1 Watch the video and put the words into the gaps in the text.
You probably have heard of (1)____ book heroes like Superman, Batman
and Spiderman. But what about Tom the motorcycle shop (2)____, Joe Knight and
Karen Berman?
Tom, Joe and Karen all appear in a comic book called “(3)____
Intelligence”. But Mr. Knight and Ms. Berman are real people. In two thousand
six, they wrote a book called “Financial Intelligence: A (4)____ Guide to
Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean.” It was written for people who need to
learn quickly about (5)____. The book explains, in simple ways, often-complex
methods of keeping financial information. It became a (6)____.
This month, publisher SmarterComics released a comic book that provides
the same information in easy-to-understand, picture form. The new book is a
combination of a (7)____ and a graphic novel. It tells the story of Tom, a
mechanic who must quickly learn how to (8)____ the motorcycle repair shop his
father (9)____. Tom has no experience with finance, and is struggling with
the business. Joe Knight and Karen Berman help him. Artist Dave Wachter made
illustrations for the comic book. Franco Arda is the founder and head of
SmarterComics. He formerly worked as an (10)____ banker. He started the
company almost three years ago with his own money. He wanted to create (11)____
comics that increase understanding.
FRANCO ARDA: “I think almost everybody understands the phrase that ‘a
picture says a thousand words,’ so, I mean, mentally, probably ninety percent
of us grew up with comics and they understand that comics or illustrations
help learning a concept much quicker than just text alone.”
Franco Arda says “Financial Intelligence” will help readers quickly
understand many of the major areas of accounting.
FRANCO ARDA: “Within an hour, you kind of get the idea of accounting,
very quickly and not in a (12)____ way. So you get these illustrations, you
get the basics of accounting and you get some (13)____ and (14)_____
statements.”
The new comic book is available in paperback. There will also be
versions for iPad and iPhone users.
The website Entrepreneur.com named SmarterComics to its (15)___ of 100
Brilliant Companies of 2012. The company has (16)___ comic book
versions of more than ten other books. These include “Think and Grow (17)____”
by Napoleon Hill, “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli and “The Art of War” by
Sun Tzu. Later this year, SmarterComics plans to release a comic book by
rapper 50Cent.
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owner
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comic
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accounting
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Manager’s
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best-seller
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Financial
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founded
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direct
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educational
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textbook
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investment
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cash-flow
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balance sheets
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boring
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Rich
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list
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created
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2 Vocabulary focus. Sudy the words and word combinations, practise
their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge
in the test. Play vocabulary game and set your own vocabulary game record.
3 Mark the following statements as True or False.
1.
“Financial Intelligence” is a book about Superman and
banking.
2.
Comic books can help people to learn about accounting
very quickly.
3.
The comic book is about a young businessman who
creates his own start-up.
4.
The author of the book worked as a manager.
5.
Comic books can help people understand information and
learn better.
6.
In “Financial Intelligence” people can learn about
credits, taxes, and banking.
7.
Comic book about finance is successful.
4 Answer the Questions.
1.
What is the main idea of the comic book “Financial
Intelligence”? What do authors do to help readers learn about money?
2.
Why is the format of comic book successful? Are all
books and textbooks about money and finance interesting?
3.
Who is the main character of the comic book “Financial
Intelligence”? What financial problems does he have?
What other books about finance can be found in
comic book formats?