Economics · Level 2 · 147 words

Money for a Rainy Day

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

Life brings surprises, and many of them cost money. A car breaks down. A tooth needs fixing. A job ends without warning. People who have no savings must borrow when these things happen, often at a high cost.

That is why many advisers suggest keeping an emergency fund. This is a pot of money set aside for hard times and nothing else. A common goal is to save enough to cover three months of basic costs, such as rent and food. That amount is not easy to reach, and it may take years.

The trick is to build it slowly and to leave it alone. It is not for a holiday or a new phone. It is only for a true emergency.

People with such a fund sleep better, because a sudden bill does not become a crisis. The fund turns a disaster into a mere problem.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. What is the passage mainly about?

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A. An emergency fund: savings set aside only for hard times
The passage explains what an emergency fund is, what it is for, and why it helps.

2. According to the text, how much is a common goal for an emergency fund?

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B. Enough to cover three months of basic costs
The text says a common goal is "to save enough to cover three months of basic costs."

3. Why do people with an emergency fund "sleep better"?

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B. A sudden bill does not turn into a crisis for them
The text says a sudden bill "does not become a crisis" for people who have a fund.

4. In this passage, "emergency" most nearly means

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B. a sudden serious event that needs quick action
The examples -- a broken car, a lost job, a sudden bill -- show an emergency is a sudden serious event.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.