加载中…
个人资料
  • 博客等级:
  • 博客积分:
  • 博客访问:
  • 关注人气:
  • 获赠金笔:0支
  • 赠出金笔:0支
  • 荣誉徽章:
正文 字体大小:

listen this way 1 — unit8 听力原文

(2011-02-10 19:24:32)
标签:

高校英语教材

listen

this

way

1

杂谈

分类: listenthisway1听力原文
Unit 8 Cash or Cheque?

Part Ⅰ Getting ready

The functions of money as a medium of exchange and a measure of value greatly facilitate the exchange of goods and services and the specialisation of production. Without the use of money, trade would be reduced to barter, the direct exchange of one commodity for another. In a money economy, the owner of a commodity may sell it for money, thus avoiding the time and effort that would be required in a barter economy. Money may thus be regarded as a keystone of modern economic 1ife.

A The following words and phrases will appear in this unit. All of them are related to money. Listen carefully and study the definitions.

1. savings account: a bank account which earn interest

2. checking account: a bank account which usually earns little or no interest and from which money can be taken out at any time by cheque

3. cheque / check: a written order to a bank to pay a certain sum of money from one's bank account to oneself or to another person

4. bank book: a book in which a record of the money one puts into and takes out of a bank is kept

5. traveller's cheque: a cheque bought from a bank or travel agency that can be exchanged for the money of the country one is in, used by travellers abroad

6. currency: the particular type of money in use in a country

7. invoice: bill; a document issued by a seller to a buyer listing the goods or services supplied and stating the sum of money due

8. transfer: move money from one bank to another

9. credit: put money into an account

10. convert: change from one currency to another

B Here are some short conversations which take place at banks. Please listen and then supply the missing words.

1. Man: I'd like to open a savings and a checking account.

Woman: Our minimum deposit for a savings account is $25.

Man: What is the interest rate?

Woman: It's 4.5%.

Man: Do you charge for cheques?

Woman: Each cheque that you write will cost 20 cents.



2. Woman: I'd like to withdraw some money from my savings account.

Teller: First you'll have to fill out one of these withdrawal forms.

Woman: Oh, no. It asks for my account number. I forgot my bank book.

Teller: I'm afraid you'll need that first.



3. Man: Can I cash a cheque here?

Teller: Do you have an account with us?

Man: Yes, I have a checking account here.

Teller: Please write your account number on the back of the cheque.

Man: Is that all you need?

Teller: Could I see one more piece of identification?

Man: Will a driver's license do?

Teller: Yes. That'd be fine.



4. Man: I would like to ask about taking a loan.

Loan Officer: Do you have an account here?

Man: Yes, I've been a customer here for several months.

Loan Officer: How much do you want to borrow?

Man: Three thousand dollars.



5. Clerk: Yes?

Man: I want to cash this traveller's cheque.

Clerk: Do you have your passport?

Man: Yes.

Clerk: Thank you. Sign here, please. Here you are.

Man: Thank you.

C You are going to hear some currency codes. Write the appropriate currency code next to the name of the country.

Currency code Country Currency code Country

NLG Holland BEF Belgium

GBP Great Britain AUD Australia

ITL Italy USD the United States of America

CAD Canada JPY Japan

NOR Norway SEK Sweden

DKK Denmark CHF Switzerland

DEM Germany FRF France

ESP Spain RMB the People's Republic of China

Part Ⅱ Using a bank account

Transactions carried out by any individual or firm engaged in providing financial services are called banking. In the broadest sense, a bank is a financial intermediary that performs one or more of the following functions: safeguards and transfers funds, lends or facilitates lending, guarantees creditworthiness, and exchanges money. A narrow and more common definition of a bank is a financial intermediary that accepts, transfers, and most important, creates deposits.

A You are going to hear a short passage about foreign exchange. Write down every word as a dictation. It will be read three times. In the first reading, you will hear the whole passage from beginning to end. In the second reading, you will hear a pause after each sentence or just part of a sentence. During the pause, you must write down what you have just heard as quickly as possible. You can check what you have written with the third reading.

