Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

    • ex. James deposited $100 into his bank account.
    • ex. I was really tired, so I went to bed as soon as I got home.
    • ex. Can you remove all the chairs from the room? We need to clean the floor.
    • ex. My daughter wants to earn some money, so she took a part-time job after school.
    • ex. Mark went to jail for theft. He stole some clothing from a store.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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A Louisiana couple recently discovered that $50 billion (about ¥5.5 trillion) had been accidentally deposited into their bank account.  Darren James and his wife called the bank as soon as they saw the money, but it stayed in their account for a few more days. Finally, the bank was able to fix the issue and remove the money from their account.

James and his family were billionaires for four days. He said that it felt great to see that many zeroes in their bank account because they usually have only thousands of dollars, not billions. However, James never thought about spending the money. He explained that his family hadn’t earned it, so he knew they couldn’t use it.

It was good that James and his family didn’t spend any of the money. People who do may have to return it, pay fees, or even go to jail for theft. In 2019, one couple from Pennsylvania was arrested after $120,000 (about ¥13 million) was accidentally deposited into their bank account. Police said that they spent most of the money and didn’t contact their bank.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

“Free” Money

  • Imagine that you found $50 billion in your bank account. What will you do (ex. call the bank, celebrate)?
  • If people spend money that was accidentally deposited into their account, they may go to jail for theft. Do you agree that it's theft? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is it ever okay to spend money that you didn't earn (ex. money that you found on the street)? Why or why not? Discuss.

Billionaires

  • Imagine that you're a billionaire. What do you want to do with your money (ex. buy a company, travel to space)? Why? Discuss.
  • Some people say that no one should be a billionaire. Do you agree? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think it's possible for anyone to become a billionaire? Why or why not? Discuss.