The lottery winner who shot her ex-husband

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Elementary A2

PDF: The lottery winner who shot her ex-husband

Warm-up

Have you ever won money in a lottery? (No, I haven't. / Yes, I won...)

Vocabulary Match

appeal •• raffle
sued •• taken to court
unexpected •• challenge
kidnapped •• taken
lottery •• scared
threatened •• surprising

Vocabulary Answers

appealchallenge
suedtaken to court
unexpectedsurprising
kidnappedtaken
lotteryraffle
threatenedscared

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

Tonda Dickerson, a waitress in Florida, won $10 million from a ________ ticket tip in 1999. She chose to get $375,000 a year for 30 years. After winning, she faced many problems. Her coworkers ________ her, saying they had an agreement to share any lottery winnings. Tonda won the case on ________. Edward Seward, who gave her the ticket, also sued her, claiming she promised him a truck.

Then, her ex-husband, Stacy Martin, tried to hurt her. He ________ her and ________ to kill her. But Tonda defended herself bravely. She shot him in the chest when he wasn't looking. Luckily, he survived and didn't harm her.

The IRS asked for a big gift tax from her winnings, but she didn't have to pay after going to court. Today, Tonda's life is private, and she has stayed out of the public eye. Her story shows how winning a lot of money suddenly can lead to ________ challenges.

Tonda Dickerson, a waitress in Florida, won $10 million from a lottery ticket tip in 1999. She chose to get $375,000 a year for 30 years. After winning, she faced many problems. Her coworkers sued her, saying they had an agreement to share any lottery winnings. Tonda won the case on appeal. Edward Seward, who gave her the ticket, also sued her, claiming she promised him a truck.

Then, her ex-husband, Stacy Martin, tried to hurt her. He kidnapped her and threatened to kill her. But Tonda defended herself bravely. She shot him in the chest when he wasn't looking. Luckily, he survived and didn't harm her.

The IRS asked for a big gift tax from her winnings, but she didn't have to pay after going to court. Today, Tonda's life is private, and she has stayed out of the public eye. Her story shows how winning a lot of money suddenly can lead to unexpected challenges.

Quiz

  1. Why did Tonda's coworkers sue her?
  2. How did she escape from her ex-husband?
  3. What did the IRS ask her for after she won the lottery?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. They said they had an agreement to share any lottery winnings.
  2. She shot him in the chest when he wasn't looking.
  3. The IRS asked for a big gift tax from her winnings.

True or False

  1. Tonda chose to get all her lottery winnings at once. T F
  2. Edward Seward, who gave Tonda the lottery ticket, was shot in the chest. T F
  3. Tonda had to pay the IRS $375,000 a year for 30 years. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. False
  3. False

Conversation

A:Tonda, congrats on winning the lottery!
B:Thanks, but it's been tough with the lawsuits and all.
A:We did have an agreement to share, right?
B:That was just casual talk, not a real agreement.
A:But we've always supported each other. It's about fairness.
B:I know, but.... hey, what do you think of my new shotgun?

Discussion

  1. Would you like to win a lottery? Why or why not?
  2. What would you do if you won a lot of money?
  3. Have you ever been in a difficult situation with your coworkers?
  4. Do you think it's better to live a private life or a public life? Why?

Further Reading

https://www.ndtv.com/feature/a-waitress-life-turned-into-a-nightmare-after-10-million-lottery-win-read-her-story-4562359

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