Foreign exchange dealing is, as its name implies, the exchange of the currency of one country for the currency of another. The rate of exchange is the value of one unit of the foreign currency expressed in the other currency concerned. A bank may make gains on buying and selling currencies on the inter-bank market. Making a profit on the transaction is the basic idea of foreign exchange dealing.

B Alex is a university freshman. It's the first time for him to go to the bank to draw some money on his own. In this section, you are going to listen to a conversation between Alex and the cashier. While you listen, suppose you are Alex, and fill in the blank cheque according to the instructions given by the bank cashier.

Alex: Good morning.

Cashier: Good morning.

Alex: I would ... I would want to know how to make out this cheque.

Cashier: Right. Erm ... do you want to draw out some money?

Alex: Yes, £20.

Cashier: £20 OK. (Yes) Well, the first thing you need to do, is to write today's date in the top right-hand corner where you see the line (Yes) at the top you write just today's date (Yes) and the year. You must put the year in. And if you want to draw out money after it says pay ... can you see over on the left-hand side?

Alex: The first ... er ... line?

Cashier: That's it. On the first line it says PAY and you write "Cash" afterwards.

Alex: In letters.

Cashier: Yes. CASH (Yes) you write cash. OK. Then underneath that, right underneath, you have to write the amount of money you want. So just twenty pounds and then you write ONLY at the end in words. Then at the end of that line where you can see the box, see over on the right-hand side, you have to write the amount you want in numbers.

Alex: In numbers?

Cashier: Mm-mm.

Alex: Yes.

Cashier: And then underneath that box, the last thing you have to do in the bottom right-hand corner is just write your signature.

Alex: Thank you very much.

Cashier: OK. Bye-bye then.

Alex: Bye.

Part Ⅲ Making phone calls to chase late payments

Cash payment is not popular in modern society. Banks are playing an important role in today's economy. A bill of exchange is preferred by more and more people. The most common bill of exchange is the cheque. But every coin has two sides, and banks are no exception. Sometimes something unexpected will happen.

A You are going to hear several phone calls about chasing late payment of invoices. While listening for the first time, focus on the key words, add more key words if you can in the left-hand column. After the second listening, complete the summaries of the phone calls in the right-hand column with the help of the notes.

Call 1

Smythe: This is Paul Smythe calling from Birmingham.

Martinez: Good morning, Mr. Smythe. How are you?

Smythe: Fine, thanks. And you?

Martinez: Yes, I'm fine, too.

Smythe: Mr. Martinez, I'm ringing about our last invoice.

Martinez: Yes, I remember we got it before the summer.

Smythe: Exactly, Mr. Martinez. The invoice was raised more than three months ago.

Martinez: I'm sorry, I don't quite follow you.

Smythe: We sent you the invoice on the 13 th of July.

Martinez: On the 30 th of July.

Smythe: Not the 30 th. The 13 th. And we still haven't received payment.

Martinez: OK, Mr. Smythe. I'll check and get back to you.

Smythe: When can you contact me?

Martinez: This afternoon.

Smythe: That's fine. I look forward to hearing from you.

Martinez: Bye.

Smythe: Bye.

Call 2

Martinez: Well, Mr. Smythe, I've looked into your invoice and found out why it hasn't been paid.

Smythe: And why is that?

Martinez: We asked our bank to transfer the money but they couldn't. They said that your bank details are wrong.

Smythe: What do you mean, our bank details are wrong? They are printed on our invoice. And you received the same invoice as all our other customers.

Martinez: I'm sorry, what did you say?

Smythe: I said our bank details are printed on the invoice.

Martinez: Well, I have the invoice here. Can we just check? The account number is 40211686. Is that right?

Smythe: Yes, that's right.

Martinez: At the Bank of Scotland at 46 Portland Street in …

Smythe: Hang on a minute, did you say "Bank of Scotland"?

Martinez: Yes.

Smythe: It's the Royal Bank of Scotland-not the Bank of Scotland.

