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Ignacy J. Paderewski, former president of Poland, once performed a piano recital
at Stanford University. Two eighteen-year-old students at the university
organised a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They
had been struggling to pay their fees, and needed a well-known name to be part
of their concert, in order to draw the crowd. Paderewski's manager demanded a
guaranteed fee of two thousand dollars for the piano recital. The boys agreed
and worked to make the concert a success. Unfortunately, they had not managed to
sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they
went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600,
plus a cheque for the balance. They promised to honour the cheque as soon as
they could.
'No,' said Paderewski, `This is not acceptable.' He tore up the cheque,
returned the $1600 and told the two boys, 'Here's the $1600. Keep the money you
need for your fees and just give me whatever is left.' The boys were surprised,
and thanked him profusely. It was a small act of kindness. However, it clearly
marked out Paderewski as a good human being. Why should he help two people he
did not even know? We all have come across situations like these in our lives.
The truly great people think, 'If I don't help them, what will happen to them?'
Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a
great leader. Unfortunately when World War II began, Poland was shattered. There
were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and there was no
money to feed them. The war had left Poland in ruins. Paderewski did not know
where to turn to for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief
Administration for help. The chief administrator was a man called Herbert Hoover
-- who later went on to become the President of the United States. Hoover agreed
to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish
people.
Quick action saved the day, for disaster was averted in Poland. Paderewski
was relieved greatly that his people were saved. He decided that the least he
could do was to go to the United States to thank the man who had saved his
countrymen. He arranged to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski
began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and
said, 'You shouldn't be thanking me, Mr Prime Minister. You may not remember
this, but several years ago, you helped two young students pay their university
fees. I was one of them.' |
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6. |
Based on the passage given,
write a summary of :
* how Paderewski helped
Hoover get an education, and
* how Hoover helped
Paderewski feed his people
Your summary must not be
longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below
The big day of the concert
arrived but unfortunately, the ... |
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6. |
The big day of the concert arrived but unfortunately, the two boys had
not sold enough tickets. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and
explained their plight. They gave him the entire collection but he
returned the money and told them to deduct their expenses and keep the
money for their fees. He took only the remainder. The boys thanked him
profusely. Padereski later became the Prime Minister of Poland. However,
the country was in ruins. The people were starving and there was no
money to feed them. Paderewski did not know what to do. So, he asked the
US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head, a man called
Herbert Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped food grains to feed
the Polish people. Thus, a disaster was averted. (130 words) |
