longitude."
"You (10) must be an engineer" says the
balloonist.
"I am" replies the man. "How did you know."
"Well" says the balloonist,
"everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea (11) what to make
of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."
The man below says "You must be a manager."
"I am" replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well", says the
man, "you don't know where you are, or where you are going. You have made a
promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you (12) expect me to solve your
problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we
met, but now it is somehow (13) my fault."
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(1) a big balloon full of hot gas that flies - people can stand in a basket tied to the balloon
(2) understands
(3) makes smaller or lower
(4) height (how high the balloon is)
(5) sees
(6) hanging in the air without moving
(7) about, not exactly
(8) how far north or south
(9) how far east or west
(10) he has a reason to think that
(11) how to understand or how to use
(12) wait for me
(13) because of my mistake (even if he made no mistake!)
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