Italian–English parallel text
La busta per il capo
The Envelope for the Boss
DuoText
A bilingual Italian–English edition: the Italian text with the English beside it, paragraph by paragraph.
Opening the reader…
Trentamila yen
Thirty thousand yen
Kenji vive a Tokyo. Ha trentotto anni. Lavora in un grande ufficio in città.
Kenji lives in Tokyo. He is thirty-eight. He works in a big office in the city.
Kenji è un uomo tranquillo. Arriva al lavoro alle otto. Va a casa alle sette. Non parla molto.
Kenji is a quiet man. He comes to work at eight. He goes home at seven. He does not talk much.
La sua scrivania è vicino alla finestra. Gli piace il suo lavoro. «Una buona squadra», pensa.
His desk is next to the window. He likes his job. “A good team,” he thinks.
Il lunedì mattina la squadra fa una riunione. Il capo non c’è. Tutti parlano a bassa voce.
On Monday morning, the team has a meeting. The boss is not there. Everybody talks in a quiet voice.
«Venerdì è il compleanno del capo», dice una donna della squadra. «Compie cinquant’anni. Vogliamo comprare un regalo».
“Friday is the boss’s birthday,” says a woman from the team. “He is fifty. We want to buy a present.”
«Un bel regalo», dice un giovane uomo. «Una bella penna. O un orologio».
“A good present,” says a young man. “A nice pen. Or a watch.”
«Tutti mettono tremila yen in una busta», dice la donna. «Va bene?».
“Everybody puts three thousand yen in an envelope,” says the woman. “OK?”
«Va bene», dicono tutti. Anche Kenji dice «Va bene», a voce molto bassa.
“OK,” says everybody. Kenji says “OK” too, very quietly.
Nel pomeriggio le persone vanno alla scrivania di Kenji. Gli danno i soldi. «Ecco, Kenji», dice il giovane uomo. «Per la busta».
In the afternoon, people come to Kenji’s desk. They give him money. “Here, Kenji,” says the young man. “For the envelope.”
«Perché io?», chiede Kenji.
“Why me?” asks Kenji.
«Perché sei attento», dice la donna. «Non perdi mai niente».
“Because you are careful,” says the woman. “You never lose anything.”
Kenji guarda la busta. È bianca. Davanti scrive: «Per il capo. Kenji Tanaka, Squadra Vendite».
Kenji looks at the envelope. It is white. On the front, he writes: “For the boss. Kenji Tanaka, Sales Team.”
Alle sei conta i soldi. «Dieci persone, tremila yen. Trentamila yen».
At six o’clock, he counts the money. “Ten people, three thousand yen. Thirty thousand yen.”
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