**Featured Story**

**The Restaurant Bill Confusion 💸**
Hassan learns something special about restaurants in the US.

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🟢 Beginner:

Hassan eats at a restaurant.
The waiter gives him a bill.
"Oh no! Too much!" Hassan says.
The waiter explains. "Tax and tip!"
Hassan understands.

Expression: Lesson learned (realizing something after making a mistake)
• Bill (noun, a list of charges for food or services)
• Waiter (noun, a person who serves food at a restaurant)
• Too much (phrase, more than needed or wanted)
• Tax (noun, extra money added to the price of something by the government)
• Tip (noun, extra money given for good service at a restaurant, taxi, etc.)

Example:
Emma forgot her umbrella and got soaked in the rain.
"Next time, I’ll check the weather. Lesson learned!"

🟡 Intermediate:

Hassan enjoys his meal, but when he gets the bill, he’s confused.
"Why is it higher than the menu price?" he asks.
The waiter smiles. "It includes tax and tip."
Hassan nods slowly. "Ah, I didn’t know!"
He pulls out his wallet and laughs, "Well, now I do!"

Expression: Caught off guard (not expecting something and feeling surprised)
• Enjoy (verb, to like or appreciate something)
• Price (noun, the amount of money something costs)
• Include (verb, to have something as part of a group)
• Tax (noun, extra money added to the price of something by the government)
• Tip (noun, extra money given for good service at a restaurant, taxi, etc.)

Example:
Liam walked into his favorite café and ordered his usual coffee.
The cashier smiled and said, "That’ll be $6.50."
"$6.50?! It was $5 last week!" Liam said, confused.
"Oh, prices went up this month," the cashier explained.
Liam sighed. "Wow, I was caught off guard! I guess everything is getting more expensive!"

🔴 Advanced:

Hassan finishes dinner at an upscale restaurant and gets the bill.
"This seems higher than expected," he tells the server.
"Yes, sir, it includes service charge and tax."
Hassan sighs. "Lesson learned – always read the fine print!"

Expression: More than I bargained for (something costing or being more difficult than expected)
• Upscale (adjective, high-quality and expensive)
• Expected (adjective, something that was supposed to happen)
• Service charge (noun, extra money added for provided service)
• Sigh (verb, to breathe out loudly when frustrated or relieved)
• Fine print (noun, small text with details in a contract or bill)

Example:
Sophie booked a hotel that looked cheap online.
When she checked in, they added cleaning fees, taxes, and service charges.
"This is more than I bargained for!" she groaned.

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The Restaurant Bill Confusion