Money to Burn

Money to Burn

Lillian Beard whistled and smiled while she worked. "Why are you so happy?" her co-workers asked her.

"Last week I got my income tax refund," Lillian answered. "This morning I went to the bank and cashed the check. I have $462 in my pocket. I'm thinking about the money. How will I spend it?"

After work, Lillian came home and decided to wash some clothes. She looked at the jeans she was wearing. They were dirty, so she put them in the washing machine, too. Ten minutes later she thought, "The money! It's still in the pocket of my jeans!" Lillian ran to the washing machine and took out the jeans. The money was still in the pocket, but it was wet. Lillian put the money on the kitchen table.

A few hours later the money was still wet. "Hmmm," Lillian thought. "How can I dry this money?" Then Lillian had an idea. She could dry the money in her microwave oven! Lillian put the money in the microwave, set the timer for five minutes, and left the kitchen.

When Lillian came back a few minutes later, she saw a fire in the microwave. She opened the oven door, blew out the fire, and looked at her money. The money was burned.

The next day Lillian took the burned money to the bank. A teller at the bank told her, "If I can see the numbers on the burned bills, I can give you new money." Unfortunately, the teller found numbers on only a few bills. The teller took those bills and gave Lillian $17.

A newspaper reporter heard about the burned money. He wrote a story about Lillian for the newspaper. Several people read the story and called the newspaper. "Tell Ms. Beard to send the burned money to the U.S. Department of Treasury," the people said. "Maybe she can get her money back."

Every year about 30,000 people send damaged money to the Treasury Department. Experts there look carefully at the damaged money. Sometimes they can give people new money for the damaged money. Once a farmer's cow ate his money - thousands of dollars. The farmer killed the cow and sent the cow's stomach, with the money inside, to the Treasury Department. The experts gave the farmer new money.

Lillian sent her money to the Treasury Department. The experts looked at Lillian's burned money and sent her a check for $231. What did Lillian buy with the money? She didn't buy anything. She gave the $231 to friends who needed money. Lillian said, "When I burned the $462, I thought, 'Well, my money is gone,' The check for $231 was a big surprise. I decided to give the money to my friends. Money is important, but people are more important to me."

Comprehension Exercise

1. Why was Lillian so happy at the beginning of the story?

A. She had some spare money in her pocket.

B. She got a new job.

C. She got a promotion.

D. She was praised by her boss.

2. The word "coworkers" in Paragraph 1 probably refers to the ______.

A. skilled workers

B. male workers

C. workers working together with Lillian

D. workers who work for Lillian

3. What did Lillian do first after work?

A. She did some washing.

B. She did some cleaning.

C. She dried the money.

D. She went to the bank.

4. Lillian dried the money with the ______.

A. sunshine

B. microwave oven

C. electric cooker

D. washing machine

5. Lillian set the timer of the microwave for ______ minutes.

A. ten

B. five

C. three

D. one

6. What did Lillian see in the microwave when she came back to the kitchen?

A. Fire.

B. Money.

C. Nothing.

D. Her Jeans.

7. Where did Lillian go for help the next day?

A. The bank.

B. The newspaper office.

C. Her boss.

D. The Treasury Department.

8. How much money did the teller give to Lillian?

A. $17.

B. $462.

C. $231.

D. $62.

9. Who told Jillian to turn to the Treasury Department for help?

A. The teller in the bank.

B. A reporter.

C. Her friend.

D. Some readers of the newspaper.

10. How did she spend the money she got back from the Treasure Department?

A. She gave the money to one of her friends.

B. She bought a new hat.

C. She bought a new microwave.

D. She bought a new pair of jeans.