A businessman (商人) was once deep in debt (债务) and could see no way out. He sat on a park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company.
Suddenly an old man appeared in front of him. “I can see that something is troubling you”, he said. After listening to the businessman’s story, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check and pushed it into his hand, saying, “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.
The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world.
“It can solve my problem!” the businessman realized. But instead, he decided to put the check in his safe. “Just knowing it was there might give me the strength to work out a way to save my business,” he thought.
With renewed optimism, he negotiated (协商) better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the businessman was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and caught the old man.
“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the hospital and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.” And then she led the old man away by the arm.
The businessman just stood there, surprised. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, believing he had half a million dollars behind him.
Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.
【小题1】The businessman had some trouble with his company, didn’t he?【小题2】What did the old man do after listening to the businessman’s story?
【小题3】According to the story, who was the old man actually?
【小题4】Why was the businessman able to save his company at last?
【小题5】What can you learn from the story?
