A man stepped onto the overnight train and told the conductor, “I need you to wake me up in Philadelphia. I’m a deep sleeper and can be angry when I get up, but no matter what, I want you to help me make that stop. Here’s $100 to make sure”. The conductor agreed. The man fell asleep, and when he awoke he heard the announcement that the train was approaching New York, which meant they had passed Philadelphia a long time ago. Furious, he ran to the conductor. “I gave you $100 to make sure I got off in Philadelphia, you idiot!” “Wow,” another passenger said to his traveling companion. “Is that guy mad!” “Yeah,” his companion replied. “But not half as mad as that guy they forced off the train in Philadelphia.” (English2Go, No 7,The Reader’s Digest Association, 2005. P. 80.) In “Here’s $100 to make sure” MAKE SURE is closest in meaning to:
A man stepped onto the overnight train and told the conductor, “I need you to wake me up in Philadelphia. I’m a deep sleeper and can be angry when I get up, but no matter what, I want you to help me make that stop. Here’s $100 to make sure”.
The conductor agreed. The man fell asleep, and when he awoke he heard the announcement that the train was approaching New York, which meant they had passed Philadelphia a long time ago. Furious, he ran to the conductor. “I gave you $100 to make sure I got off in Philadelphia, you idiot!” “Wow,” another passenger said to his traveling companion. “Is that guy mad!” “Yeah,” his companion replied. “But not half as mad as that guy they forced off the train in Philadelphia.”
(English2Go, No 7,The Reader’s Digest Association, 2005. P. 80.)
In “Here’s $100 to make sure” MAKE SURE is closest in meaning to:
- A)Stop.
- B)Help.
- C)Agree.
- D)Certify.
- E)Change.
Resposta:
A alternativa correta é D)
Na frase "Here's $100 to make sure", a expressão "make sure" possui significado mais próximo da alternativa D) Certify.
O verbo frasal "make sure" em inglês significa assegurar, garantir ou certificar-se de que algo aconteça. No contexto da história, o passageiro está pagando US$ 100 ao condutor para garantir que ele seja acordado na parada correta (Filadélfia), ou seja, para certificar-se de que esse evento ocorra sem falhas.
As outras alternativas não se adequam semanticamente:
A) Stop - significaria "parar", não correspondendo
B) Help - significaria "ajudar", porém o sentido é mais forte que simples ajuda
C) Agree - significaria "concordar", não se aplicando
E) Change - significaria "mudar", completamente fora de contexto
A piada da história reside justamente no fato de que o condutor interpretou literalmente o pedido para "certificar-se" que o homem descesse na Filadélfia - mesmo que contra sua vontade aparente quando dormindo - enquanto o passageiro esperava apenas ser acordado gentilmente.
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