Question

Is money a funny matter?
1. A young college student came running in tears to her father in the kitchen.“Dad, you gave me some terrible financial advice!”“I did? What did I tell you?” asked the dad.“You told me to put my money in that big bank, and now that big bank is in trouble.”“What are you talking about? That’s one of the largest banks in the state!” he said. “There must be some mistake.”“I don’t think so,” she said. “They just returned one of my checks with a note saying ‘Insufficient Funds’.”
2. A little boy named Johnny used to hang out at the local corner market. The owner didn’t know what Johnny’s problem was, but the older boys would constantly make fun of him, saying that he was too stupid and dumb. To prove it, sometimes they would offer Johnny his choice between a 5-cent coin (nickel) and a 10-cent coin (dime) and he would always take the 5-cent coin! One day the store owner took Johnny aside and said. “Hey, those boys are making fun of you. They think you don’t know the difference between a nickel and a dime. Do you take the 5-cent coin because it’s bigger, or what!” Slowly, Johnny looked at the store owner with a big smile on his face… Then he said, “Mr. Baxter, If I took the dime, they would stop offering me their money, and so far I have saved $20!”
3. The teenage son was having trouble managing his new checking account. His mother told him that the bank returned the check he had written to the sporting goods store. To which he replied happily, “Oh, great! Now I can use it to buy some stereo equipment for my bedroom here!”
4. Mother decided that 10-years-old Cathy should get a more “practical” gift for her birthday. She woke her up and said, “Suppose we open a saving account for you.” Cathy was delighted. “It’s your account darling.” Mother said as they arrived at the bank, “so you fill out the application.” Cathy was doing fine until she came to the space Name of your former bank. After some hesitation, she put down ”Piggy.”
2. Read the jokes on the previous page and answer the question below.

a. What do these jokes have in common?
____________________________________________________________________________
b. Which jokes involve children and which ones involves teenagers?
____________________________________________________________________________
c. Do you think they are funny? Why?
____________________________________________________________________________

4. Check the sentences from the jokes that are intended to make people laugh.
ð        “Dad, you gave me some terrible financial advice!”
ð        “I don’t think so,” she said. “They just returned one of my checks with a note saying ‘Insufficient Funds’.”
ð        A little boy named Johnny used to hang out at the local corner market.
ð        Then he said, “Mr. Baxter, If I took the dime, they would stop offering me their money, and so far I have saved $20!”
ð        The teenage son was having trouble managing his new checking account.
ð        To which he replied happily, “Oh, great! Now I can use it to buy one stereo equipment for my bedroom here!”
ð        She woke her up and said, “Suppose we open a savings account for you!”
ð         Cathy was doing fine until she came to the space Name of your former bank. After some hesitation, she put down “Piggy.”

5. Read the jokes more carefully to answer the questions.

Joke 1
a. Why is the daughter unhappy?
ð        She thinks the bank has made a mistake.
ð        She thinks her father is a had financial advisor.
b. What do you think the girl should do to avoid this problem in the future?
____________________________________________________________________________

Joke 2
a. Why would the older boys offer Little Johnny the coins?
ð        To make fun of him and prove that he was stupid.
ð        To help him save some money for future use.
b. Why did Little Johnny always pick the larger coin?
ð        It was more valuable.
ð        He wanted to keep collecting coins.
ð        He didn’t know its value.
c. What do you think about Little Johnny’s strategy?
____________________________________________________________________________

Joke 3
a. We can infer from the text that the teenager:
ð        was having problems with the bank manager.
ð        didn’t have control over his finances.
b. The bank bounced the check the teenager had written. Do you think he knew the consequences of writing a “bad” check?
____________________________________________________________________________

Joke 4
a. What gift did the 10 year-old girl get from her mother?
ð        A piggy bank.
ð        A saving account.
b. Why did the girl write down “Piggy” in the application to refer to her former bank?
____________________________________________________________________________

6. From all the jokes which character seems to be the money expert? Why?
____________________________________________________________________________

Answer 1

a) All the jokes talk about money and how the characters deal with it.
b) Jokes 1 and 2 involve children, while jokes 3 and 4 involve teenagers.
c) Essa é pessoal. É para você comentar se achou essas piadas engraçadas ou não.

4) "Then he said, "Mr. Baxter, if I took the dime, they would stop offering me their money, and so far I have saved $20!"
"To which he replied happily, "Oh great! Now I can use it to buy one stereo equipment for my bedroom here!"
"Cathy was doing fine until she came to the space Name of your former bank. After some hesitation, she put down 'Piggy'."

5) Joke 1 -> a) She thinks her father is a bad financial advisor / b) Resposta pessoal. 

Joke 2 -> a) To make fun of him and prove that he was stupid. /
b) He wanted to keep collecting coins. /
c) Resposta pessoal.

Joke 3 -> a) Didn't have control over his finances. /
b) Resposta pessoal.

Joke 4 -> a) A saving account. /
b) Because she had never had a saving account before, the only one she ever had was a "piggy" (very common between kids of her age).

6) Resposta pessoal, mas tudo indica que seja a personagem da piada 4, uma vez que ela já vinha guardando dinheiro (ao contrário dos personagens das piadas 1 e 3; o da piada 2 vinha guardando, mas não de uma forma lícita).