A company called eBay said they are sorry and will pay money because some people who worked for them were not nice to a man and a woman who wrote stories eBay didn’t like. These workers sent scary bugs to the man and woman’s house, put a tracker on their car, and made people think the man and woman wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses. The man who was the boss of these workers and some other people got in trouble and lost their jobs.

The man and woman who wrote the stories felt very scared and hurt because of what happened. The big boss of eBay at that time says he didn’t know about the mean things his workers did. A man who helped with the mean things had to go away to a place where people are locked up for a year and a half. The boss who was in charge of the mean things had to go to the locked-up place for almost five years. eBay says they are teaching their workers to be nice so nothing like this happens again.

Original news source: eBay pays $3m fine in blogger harassment case (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Choose key words or phrases from the article and write them on slips of paper. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and act out the word or phrase without speaking. The team members will guess what word or phrase they are acting out. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. They should try to include the main points and key details. After each summary, the partners can switch roles.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into small groups. One student from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it. Their group members will try to guess the word. The student who drew the picture can only use gestures to indicate if the guesses are correct or not.

– Keyword Taboo
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on slips of paper. One student will come to the front of the class and pick a slip of paper. Without saying the word, they will try to describe it to the class. However, they cannot use the word itself, and they cannot use any of the “taboo” words listed on the slip of paper. The rest of the class will try to guess the word.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns discussing their thoughts and feelings about the article. They can share their opinions, ask questions, or make connections to their own experiences. After a few minutes, the pairs will share their thoughts with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why is eBay saying sorry?
2. What did the workers do to the man and woman?
3. How did the man and woman feel after what happened?
4. Did the big boss of eBay know about the mean things the workers did?
5. Where did the man who helped with the mean things go?
6. How long did the boss who was in charge of the mean things go to the locked-up place for?
7. What is eBay doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A company called (1)______ said they are sorry and will pay (2)______ because some people who worked for them were not nice to a man and a woman who wrote stories eBay didn’t like. These workers sent scary bugs to the man and woman’s house, put a tracker on their car, and made (3)______ think the man and woman wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses. The man who was the boss of these workers and some other people got in trouble and (4)______ their jobs.

The man and woman who wrote the stories felt very scared and hurt because of what happened. The big boss of eBay at that (5)______ says he didn’t know about the mean things his workers did. A man who helped with the mean things had to go away to a (6)______ where people are locked up for a year and a (7)______. The boss who was in charge of the mean things had to go to the locked-up place for almost five years. eBay (8)______ they are teaching their workers to be nice so nothing like this happens again.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is eBay?
2. How would you feel if someone sent scary bugs to your house?
3. Do you like writing stories?
4. Do you think it’s okay for people to track your car without your permission? Why or why not?
5. How do you think the man and woman felt when people thought they wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses?
6. What would you do if someone sent scary bugs to your house?
7. Do you think the boss of eBay should have known about the mean things his workers did? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the man and woman felt when they found out about the mean things the workers did?
9. Do you think the boss of eBay should have gone to the locked-up place? Why or why not?
10. How do you think eBay can teach their workers to be nice?
11. How would you feel if someone made people think you wanted strangers to come to your house for hugs and kisses?
12. What would you do if you were the boss of eBay and found out about the mean things the workers did?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. company
2. sorry
3. money
4. stories
5. scary
6. tracker
7. strangers
8. hugs
9. boss
10. locked-up

Meanings:
(A) Things that make you feel afraid, like monsters
(B) A group of people who work together to make or sell things
(C) The things you use to buy toys and candy
(D) People you don’t know
(E) A little machine that tells you where something is
(F) The person who tells other people what to do at work
(G) When you squeeze someone because you love them
(H) Tales or accounts about things that happened or could happen
(I) When you feel bad because you did something wrong
(J) A place where people go when they have done something very bad
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why is eBay sorry?
(a) Some workers were mean to a man and a woman
(b) They lost a lot of money
(c) They didn’t sell enough things
(d) They didn’t like the stories the man and woman wrote

2. What did the mean workers do to the man and woman?
(a) Sent scary bugs to their house
(b) Sent them nice presents
(c) Gave them lots of money
(d) Helped them write their stories

3. What did the mean workers put on the man and woman’s car?
(a) A big sticker
(b) A tracker
(c) A new engine
(d) A picture of their faces

4. What did the mean workers make people think the man and woman wanted?
(a) Strangers to come to their house for dinner
(b) Strangers to come to their house to play games
(c) Strangers to come to their house to watch TV
(d) Strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses

