The Reading / Listening - Pay / Salaries - Level 6

Tesla boss Elon Musk has been awarded a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders of his company. The astronomical remuneration package is 3,000 times the average pay for a CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average income in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. At that salary, it would take 943,014 years to earn $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary was agreed upon by shareholders at Tesla's annual general meeting on Friday. Musk responded by telling the investors attending the meeting that: "We have the most awesome shareholder base of any public company. We are not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we are starting a new book."

Musk's pay settlement was blocked earlier this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding judge deemed the size of the pay to be unfair to shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders agreed the deal was both fair, and in the company's best interests. The BBC said 72 per cent of the votes cast favoured the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a pretty ringing endorsement". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled Musk's business acumen. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% appreciation in Tesla stock, and that's pretty impressive. Most chief executives have never done anything like that."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Pay / Salaries - Level 4  or  Pay / Salaries - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cleezyxjv4jo
  • https://www.ft.com/content/86a238ba-5a2b-4960-806d-df5cbe796c05
  • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-today-nasdaq-ekes-out-5th-straight-record-to-cap-banner-week-for-tech-200532691.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. SALARIES / PAY: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about salaries / pay. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       Tesla / boss / pay deal / CEO / salary / shareholders / meeting / public company
       court / judge / fair / votes / car industry / analyst / business / executives / stock
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SALARY CAP: Students A strongly believe all professions should have a salary cap; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. BUSINESS LEADER: What do you know about these companies that Musk either founded or was/is CEO of? How do / will they change our world? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

World-changing

PayPal

 

 

SpaceX

 

 

Tesla

 

 

Neuralink

 

 

The Boring Company

 

 

X / Twitter

 

 

MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. RECORD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "record". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. $56 BILLION: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to spend $56 billion on at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Food
  • Getting to Mars
  • Charities
  • Tropical islands
  • Sports teams
  • Cancer research
  • Global hunger
  • Property

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. deal a. Answered or replied.
      2. astronomical b. A group of people regarded as supporting an organization.
      3. remuneration c. An agreement or arrangement, especially in business.
      4. earn d. Very, very large.
      5. responded e. Get money for working.
      6. investor f. A person who puts money into a business to make more money.
      7. base g. Money paid for work.

    Paragraph 2

      8. settlement h. Increase in monetary value.
      9. presiding i. The ability to make good decisions, especially in business.
      10. deemed j. Saying that you support or like something or someone.
      11. endorsement k. An agreement whereby property, wealth or money passes someone.
      12. acumen l. Causing admiration because it is very good or great.
      13. appreciation m. Being in charge of a meeting or event.
      14. impressive n. Thought or considered to be.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Elon Musk was awarded a record-breaking pay deal by his boss.     T / F
  2. The pay deal is 3,000 times higher than the average CEO's pay.     T / F
  3. The average US wage-earner needs over 900,000 years to earn $56bn.   T / F
  4. Elon Musk said he is starting a book publishing company.     T / F
  5. A court ruled the $56 billion pay was fair to shareholders.     T / F
  6. Shareholders said the $56 billion pay was in Tesla's best interests.     T / F
  7. Tesla's share price rose 3% after news of the $56 billion pay deal.     T / F
  8. An analyst said Musk had increased Tesla's value by 110%.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. awarded
  2. astronomical
  3. earn
  4. awesome
  5. chapter
  6. deemed
  7. cast
  8. endorsement
  9. acumen
  10. appreciation
  1. breathtaking
  2. increase
  3. period
  4. regarded
  5. seal of approval
  6. given
  7. awareness
  8. enormous
  9. take home
  10. registered

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. The astronomical remuneration
  2. 3,000 times the average
  3. it would take 943,014 years
  4. Tesla's annual general
  5. the most awesome shareholder base
  6. The presiding
  7. the deal was both fair, and in the
  8. the vote was a pretty ringing
  9. Mr Brauer extolled Musk's business
  10. a 1,100% appreciation
  1. to earn $56 billion
  2. of any public company
  3. endorsement
  4. in Tesla stock
  5. company's best interests
  6. pay for a CEO in the USA
  7. meeting
  8. judge
  9. package
  10. acumen

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
average
agreed
chapter
astronomical
awesome
awarded
earn
responded

Tesla boss Elon Musk has been (1) _____________________ a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders of his company. The (2) _____________________ remuneration package is 3,000 times the average pay for a CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the (3) _____________________ income in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. At that salary, it would take 943,014 years to (4) _____________________ $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary was (5) _____________________ upon by shareholders at Tesla's annual general meeting on Friday. Musk (6) _____________________ by telling the investors attending the meeting that: "We have the most (7) _____________________ shareholder base of any public company. We are not just opening a new (8) _____________________ for Tesla, we are starting a new book."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
cast
executives
settlement
interests
appreciation
endorsement
deemed
acumen

