def METHOD_NAME(self, the_file, distributed):
    if not distributed:
        return the_file.read()
    filename = f"{os.path.basename(the_file.file)}."
    # This assumes it finds the files in the right order!
    conns = list()
    for found_file in os.listdir(os.path.dirname(the_file.file)):
        if found_file.startswith(filename):
            file_reader = self.get_reader(found_file)
            try:
                conns.append(file_reader.read())
            finally:
                file_reader.close()
    return numpy.concatenate(conns)