Questão de Língua Inglesa

01. New Dehli’s Paharganj rail station is 02. humming with sound and crawling with 03. people. The gray platforms are bathed in 04. white light. The train engines belch smoke 05. and whistle like impatient bulls. 06. If you were to search for me in the 07. crowded maze, where would you look? You 08. would probably try to find me among the 09. dozens of street children who are stretched 10. out on the smooth concrete floor in various 11. stages of rest and slumber. You might even 12. imagine me as an adolescent vendor, 13. peddling plastic bottles containing tap water 14. from the station’s toilet as pure Himalayan 15. mineral water. You could visualize me as one 16. of the sweepers in dirty shirts and torn pants 17. shuffling ........ the platform, with a long 18. swishing broom transferring dirt from the 19. pavement ........ the track. Or you could look 20. for me among the regiments of red- 21. uniformed porters bustling about with heavy 22. loads on their heads. 23. Well, think again, because I am neither a 24. vendor, nor porter, nor sweeper. Today I am 26 25. a genuine passenger, travelling to Mumbai, in 26. the sleeper class no less, and with a proper 27. reservation. I am wearing a starched white 28. bush shirt made 100% cotton and Levi’s 29. jeans-yes, Levi’s jeans, bought from the 30. Tibetan Market. I am walking purposefully 31. ........ platform number five to board the 32. Paschim Express for Mumbai. There is a 33. porter trudging along by my side carrying a 34. light-brown suitcase on his head. The porter 35. has been hired by me, and the suitcase on his 36. head belongs to me. The suitcase does not 37. contain any money. I have heard too many 38. stories about robbers on trains that drug you 39. at night and make off with your belongings to 40. take the chance of keeping the most precious 41. cargo of my life-my salary from the Taylors-in 42. my suitcase. It is inside my underwear. I take 43. a quick look ........ the loose notes in my front 44. pocket. I reckon I will have just enough to 45. take an auto-rickshaw from Bandra Terminus 46. to Salim’s room in the Ghatkopar slum. Won’t 47. Salim be surprised to see me arrive in a 48. three-wheeler instead of on the local train? 49. And when he sees the game I bought for 50. him, I hope he doesn’t faint from happiness. Adapted from: SWARUP, Vikas. Slumdog Millionaire. 2005. p. 148-149.