Musk's pay (9) _____________________ was blocked earlier this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding judge (10) _____________________ the size of the pay to be unfair to shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders agreed the deal was both fair, and in the company's best (11) _____________________. The BBC said 72 per cent of the votes (12) _____________________ favoured the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a pretty ringing (13) _____________________ ". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled Musk's business (14) _____________________. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% (15) _____________________ in Tesla stock, and that's pretty impressive. Most chief (16) _____________________ have never done anything like that."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  Elon Musk has been awarded a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion ______
     a.  by them shareholders
     b.  by the shareholder
     c.  by the shareholders
     d.  by the share holds
2)  The astronomical remuneration package is 3,000 times ______
     a.  the averaged pay
     b.  the average pay
     c.  the averages pay
     d.  the avarice pay
3)  Mr Musk's salary was agreed upon by shareholders at Tesla's ______
     a.  annual generals' meeting
     b.  annual general meeting
     c.  annual general's meeting
     d.  annual generally meeting
4)  We have the most ______
     a.  awesome shareholder bass
     b.  awesome shareholder paste
     c.  awesome shareholder baste
     d.  awesome shareholder base
5)  We are not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we are starting ______
     a.  a new book
     b.  anew book
     c.  a news book
     d.  a knew book

6)  Musk's pay settlement was blocked earlier this year ______
     a.  buyer court
     b.  buy a court
     c.  bye a court
     d.  by a court
7)  The presiding judge deemed the size of the pay to be ______
     a.  unfairly to shareholders
     b.  unfair too shareholders
     c.  unfair to shareholder
     d.  unfair to shareholders
8)  shareholders agreed the deal was both fair, and in the ______
     a.  company's best interests
     b.  company's best interest
     c.  company's beast interests
     d.  company's boast interests
9)  car industry analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was a ______
     a.  pretty ringing endorsement
     b.  pretty tolling endorsement
     c.  pretty alarming endorsement
     d.  pretty bringing endorsement
10)  nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled ______
     a.  Musk's business specimen
     b.  Musk's business acumen
     c.  Musk's business accumulate
     d.  Musk's business permanent

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Tesla boss Elon Musk (1) ____________________ a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders of his company. The astronomical (2) ____________________ 3,000 times the average pay for a CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, (3) ____________________ in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. At that salary, it would take 943,014 years to earn $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary (4) ____________________ by shareholders at Tesla's (5) ____________________ on Friday. Musk responded by telling the investors attending the meeting that: "We have (6) ____________________ shareholder base of any public company. We are not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we are starting a new book."

Musk's pay settlement (7) ____________________ this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding judge (8) ____________________ of the pay to be unfair to shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders agreed the deal was both fair, and in the company's best interests. The BBC said 72 per cent of the (9) ____________________ the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a (10) ____________________". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled (11) ____________________. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% appreciation in Tesla stock, and (12) ____________________. Most chief executives have never done anything like that."

Comprehension questions

  1. Who awarded Elon Musk the record pay deal?
  2. How much higher is the pay deal than the average pay of a US CEO?
  3. How much would the average US wage-earner earn in 943,014 years?
  4. What kind of meeting was there at Tesla last Friday?
  5. What did Mr Musk tell shareholders they were starting?
  6. Where was a court that blocked the pay deal earlier this year?
  7. What percentage of voters voted in favour of the pay deal?
  8. Who is Karl Brauer?
  9. What happened to Tesla's shares after Friday's meeting?
  10. By how much has Musk overseen the rise in Tesla's value?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Who awarded Elon Musk the record pay deal?
a) Mr Musk's boss
b) Tesla shareholders
c) his partner
d) He did.
2)  How much higher is the pay deal than the average pay of a US CEO?
a) 1,000 times
b) 2,000 times
c) 3,000 times
d) 4,000 times
3)  How much would the average US wage-earner earn in 943,014 years?
a) $100 billion
b) $75 billion
c) $56 billion
d) $5.6 billion
4)  What kind of meeting was there at Tesla last Friday?
a) an extraordinary meeting
b) an annual general meeting
c) a last-minute meeting
d) a private meeting
5)  What did Mr Musk tell shareholders they were starting?
a) a new book
b) a new chapter
c) a new sentence
d) a new series