5. What happened to the boss of the mean workers?
(a) He got a promotion
(b) He won a big prize
(c) He got in trouble and lost his job
(d) He retired and went on vacation

6. How did the man and woman feel because of what happened?
(a) Happy and excited
(b) Scared and hurt
(c) Angry and bored
(d) Tired and hungry

7. What did the big boss of eBay say?
(a) He was very happy about what his workers did
(b) He wanted to do mean things too
(c) He was going to quit his job
(d) He didn’t know about the mean things his workers did

8. How long did the boss who was in charge of the mean things have to go to the locked-up place?
(a) One month
(b) Two days
(c) Almost five years
(d) Forever

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A man who helped with the mean things received an award and recognition for a year and a half.
2. The boss of these workers and some other people got promoted and gained new opportunities.
3. The workers made people think the man and woman wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses.
4. The workers sent scary bugs to the man and woman’s house and put a tracker on their car.
5. The man and woman who wrote the stories felt very excited and thrilled because of what happened.
6. The big boss of eBay at that time says he didn’t know about the mean things his workers did.
7. The boss who was in charge of the mean things received a promotion and a raise for almost five years.
8. eBay is a company that said sorry and will give money because some people who worked for them were not nice to a man and a woman.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why did eBay say they are sorry?
2. What did the workers do to the man and woman?
3. How did the man and woman feel after what happened?
4. Where did the man who helped with the mean things go?
5. What is eBay doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why is eBay saying sorry?
eBay is saying sorry because some of their workers were mean to a man and a woman.

2. What did the workers do to the man and woman?
The workers sent scary bugs to the man and woman’s house, put a tracker on their car, and made people think the man and woman wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses.

3. How did the man and woman feel after what happened?
The man and woman felt very scared and hurt after what happened.

4. Did the big boss of eBay know about the mean things the workers did?
No, the big boss of eBay says he didn’t know about the mean things the workers did.

5. Where did the man who helped with the mean things go?
The man who helped with the mean things had to go to a place where people are locked up for a year and a half.

6. How long did the boss who was in charge of the mean things go to the locked-up place for?
The boss who was in charge of the mean things went to the locked-up place for almost five years.

7. What is eBay doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again?
eBay is teaching their workers to be nice so that nothing like this happens again.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) eBay
(2) money
(3) people
(4) lost
(5) time
(6) place
(7) half
(8) says
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. company
Answer: (B) A group of people who work together to make or sell things

2. sorry
Answer: (I) When you feel bad because you did something wrong

3. money
Answer: (C) The things you use to buy toys and candy

4. stories
Answer: (H) Tales or accounts about things that happened or could happen

5. scary
Answer: (A) Things that make you feel afraid, like monsters

6. tracker
Answer: (E) A little machine that tells you where something is

7. strangers
Answer: (D) People you don’t know

8. hugs
Answer: (G) When you squeeze someone because you love them

9. boss
Answer: (F) The person who tells other people what to do at work

10. locked-up
Answer: (J) A place where people go when they have done something very bad
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why is eBay sorry?
Answer: (a) Some workers were mean to a man and a woman

2. What did the mean workers do to the man and woman?
Answer: (a) Sent scary bugs to their house

3. What did the mean workers put on the man and woman’s car?
Answer: (b) A tracker

4. What did the mean workers make people think the man and woman wanted?
Answer: (d) Strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses

5. What happened to the boss of the mean workers?
Answer: (c) He got in trouble and lost his job

6. How did the man and woman feel because of what happened?
Answer: (b) Scared and hurt

7. What did the big boss of eBay say?
Answer: (d) He didn’t know about the mean things his workers did

8. How long did the boss who was in charge of the mean things have to go to the locked-up place?
Answer: (c) Almost five years
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A man who helped with the mean things received an award and recognition for a year and a half. (Answer: False)
2. The boss of these workers and some other people got promoted and gained new opportunities. (Answer: False)
3. The workers made people think the man and woman wanted strangers to come to their house for hugs and kisses. (Answer: True)
4. The workers sent scary bugs to the man and woman’s house and put a tracker on their car. (Answer: True)
5. The man and woman who wrote the stories felt very excited and thrilled because of what happened. (Answer: False)
6. The big boss of eBay at that time says he didn’t know about the mean things his workers did. (Answer: True)
7. The boss who was in charge of the mean things received a promotion and a raise for almost five years. (Answer: False)
8. eBay is a company that said sorry and will give money because some people who worked for them were not nice to a man and a woman. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