(A) There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. He couldn’t borrow more money from any bank, and couldn’t pay his suppliers. One day, (a) he sat on a park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.
* bankruptcy: 파산
(B) The executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he thought. But instead, the executive decided to put the check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save (b) his business, he thought. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
(C) Exactly one year later, (c) he returned to the park with the check. At the agreedupon time, the old man appeared. But just then, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller,” the nurse said. The surprised executive just stood there. Suddenly, (d) he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound selfconfidence that enabled him to achieve anything he went after.
(D) Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s worries, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” (e) He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand. He said, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.