6)  Where was a court that blocked the pay deal earlier this year?
a) Delaware
b) Washington DC
c) New York
d) London
7)  What percentage of voters voted in favour of the pay deal?
a) 75%
b) 74%
c) 73%
d) 72%
8)  Who is Karl Brauer?
a) a court judge
b) Mr Musk's best friend
c) a car industry analyst
d) a Tesla shareholder
9)  What happened to Tesla's shares after Friday's meeting?
a) Nothing
b) They sky-rocketed.
c) They tanked
d) They by rose 3%.
10)  By how much has Musk overseen the rise in Tesla's value?
a) 1,000%
b) 1,100%
c) 1,200%
d) 1,300%

Role play

Role  A – Food
You think food is the best thing to spend $56 billion on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these things to spend money on (and why): getting to Mars, property or cancer research.

Role  B – Getting to Mars
You think getting to Mars is the best thing to spend $56 billion on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these things to spend money on (and why): food, property or cancer research.

Role  C – Property
You think property is the best thing to spend $56 billion on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these things to spend money on (and why): getting to Mars, food or cancer research.

Role  D – Cancer Research
You think cancer research is the best thing to spend $56 billion on. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these things to spend money on (and why): getting to Mars, property or food.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'pay'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'deal'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • awarded
    • times
    • years
    • annual
    • base
    • book
    • earlier
    • unfair
    • cast
    • pretty
    • stock
    • most

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Pay / Salaries

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'pay'?
    3. What do you know about Elon Musk?
    4. What do you think of getting $56 billion in pay?
    5. What would you do if you had $56 billion?
    6. How much money is too much?
    7. Why do you think the shareholders agreed to the pay deal?
    8. Do you think you would be a good CEO?
    9. What might Tesla be doing to start 'a new book'?
    10. What advice do you have for Elon Musk?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'deal'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about the car company Tesla?
    5. Do you have or would you like to have shares?
    6. Who are the world's best business leaders?
    7. How does someone develop business acumen?
    8. What would the world be like if everyone got the same salary?
    9. What kind of company would you like to be CEO of?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Elon Musk?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Tesla boss Elon Musk has been (1) ____ a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders of his company. The astronomical remuneration (2) ____ is 3,000 times the average pay for a CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average income in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. (3) ____ that salary, it would take 943,014 years to (4) ____ $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary was agreed upon by shareholders at Tesla's annual general meeting on Friday. Musk responded by telling the investors attending the meeting that: "We have the most (5) ____ shareholder base of any public company. We are not just opening a new (6) ____ for Tesla, we are starting a new book."

    Musk's pay settlement was (7) ____ earlier this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding judge (8) ____ the size of the pay to be unfair to shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders agreed the deal was both fair and (9) ____ the company's best interests. The BBC said 72 per cent of the votes cast favoured the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry (10) ____ Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a pretty ringing endorsement". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled Musk's business (11) ____. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% appreciation in Tesla stock, and that's (12) ____ impressive. Most chief executives have never done anything like that."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     rewarded     (b)     forwarded     (c)     awarded     (d)     warded    
    2. (a)     package     (b)     parcel     (c)     bundle     (d)     baggage    
    3. (a)     At     (b)     Of     (c)     To     (d)     In    
    4. (a)     earn     (b)     yearn     (c)     learn     (d)     yearning    
    5. (a)     awe-stricken     (b)     overawed     (c)     awe     (d)     awesome    
    6. (a)     phrase     (b)     paragraph     (c)     verse     (d)     chapter    
    7. (a)     blocked     (b)     blackened     (c)     blacked out     (d)     bracken    
    8. (a)     shammed     (b)     domed     (c)     seemed     (d)     deemed    
    9. (a)     in     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     to    
    10. (a)     analysis     (b)     analyst     (c)     analytic     (d)     analyze    
    11. (a)     bitumen     (b)     acumen     (c)     lumen     (d)     albumen    
    12. (a)     pretty     (b)     petting     (c)     petty     (d)     petulantly

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. asehlohdrres of his company
    2. The torosaimncal remuneration package
    3. the veraage income
    4. telling the vitseonrs
    5. Musk sopenredd
    6. We have the most wesoame

    Paragraph 2

    1. Musk's pay etsmeletnt
    2. The epdisirng judge
    3. a pretty ringing noresemdnet
    4. Mr Brauer extolled Musk's business camuen
    5. a 1,100% pirepatacion in Tesla stock
    6. chief etcuxivees

