A bank in Ethiopia called the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) had a problem where people could take out more money than they had. The bank lost $14 million because of this mistake. But they got back $10 million because many people returned the extra money they took. The bank said if people didn’t return the money, they would have to face the law.

Most of the people who took extra money were students at universities. They found out about the bank’s mistake from messages and calls. The bank is now telling the police about the people who haven’t given back the money. They said it’s easier to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank than to a different bank.

The CBE is a very old and big bank with lots of people using it. They didn’t say exactly how the mistake happened but told everyone that their money in the bank was safe. They are still working to fix the problem and make sure all the money is returned.

Original news source: Customers return $10m taken during bank glitch (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, students will create a catchy headline for the news article. They should aim to capture the main idea of the article in a concise and attention-grabbing way. After brainstorming, each group will share their headline with the class and explain their choice.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and draw a picture to represent one of the words. The team members must guess the word within a certain time limit. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Students will form small groups and discuss their opinions on the bank’s actions and the people who took extra money. They can discuss questions such as: Do you think the people who took extra money should be punished? Why or why not? Should the bank have been more careful with their money? Each group will share their opinions with the class and a class-wide discussion can follow.

– Charades
Instructions: Write down different actions related to the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat. One student will come to the front of the class and choose a paper from the hat. Without speaking, they must act out the action for the class to guess. The student who guesses correctly will then come up to act out the next action.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, students will discuss what they think will happen in the future regarding the bank’s situation. They can consider questions such as: Will all the money be returned? Will the bank change its policies to prevent this from happening again? Each pair will share their predictions with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the problem at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia?
2. How much money did the bank lose because of the mistake?
3. How much money did the bank get back?
4. What did the bank say would happen if people didn’t return the money?
5. Who were most of the people who took extra money?
6. How did the students find out about the bank’s mistake?
7. Why is it easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A bank in Ethiopia called the (1)______ Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) had a problem where people could take out more (2)______ than they had. The bank lost $14 million because of this (3)______. But they got back $10 million because many people returned the (4)______ money they (5)______. The (6)______ said if people didn’t return the money, they would have to face the law.

Most of the people who took extra money were students at universities. They found out about the bank’s mistake from messages and (7)______. The bank is now (8)______ the police about the people who haven’t given back the money. They said it’s (9)______ to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank than to a different bank.

The CBE is a very old and big bank with lots of (10)______ using it. They didn’t say exactly how the mistake happened but (11)______ everyone that their money in the bank was safe. They are still working to fix the (12)______ and make sure all the money is returned.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a bank?
2. How would you feel if you took extra money from a bank by mistake?
3. Do you think it’s important to return money that doesn’t belong to you? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever made a mistake with money? What happened?
5. Do you think it’s fair for the bank to involve the police in this situation? Why or why not?
6. How do you think the bank can prevent this kind of mistake from happening again?
7. Do you think the people who returned the extra money should be rewarded? Why or why not?
8. Have you ever received a message or call about something important? What was it about?
9. How do you think the students found out about the bank’s mistake?
10. Do you like using banks? Why or why not?
11. What do you think the bank means when they say they are working to fix the problem?
12. How important do you think it is for banks to keep people’s money safe? Why?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Ethiopia
2. Commercial
3. mistake
4. returned
5. law
6. students
7. messages
8. police
9. account
10. old
11. safe
12. fix

Meanings:
(A) A place at a bank where you keep your money
(B) Having been around for a long time
(C) Brought or sent back to where it came from
(D) To repair or correct something that is broken or wrong
(E) People who make sure others follow the rules
(F) Something that is not correct
(G) Written or spoken ways to tell someone something
(H) Related to buying and selling things
(I) A country in Africa
(J) Young people who go to school, especially older ones
(K) Rules that people must follow
(L) Not in danger
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the bank in Ethiopia that had a problem with people taking out more money than they had?
(a) Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)
(b) National Bank of Ethiopia
(c) Ethiopian Bank of Commerce
(d) Bank of Ethiopia

2. How much money did the bank lose because of the mistake?
(a) $10 million
(b) $4 million
(c) $14 million
(d) $24 million

3. How much money did the bank get back from the people who took extra money?
(a) $14 million
(b) $10 million
(c) $4 million
(d) $24 million

