Question

my neighbor, martha, ran into my house crying and angry. \my car has been stolen\ she gasped. \i saw them take it!\ i called the police for her, and she told an officer the license number and car model. \the (1) color of the car is brown,\ she added, \but it has a black roof. i had it parked in the lot adjacent to the beauty shop i own. i saw two men tow it away.\ \you saw them tow it away?\ the officer asked. \have you (2) (e)d on your car loan?\ \what do you mean?\ martha asked. \if you havent been making your payments, the bank or dealer has the right to (3) the car.\ martha admitted that she hadnt made any payments for three months. later she told me shed gotten notices in the mail but threw them away because their language was too complicated to (4). she also said she was having money problems. (5) with the car loan was a big home - improvement loan. she also had five credit - card bills and regular living expenses to pay. to top it all off, the city was suffering from a (6), so her income was down, something her laid - off employees could certainly attest to. she was about $12,000 in debt. at my suggestion, martha visited a debt counselor, who helped her develop a comprehensive plan to pay her bills. the only (7) s for this free service were a regular job and a willingness to pay her debts in full. the counselor and martha planned what would (8) a reasonable budget, based on marthas income and expenses. they then wrote to the companies she owed to arrange to pay a (9) amount each month until the whole debt was paid. they also discussed what she would do in several (10) situations, such as if her refrigerator died or her income changed. now, martha is getting back on her feet again—in more ways than one, since she never got the car back.

Explanation:

1. Color: Martha is describing the car's appearance, so "color" fits.
2. Paid: The officer is asking if she has paid off the car loan.
3. Own: If payments aren't made, the bank or dealer owns the car.
4. Understand: She threw notices away as the language was hard to understand.
5. Problems: She had problems with the car loan and other debts.
6. Recession: A recession could cause income to go down.
7. Charges: The only charges for the free service were a job and willingness.
8. Create: They planned to create a budget.
9. Fixed: Paying a fixed amount each month.
10. Unexpected: Situations like fridge dying or income change are unexpected.

Answer:

1. color
2. paid
3. own
4. understand
5. problems
6. recession
7. charges
8. create
9. fixed
10. unexpected