    Put the text back together

    (...)   agreed the deal was both fair, and in the company's best interests. The BBC said 72 per cent of the votes cast
    (...)   meeting on Friday. Musk responded by telling the investors attending the meeting that: "We have the most
    (...)   income in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. At that salary, it would take 943,014 years to earn
    (...)   favoured the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a pretty
    (...)   CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average
    (...)   of his company. The astronomical remuneration package is 3,000 times the average pay for a
    (...)   $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary was agreed upon by shareholders at Tesla's annual general
    (...)   stock, and that's pretty impressive. Most chief executives have never done anything like that."
    (...)   ringing endorsement". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled
    (...)   Musk's pay settlement was blocked earlier this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding
    (...)   Musk's business acumen. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% appreciation in Tesla
    (...)   judge deemed the size of the pay to be unfair to shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders
    (...)   awesome shareholder base of any public company. We are not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we are starting a new book."
    (..1..) Tesla boss Elon Musk has been awarded a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders

    Put the words in the right order

    1. has   a   awarded   been   record-breaking   Musk   pay   deal   .
    2. astronomical   is   The   times   3,000   remuneration   the   average   .
    3. years   take   943,014   It   to   earn   would   $56 billion   .
    4. have   most   the   We   awesome   shareholder   base   .
    5. are   not   just   opening   a   We   new   chapter   .
    6. pay   blocked   was   settlement   earlier   Musk's   this   year   .
    7. deal   in   The   company's   the   was   best   interests   .
    8. a   was   vote   pretty   The   ringing   endorsement   .
    9. been   1,100%   There's   in   appreciation   a   Tesla   stock   .
    10. never   have   Chief   done   executives   like   anything   that   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Tesla boss Elon Musk has been rewarded / awarded a record-breaking pay deal of $56 billion by the shareholders of his company. The astronomy / astronomical remuneration package is 3,000 times the average pay / paid for a CEO in the USA. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average outcome / income in the USA in 2023 was $59,384. At that salary, it would take 943,014 years to earn / yearn $56 billion. Mr Musk's salary was agreed upon of / by shareholders at Tesla's annual general / generally meeting on Friday. Musk responded by telling the investors attending / attends the meeting that: "We have the most awesome shareholder bass / base of any public company. We are not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we are starting a new verse / book."

    Musk's pay settlement was blocked / blackened earlier this year by a court in Delaware. The presiding judge doomed / deemed the size of the pay to be unfair to / of shareholders. However, in Friday's meeting, shareholders agreed the deal was both fair / fare and in the company's best interests. The BBC said 72 per cent of the votes cast flavoured / favoured the $56 billion deal. The BBC quoted car industry analysis / analyst Karl Brauer as saying the vote was "a pretty ringing / bringing endorsement". Shares in Tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting. Mr Brauer extolled / trolled Musk's business acumen. He said: "My understanding is that there's been about a 1,100% appreciation / appreciative in Tesla stock, and that's pretty impressive. Most chief executives have never done nothing / anything like that."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    T_sl_  b_ss  _l_n  M_sk  h_s  b__n  _w_rd_d  _  r_c_rd-br__k_ng  p_y  d__l  _f  $56  b_ll__n  by  th_  sh_r_h_ld_rs  _f  h_s  c_mp_ny.  Th_  _str_n_m_c_l  r_m_n_r_t__n  p_ck_g_  _s  3,000  t_m_s  th_  _v_r_g_  p_y  f_r  _  C__  _n  th_  _S_.  _cc_rd_ng  t_  th_  _.S.  B_r___  _f  L_b_r  St_t_st_cs,  th_  _v_r_g_  _nc_m_  _n  th_  _S_  _n  2023  w_s  $59,384.  _t  th_t  s_l_ry,  _t  w__ld  t_k_  943,014  y__rs  t_  __rn  $56  b_ll__n.  Mr  M_sk's  s_l_ry  w_s  _gr__d  _p_n  by  sh_r_h_ld_rs  _t  T_sl_'s  _nn__l  g_n_r_l  m__t_ng  _n  Fr_d_y.  M_sk  r_sp_nd_d  by  t_ll_ng  th_  _nv_st_rs  _tt_nd_ng  th_  m__t_ng  th_t:  "W_  h_v_  th_  m_st  _w_s_m_  sh_r_h_ld_r  b_s_  _f  _ny  p_bl_c  c_mp_ny.  W_  _r_  n_t  j_st  _p_n_ng  _  n_w  ch_pt_r  f_r  T_sl_,  w_  _r_  st_rt_ng  _  n_w  b__k."

