Australian Mother Receives a Bill From the Government for 2 cents

Pre discussion questions

How would you feel if you received a bill for 2 cents?

What do you think the mother in this story does when she receives a bill for 2 cents?

Nobody wants to receive a letter from the government telling them they owe money.

However, in this story, the bill is for a whopping 2 cents!

So the mother who received the bill wrote a hilarious reply.

The government letter said:

"You have been overpaid. We are, therefore, required to recover this amount."

She wrote back:

"Oh God!" you think. "I didn't realize! Will I have to sell my house? I don't own a house! Why did I spend my house savings eating all that bread?"

Kerry King, a mother-of-two from Australia, received this letter from Australia's social services department Centrelink. 

But amusingly , the letter went on to say: "Our records show you have a debt of $0.02 and you have not made an arrangement to repay this debt.

"We would prefer to settle this matter without taking action."

The department sent this woman a big scary letter to inform her she had a whopping 2c debt to pay off.

Kerry, being the upstanding citizen she is had to do something about it.

She sent the letter back to them and paid her treacherous debt in full. She paid it with a 2 cent coin that she found.

Two cent coins were stopped being used in Australia many years ago.

She even sent them a happy "Merry Christmas" with a happy Santa smiley face.

"I was contemplating sending them a five cent piece and asking for the change," she joked.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=2, B=1, C=8, D=5, E=3, F=7, G=4, H=6

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1.      The costs to fix an expensive car can seem a whopping amount.

2.      Korean people call these shows gag shows which they think are hilarious.

3.      Cats are amused by things that move around.

4.      I don’t have enough money now, but can I make an arrangement to pay you next week?

5.      Korea is wanting a more upstanding president next time.

6.      The boat had to fight treacherous ocean waves.

7.      We are contemplating where to take our holiday next year.

8.      In Germany, it is polite to let the restaurant owner keep the small change when you pay the bill.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      What would you do if you received a whopping gas heating bill this winter?

2.      What do you find most hilarious about today’s story?

3.      Have you ever of someone receiving an amusing letter like the one in the story?

4.      How do you arrange to make your bill payments? Do you arrange to pay online, at a shop, by phone, or another way?

5.      Describe someone in your country that people think is an upstanding citizen.

6.      Do you feel that government politicians are treacherous? Why or why not?

7.      What are you contemplating doing this New Year’s?

8.      If you pay with cash, what do you usually do with the change? For example I like to collect my change and save it to spend at a café.