READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
A 58–year–old grandmother in Massachusetts won one of the biggest prizes in
U.S. history—$294 million. If she had taken the 26–year payout, Doris Stevens
would have received $11 million a year for 26 years, before taxes. Mrs. Stevens
decided to take the lump sum payment. People who take the lump sum get
paid within 60 days, but their total payment is reduced by almost 40 percent.
Mrs. Stevens' lump sum was $168 million, but luckily, she didn't have to pay
federal tax on her winnings.
What is Mrs. Stevens going to do with her windfall? "Well, the first thing I'm going
to do is to help out my children and grandchildren, of course. Second, I hope
to revolutionise the housecleaning industry." A housecleaner for her entire life,
Mrs. Stevens says she's going to establish a National Housecleaner Helper Corporation
to help other cleaners open their own companies. Her corporation would focus on
giving money to various people and research firms to develop more efficient and
more powerful housecleaning solvents and tools.
"When was the last time you saw something new in housecleaning?" Mrs. Stevens
asked. "They keep claiming they've invented new cleaning products that remove
any and all blemishes, but they still haven't invented a product that removes an
ordinary ballpoint ink stain from your ordinary white shirt. This industry needs some
new products. I hope to revolutionise the cleaning world, so that my 'sisters' will
have an easier time of it in the future. We've all spent too much time on our hands
and knees. If men had to do housecleaning, you know that they'd be inventing
more powerful products every week."
Why did she lose nearly half of her money?
A She took it in one payment.
B She had to pay taxes.
C She wanted to start a business.
D She gave it to her grandchildren.
Ans 1: