Spanish–English parallel text
Cuarenta y ocho
Forty-Eight
DuoText
A bilingual Spanish–English edition: the Spanish text with the English beside it, paragraph by paragraph.
Opening the reader…
El último día
The last day
Min-jun era mecánico en una fábrica de piezas de coches en Seúl. Tenía cuarenta y ocho años. Arreglaba las máquinas allí.
Min-jun was a mechanic at a car-parts factory in Seoul. He was forty-eight years old. He fixed the machines there.
El último viernes de marzo, el jefe llamó a los trabajadores a la sala grande.
On the last Friday in March, the boss called the workers into the big hall.
Algunos trabajadores miraban al suelo. Una mujer empezó a llorar. Min-jun se quedó al fondo y escuchó.
Some workers looked at the floor. One woman started to cry. Min-jun stood at the back and listened.
«Lo siento», dijo el jefe. «La empresa cierra la fábrica. Hoy es nuestro último día».
“I’m sorry,” said the boss. “The company is closing the factory. Today is our last day.”
Nadie dijo nada. Luego el amigo de Min-jun, de la línea de al lado, levantó la mano.
Nobody said anything. Then Min-jun’s friend from the next line put up his hand.
«¿Y nuestro dinero?», preguntó.
“What about our money?” he asked.
«Van a recibir el sueldo de dos meses. Y una carta mía. Lo siento mucho. Todos son buenos trabajadores».
“You’ll get two months’ pay. And a letter from me. I’m very sorry. You are all good workers.”
Después de la reunión, Min-jun volvió a su máquina. Era la número siete, una máquina grande y gris para puertas de coches.
After the meeting, Min-jun went back to his machine. It was number seven, a big grey machine for car doors.
Empezó en la fábrica en 2004. Trabajó aquí veintidós años. Cada día, llegaba a las siete y salía a las cinco.
He started at the factory in 2004. He worked here for twenty-two years. Every day, he came at seven and left at five.
Conocía cada máquina por su sonido. Una máquina buena tenía un sonido bueno. Una máquina enferma tenía un sonido diferente.
He knew every machine by its sound. A good machine had a good sound. A sick machine had a different sound.
Su amigo fue y se puso a su lado. «¿Qué vas a hacer, Min-jun?».
His friend came and stood next to him. “What are you going to do, Min-jun?”
«No lo sé. Nunca he buscado trabajo. Vine aquí a los veintiséis».
“I don’t know. I’ve never looked for a job. I came here at twenty-six.”
«Yo también. ¿Quién quiere a un mecánico viejo? Ahora todo son ordenadores».
“Me too. Who wants an old mechanic? Everything is computers now.”
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