ADVANCED READING / WRITING TASK TO BE HAND-DELIVERED ON MONDAY, APRIL

14, 2014
A.- LOTTERY DREAMS
1 Read this article, Dream or nightmare?, quickly. Where do sentences a-g fit in the article?
The first one is done for you.
a Lynette Nichols was a bookkeeper before she won about $17 million in the
lottery.....3....
b So why does a sudden win cause so many problems?
c Brett Peterson was just 19 and working as a busboy in a small restaurant in California
d So, do you still want to win the lottery?
e On top of this, big winners are not prepared for the new expectations that people now have
of them.......
f For many, a big win in the lottery is their dream
g John and Sandy from Ohio won about $12 million and almost immediately the letters and
phone calls started
DREAM OR NIGHTMARE?
Have you always dreamed of winning the lottery? Everyone does, don't they?
After reading Janet Bloom's article, you might change your mind.
1 and so they buy tickets every week hoping for a dream come true. People think that when
they win they will be able to stop doing their boring job and live a life of luxury. But if their
numbers really do come up, that dream often
becomes a nightmare.
2 . When he found out he was going to receive a $2 million payout in the lottery, he
immediately gave up work, lent money to all his friends, whether or not they would be able to
pay it back, and went out on a wild spending spree.
Within months he had huge credit card debts and no money left to pay them. A
year later, he had taken a job as a sales clerk to try to make ends meet.
3 . Did it bring her happiness? Not exactly. She and her husband immediately started
fighting over money. She couldn't believe that he was wasting money on electronic toys for
himself, while he objected to her buying
expensive cars for her family. They ended up in court in a trial that cost them both hundreds of
thousands of dollars and, of course, they're now divorced.
4 . Everyone, from crazy inventors to people needing help putting their kids through college,
wanted a donation from them. Their own kids lost all their friends when they moved house to a
more expensive neighborhood and they
spent way too much time and energy worrying about their own safety. And to make matters
worse, they both lost their jobs as accountants.
5 . Well, it seems that a large win can put enormous stress on people who are not prepared
for it. The majority of people who win are people who did not have a lot of money before. They
tend to come from blue-collar backgrounds and have been used to working full time and living
'pay-check to pay-check'. When they get this unexpected windfall, they don't know how to
cope. Very often they stop working and they move house. But these are probably the two worst
things they can do. Who lives in wealthy neighborhoods? Wealthy people of course - people
who are used to having and spending money. Moving to these areas alienates lottery winners
from their familiar world and friends.
From one day to the next, they lose the structure that the working day offers and they no
longer have the support system of neighbors who come from similar backgrounds around them.
They find themselves surrounded by strangers from a different world with different life
experiences, and on top of that, they have plenty of free time on their hands.
6 . Their friends expect them to be generous and pay for everything and they receive
requests from strangers

asking them to donate money to a particular cause. Very often, lottery winners do not have
much experience in
investing money wisely and end up making disastrous financial decisions, C Many past lottery
winners have commented on how easy it is to spend a lot of money very quickly once they
started to
believe, on a daily basis, that 'money is no object'.
7 . If you do win, the best advice is probably to get yourself some good, independent
financial advice and, more importantly, to be aware C - and not necessarily for the
better.
2 Read the article again. Complete the table with information from the text about Brett,
Lynette, and John and Sandy. The first one is done for you.
Sandy
Job(s)
accountants

Brett

Lynette

a busboy in a restaurant

John and

f bookkeeper

g 17 millions

k 12

b 2 millions
How much did they win?
millions

c he gave up work

Main problems?
d he lent money to all his friends
l __________
e __________
i __________

h __________
m __________
n __________

3 Explain the meaning of the following words as they appear in the text.
a objected to (paragraph 3) . _____________________________________________________________
b windfall (paragraph 5) . _____________________________________________________________
c alienates (paragraph 5) . _____________________________________________________________
d wisely (paragraph 6) . _____________________________________________________________
e disastrous (paragraph 6) . _____________________________________________________________
f eat up (paragraph 6) . _____________________________________________________________
g overnight (paragraph 7) _____________________________________________________________
Language in chunks
4 Look at how these phrases are used in the text and then use them in the sentences which
follow. You may have to change them slightly to make them fit.
a dream come true
to make matters worse

to end up (doing something)

money is no object

(to have) time on one's hands

way too much (something)

a That girl is never at school and when she has _____________________ she gets into trouble.
b They spent all their money and _____________________ they then borrowed money to buy a car.
c The cost of the project doesn't matter at all. _____________________.
d We didn't know what to buy with the money we won and we _____________________ depositing
it all in a
bank account that gives high interest.
e Kevin had _____________________ money as a kid - his parents gave him everything he wanted
- and now
he doesn't know how to manage his own financial affairs.
f Getting this new job was _____________________ for me. [ really enjoy it, the hours are great
and the pay

is good.
B.- Attitudes to money
1 Look up these expressions in a dictionary and write your own definition for each one.
A. penny-pincher:
a miserly, niggardly, or stingy person.
B. spendthrift:
a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; prodigal. C. on the
right track .
C. following the right track or trail; riding on the correct track, as with a train.
D. daredevil
a recklessly daring person.

3 Read these pieces of advice and match them to the descriptions of the different money
personalities.
a You have to start spending money to make money. Why deprive yourself of fun and friends?
Learn to enjoy
money more. _______________________
b Continue to budget carefully and set yourself clear financial goals. This is the best way to
deal with money. _______________________
c If you think about the things that are really important to you, you'll find that they are not the
things you bought,
bur the things that money can't buy. You need to be honest with yourself and who you are. Ask
your friends and
family to help you. _______________________
d You're in a dangerous situation and now is the time to stop and think about the future. You
need to think about who you are and what you want in life, and star to save money.
_______________________
4 Match the meanings with the words in the boxes
Amid the clutter
Cant be bothered to
Extravagant

Keep track of
Manageable
Raffle

Statements
Tempted by
Wardrobe

a little lottery: raffle

b attracted to (even though you know you shouldnt) tempted by
c don't want to because you haven't got the energy _______________________
d financial records statements
e in the middle of the mess: Amid the clutter
f place where you keep clothes: wardrobe
g look carefully so you can remember the details _______________________
h unnecessarily expensive _______________________
i that you can afford _______________________
5 Now use the correct word from Activity 4 to complete these sentences.
a After she read the . from the bank, she realized that she would
have to start saving more money.
b John get cash from the machine so he always uses his credit
card.
c She went to the , took out her new dress and slipped it over her
head. It had been worth every penny!
d The designer shoes wereand she couldn't afford them, so she left
the store without even trying them on.
e She couldn't find her Discman in her bedroom.
f He bought a couple of tickets for the , hoping that he would win a
prize for his family.
g I know you don't earn much money, but at least your flat is small and the rent is
.
h Why did he find it so hard to what he was spending' Maybe he
should start writing it all down.
i She was the little black dress, but it was really too expensive.
60 points
WRITING TASK ON A SEPARATE 1-LINED-SHEET OF PAPER GRADED OVER 10 POINTS.
What's your attitude to money? Are you a penny-pincher, a spendthrift, a daredevil,
or on the righttrack?
Explain to me in 180 -200 words minimum, paying attention to spelling, grammar
structure, and cohesion.
Both Reading and Writing grades correspond to April 2014.