News by Levels · Level 2 · For teachers
Teacher guide & answers
In this lesson: Connect merchant costs with the authority’s concern about visible prices.
Watchdog Examines How Payment Costs Reach Shoppers
How to use these two pages
Give learners the student worksheet. It contains the story and questions, without the answers. Keep this guide for yourself. Use it to lead the activity and explain the answers afterwards.
Student worksheetA simple 15–20-minute lesson
- Before reading · 2 minutes
Show the title. Ask: “What do you think this story is about?”
- Read and answer · 8–10 minutes
Give out the student worksheet. Learners read for the main idea, then reread to answer the 2 questions. They can compare answers with a partner.
- Discuss and write · 5–8 minutes
Check the answers below together. Ask learners to point to the clue in the story, then finish with the open question.
Adjust the support: Let learners use word help or Level 1 if needed. For a challenge, compare the wording in another level. This activity is not a proficiency test.
Answers to the 2 questions
The question numbers match the student worksheet. Each answer includes a reason and the clue learners can find in the story.
Who pays fees to process payments?
Correct answer: A — The shops themselves
Why: The first paragraph says shops pay payment-processing fees.
Clue in the story: Germany’s competition authority says PayPal’s ban on extra customer fees could weaken competition between payment services. Shops themselves pay fees to process payments.
What worries the authority?
Correct answer: C — Customers cannot see differences in those costs
Why: The second paragraph identifies the visibility of cost differences as the concern.
Clue in the story: The authority worries that customers cannot see differences in those costs. It has not issued a final decision, and PayPal can comment.
The open question: accept different answers
Ask learners: Explain the connection between the shops’ costs and the concern.
One possible answer: Shops pay fees for processing payments, but the authority worries customers cannot see the differences between those costs. It says the ban on extra customer fees could weaken competition.
This is an example, not the only correct answer. Look for a relevant idea, a reason and the learner’s own words. Learners can answer aloud or write one or two sentences.
Grammar to discuss
An actor’s concern
worries that
Worries that introduces the authority’s concern; it does not announce a final decision.