12 What would you do?

1 Look at the picture. What do you think is happening?

2 Read Michael’s post on an internet forum. Answer these

questions. Were your ideas from 1 correct?
1 What did the stranger want? 3 What did Michael do?
2 Why did he need the money? 4 Did he get his money back?

www.whatwouldyoudo.com

www. whatwouldyoudo .com

Two months ago I was driving in the countryside one morning when the man in the car
behind me flashed his lights signalling for me to stop. When I got out of the car, I could see
that he was very upset. He explained to me that he was a tourist and that he was trying to get
home. “Someone’s just stolen my money, my phone and my credit cards,” he said. He told me
he was going to ask for help at his country’s embassy, but that he didn’t have enough petrol
to get there. So he asked to borrow £20 to buy enough petrol to get back to the city. He also
asked for my name and address so that he could send me the money as soon as he got home.
Maybe I was being stupid, but I lent him the money. I really thought he was telling the truth, and that I was
helping him. Maybe I was, but after a few weeks still haven’t heard from him. I still don’t know if he was a
criminal, taking £20 from every driver who stopped, or if he was who he said he was. Michael
Over to you: What would you do if a stranger asked to borrow £20?
ExTRA READING:
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3 Read the comments from other people on the forum. Answer these questions.
There is sometimes more than one possible answer.
1 Who would lend the money to the stranger? 3 Who would call the police?
2 Who wouldn’t lend the person money? 4 Who doesn’t answer the question?

Comments
I’d never give any money to a stranger.
Even if I could see that the person really
needed money, I wouldn’t do it without
any guarantee that I’d get it back. I’d
probably lend money to a friend or family member,
but that’s different. Will
It’s a difficult question. There are lots of
criminals who use this trick to get money
out of people, so I don’t know what I
would do in that situation. But if that
happened to me in another country, I hope someone
would be kind enough to help me. Heather
Oh, Heather! Stop and think for a minute.
If someone stole your money, wouldn’t
you call the police? That’s what I’d do.
If you explained your situation to them,
I’m sure they’d help you get home. Malcolm
You’re right, Malcolm, but don’t forget
that they stole his mobile phone too, so
he couldn’t call the police. He just needed
help. I think if I were in that situation,
I’d lend the man some money. It’s only £20. Caroline
You know what I’d do if that happened to
me? I’d ask to borrow someone’s mobile
phone and call the police. And if a
stranger asked me for £20, I’d probably
call the police too! I certainly wouldn’t lend him
any money. Gary
I’m surprised everyone’s being so negative
here. If someone seemed to be in real
trouble, I’d just lend him the money, with
no questions asked. If I got the money
back, great. If not, I wouldn’t worry too much
about it. Christina

4 What would you do if a stranger asked you to lend them money?

Which of the people on the forum do you agree with? Why?

the money. 4 No, he didn’t. 3 1 Caroline, Christina 2 Will, Gary 3 Malcolm, Gary 4 Heather
2 1 He wanted to borrow £20. 2  To buy enough petrol to get him back to the city/go to his country’s embassy. 3  He lent the man

226 face2face Second edition Pre-intermediate Photocopiable © Cambridge University Press 2012 Instructions p214