I recently wrote about the British student who had to have
his bathroom window repaired after his date got stuck in it. We don’t need to mention again why she climbed
into the window.
One point I didn’t talk about was precisely why this
student’s story became widely known.
He went onto the internet to a crowdfunding site,
basically to beg other people for money to repair his window. He said that as a poor, 24 year old post-graduate
student, he couldn’t afford to pay the 300 Pounds repair bill.
Considering the story of his nightmare date again, I started
thinking, “Well he must have at least some money, or he wouldn’t be able to
afford to take his date out to a restaurant, or to invite her back for wine.”
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people collecting
money for charity over the internet. But
I could perhaps come up with some better ideas for charities to donate to. How about people affected by recent earthquakes
or hurricanes? People living in poor
countries without clean water?
A young, healthy man in one of the richest countries on the
planet needs a new window? Couldn’t he get
a part-time job then? Or stop going out
to restaurants so much?
I also noticed that although the repair bill was 300 Pounds,
he collected more than 1,000 Pounds.
When the media asked about it, he promised to give the extra money to a
firefighters’ charity. I wonder if he
would have still remembered to do so if his story had not become so famous?
Still, at least his crowdfunding story is not as extreme as
that of Zack Danger Brown (I have no idea if Danger is really his middle name,
but that’s how it was reported.) Danger
claimed to be a poor student who was struggling to pay for meals which had
fresh, healthy vegetables. So he went
onto the internet and begged for 10 Dollars in donations to help him make a
potato salad. Many people found his
request funny and sent him money. In the
end, he collected 55,000 Dollars. Again,
I notice that he didn’t shut down his profile very quickly after reaching his
10 Dollar target. Too busy studying for
his exams, I suppose?
Okay, I admit it. I’m
just jealous. I want to be given lots of
money for things I normally have to pay for myself too. All I need to do is come up with some stupid
story to go with my begging letter.
“I’ve got a hole in my slipper. I need just 1 million dollars to buy a new
pair. By the way, my favourite film is
The Wizard of Oz.”
“I’m a poor, struggling English teacher. I offered my student a cup of tea, and she
asked for milk and two sugars. I need 3
yen to recoup the unexpected expenses.”
Any extra money raised I promise to give to charity. And charity begins at home, you know.
Vocabulary:
a crowdfunding site – a website set up to collect money from
many people, such as for a new business idea or charity
to beg – to ask for food or money as charity
a post-graduate student – a student who has already gained
one degree and is pursuing further qualifications, such as a Master’s Degree or
Doctorate
to recoup (some money) – to get back (some money) already
lost or spent
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