    M_sk's  p_y  s_ttl_m_nt  w_s  bl_ck_d  __rl__r  th_s  y__r  by  _  c__rt  _n  D_l_w_r_.  Th_  pr_s_d_ng  j_dg_  d__m_d  th_  s_z_  _f  th_  p_y  t_  b_  _nf__r  t_  sh_r_h_ld_rs.  H_w_v_r,  _n  Fr_d_y's  m__t_ng,  sh_r_h_ld_rs  _gr__d  th_  d__l  w_s  b_th  f__r  _nd  _n  th_  c_mp_ny's  b_st  _nt_r_sts.  Th_  BBC  s__d  72  p_r  c_nt  _f  th_  v_t_s  c_st  f_v__r_d  th_  $56  b_ll__n  d__l.  Th_  BBC  q__t_d  c_r  _nd_stry  _n_lyst  K_rl  Br___r  _s  s_y_ng  th_  v_t_  w_s  "_  pr_tty  r_ng_ng  _nd_rs_m_nt".  Sh_r_s  _n  T_sl_  cl_s_d  n__rly  3  p_r  c_nt  _p  f_ll_w_ng  th_  m__t_ng.  Mr  Br___r  _xt_ll_d  M_sk's  b_s_n_ss  _c_m_n.  H_  s__d:  "My  _nd_rst_nd_ng  _s  th_t  th_r_'s  b__n  _b__t  _  1,100%  _ppr_c__t__n  _n  T_sl_  st_ck,  _nd  th_t's  pr_tty  _mpr_ss_v_.  M_st  ch__f  _x_c_t_v_s  h_v_  n_v_r  d_n_  _nyth_ng  l_k_  th_t."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    tesla boss elon musk has been awarded a recordbreaking pay deal of 56 billion by the shareholders of his company the astronomical remuneration package is 3000 times the average pay for a ceo in the usa according to the us bureau of labor statistics the average income in the usa in 2023 was 59384 at that salary it would take 943014 years to earn 56 billion mr musks salary was agreed upon by shareholders at teslas annual general meeting on friday musk responded by telling the investors attending the meeting that we have the most awesome shareholder base of any public company we are not just opening a new chapter for tesla we are starting a new book

    musks pay settlement was blocked earlier this year by a court in delaware the presiding judge deemed the size of the pay to be unfair to shareholders however in fridays meeting shareholders agreed the deal was both fair, and in the companys best interests the bbc said 72 per cent of the votes cast favoured the 56 billion deal the bbc quoted car industry analyst karl brauer as saying the vote was a pretty ringing endorsement shares in tesla closed nearly 3 per cent up following the meeting mr brauer extolled musks business acumen he said my understanding is that theres been about a 1100 appreciation in tesla stock and thats pretty impressive most chief executives have never done anything like that

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TeslabossElonMuskhasbeenawardedarecord-breakingpaydealof$5
    6billionbytheshareholdersofhiscompany.Theastronomicalremunera
    tionpackageis3,000timestheaveragepayforaCEOintheUSA.Accordin
    gtotheU.S.BureauofLaborStatistics,theaverageincomeintheUSAin2
    023was$59,384.Atthatsalary,itwouldtake943,014yearstoearn$56b
    illion.MrMusk'ssalarywasagreeduponbyshareholdersatTesla'sannua
    lgeneralmeetingonFriday.Muskrespondedbytellingtheinvestorsatte
    ndingthemeetingthat:"Wehavethemostawesomeshareholderbaseo
    fanypubliccompany.WearenotjustopeninganewchapterforTesla,we
    arestartinganewbook."Musk'spaysettlementwasblockedearlierthisy
    earbyacourtinDelaware.Thepresidingjudgedeemedthesizeofthepay
    tobeunfairtoshareholders.However,inFriday'smeeting,shareholders
    agreedthedealwasbothfair,andinthecompany'sbestinterests.TheBB
    Csaid72percentofthevotescastfavouredthe$56billiondeal.TheBBCq
    uotedcarindustryanalystKarlBrauerassayingthevotewas"aprettyrin
    gingendorsement".SharesinTeslaclosednearly3percentupfollowingt
    hemeeting.MrBrauerextolledMusk'sbusinessacumen.Hesaid:"Myun
    derstandingisthatthere'sbeenabouta1,100%appreciationinTeslasto
    ck,andthat'sprettyimpressive.Mostchiefexecutiveshaveneverdonea
    nythinglikethat."

    Free writing

    Write aboutsalaries / pay for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    There should be a cap on all salaries. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. SALARIES / PAY: Make a poster about salaries / pay. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. PAY LIMIT: Write a magazine article about putting a pay limit on all jobs. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on salaries / pay. Ask him/her three questions about them / pay. Give him/her three of your ideas on how much salary different occupations should get. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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