4. Who were the majority of the people who took extra money?
(a) Students at universities
(b) Bank employees
(c) Elderly people
(d) Business owners

5. How did the people find out about the bank’s mistake?
(a) Newspaper articles
(b) Messages and calls
(c) TV advertisements
(d) Social media posts

6. What is the bank doing now to deal with the people who haven’t returned the money?
(a) Sending them warning letters
(b) Freezing their bank accounts
(c) Telling the police
(d) Offering them a reward

7. Why is it easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank?
(a) Because they have better technology for tracking money
(b) Because they have more employees working on it
(c) Because they have a special department for this
(d) Because they have access to all the bank’s records

8. What did the bank say about the safety of people’s money in the bank?
(a) It is not safe
(b) They are not sure
(c) They didn’t mention it
(d) It is safe

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The bank is not working to fix the problem and ensure that all the money is returned.
2. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia gained $14 million because people took out more money than they had.
3. The bank warned that people who didn’t return the money would face legal consequences.
4. Most of the people who took extra money were students at universities.
5. The bank was able to recover $10 million because many people returned the extra money they took.
6. It’s harder for the bank to track money that was moved to another account within the same bank.
7. The students found out about the bank’s mistake through messages and calls.
8. The bank is not reporting the people who haven’t returned the money to the police.
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. What problem did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia have?
2. How much money did the bank lose because of the mistake?
3. How did the bank get some of the money back?
4. Who were the people who took extra money from the bank?
5. Why is it easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the problem at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia?
People could take out more money than they had.

2. How much money did the bank lose because of the mistake?
The bank lost $14 million.

3. How much money did the bank get back?
The bank got back $10 million.

4. What did the bank say would happen if people didn’t return the money?
The bank said people would have to face the law if they didn’t return the money.

5. Who were most of the people who took extra money?
Most of the people who took extra money were students at universities.

6. How did the students find out about the bank’s mistake?
The students found out about the bank’s mistake from messages and calls.

7. Why is it easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank?
It is easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank because they have access to all the information within their own bank.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Commercial
(2) money
(3) mistake
(4) extra
(5) took
(6) bank
(7) calls
(8) telling
(9) easier
(10) people
(11) told
(12) problem
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Ethiopia
Answer: (I) A country in Africa

2. Commercial
Answer: (H) Related to buying and selling things

3. mistake
Answer: (F) Something that is not correct

4. returned
Answer: (C) Brought or sent back to where it came from

5. law
Answer: (K) Rules that people must follow

6. students
Answer: (J) Young people who go to school, especially older ones

7. messages
Answer: (G) Written or spoken ways to tell someone something

8. police
Answer: (E) People who make sure others follow the rules

9. account
Answer: (A) A place at a bank where you keep your money

10. old
Answer: (B) Having been around for a long time

11. safe
Answer: (L) Not in danger

12. fix
Answer: (D) To repair or correct something that is broken or wrong
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the bank in Ethiopia that had a problem with people taking out more money than they had?
Answer: (a) Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)

2. How much money did the bank lose because of the mistake?
Answer: (c) $14 million

3. How much money did the bank get back from the people who took extra money?
Answer: (b) $10 million

4. Who were the majority of the people who took extra money?
Answer: (a) Students at universities

5. How did the people find out about the bank’s mistake?
Answer: (b) Messages and calls

6. What is the bank doing now to deal with the people who haven’t returned the money?
Answer: (c) Telling the police

7. Why is it easier for the bank to find money that was moved to another account in the same bank?
Answer: (d) Because they have access to all the bank’s records

8. What did the bank say about the safety of people’s money in the bank?
Answer: (d) It is safe
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The bank is not working to fix the problem and ensure that all the money is returned. (Answer: False)
2. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia gained $14 million because people took out more money than they had. (Answer: False)
3. The bank warned that people who didn’t return the money would face legal consequences. (Answer: True)
4. Most of the people who took extra money were students at universities. (Answer: True)
5. The bank was able to recover $10 million because many people returned the extra money they took. (Answer: True)
6. It’s harder for the bank to track money that was moved to another account within the same bank. (Answer: False)
7. The students found out about the bank’s mistake through messages and calls. (Answer: True)
8. The bank is not reporting the people who haven’t returned the money to the police. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