Martinez: You mean there are two?

Smythe: Exactly.

Martinez: OK, Mr. Smythe. I'll ask our bank to transfer the amount to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Smythe: As soon as possible, Mr. Martinez.

Martinez: Manana, Mr. Smythe, as soon as the bank opens. And, Mr. Smythe, I'm sorry about the mistake.

Smythe: Well,I'm glad we sorted it out.

Martinez: Yes! Bye.

Smythe: Bye.



Call 3

Clerk: Account enquiries.

Smythe: Good afternoon. I'd like to check if a transfer has been received from Spain.

Clerk: Could you give me your account number and the account name please?

Smythe: Yes, the number is 40211686 and the company name is Paul Smythe and Partners.

Clerk: Could you spell Smythe, please?

Smythe: Yes, it's S-M-Y-T-H-E.

Clerk: And your address,please?

Smythe: Unit 7, Parkdown Trading Estate.

Clerk: And when did you expect the money to be credited?

Smythe: This week.

Clerk: One moment, please. Yes, we received a credit of £3 476.28 on Wednesday.

Smythe: Sorry,could you repeat the amount?

Clerk: Yes, £3 476.28.

Smythe: I was expecting a round figure of £3 500. Did the bank make a charge?

Clerk: I'm afraid I can't see that from my screen. I've only got the final figure which was credited to your account.

Smythe: But we get lots of payments from abroad and we never have to pay charges.

Clerk: Let me check, sir ... Yes, the amount was transferred in Spanish pesetas. We had to convert it into pounds. So, after bank charges, your account was credited with £ 3 476.28.

Smythe: I see. OK, thank you.

Clerk: You're welcome.

Smythe: Bye.

Clerk: Bye.

B Now try this: listen to some more authentic versions of the phone calls.

Part Ⅳ More about the topic: E-money--Money of the Future?

The most important types of money are commodity money, credit money, and fiat money. The value of commodity money is about equal to the value of the material contained in it. Credit money is paper backed by promises by either a government or a bank, to pay the equivalent value in the standard monetary metal. Paper money that is not redeemable in any other type of money and the value of which is fixed merely by government edict is known as fiat money. But do you know what money will look like in the future?

The following short passage is about the latest money: electronic-money or e-money. Supply the missing words while listening.

Just imagine: no coins in your pants, no bills in your wallet. To buy a coke, you simply insert a card into the vending machine. You pull out the same card to board a bus, do your laundry, or buy a newspaper. You add value to the card by inserting it in an Automatic Teller Machine.

Such are the smart cards scientists are developing. Some scientists call them chip cards. Some others call them electronic purses, or simply e-money — money of the future.

A smart card goes a step beyond the magnetic card we use today, It is like a computer disk or almost a tiny computer. It is a memory device. Scientists intend such smart cards to replace cash in our wallets.

Why cards instead of cash or cheque? Convenience, safety, and cost. Money costs money. Handling it, accounting for it, and protecting it is expensive — whether the money in the form of cash, cheques, or credit cards. Money wears out, cheques must be handled and stored. Credit cards must be manufactured. The amounts of transactions must be verified by phone.

Today's bills are problematic for vending machines. Where a pound coin is acceptable, a dollar coin will be rejected. Modern vending machines accept dollar bills, but remember, only perfectly kept dollar bills, without folded corners or wrinkled edges.

And one of the most important benefits of smart cards is that the card's value can be verified and changed without going through a complex system such as a credit card has to. That will finally help smart cards win the favour of all users and in effect become the money of the future, sooner than we imagine.

part Ⅴ Memory test: Judy's Weekly Spending

Any medium of exchange that is widely accepted in payment for goods and services and in settlement of debts is money. Money also serves as a standard of value for measuring the relative worth of different goods and services. The number of units of money required to buy a commodity is the price of the commodity.

You are going to hear Judy describing what she spent money on last week (preferably only one time). Pay close attention to the prices, and add up in your mind how much money she spent. The monologue is followed by some questions . Listen and write down the brief answers as quickly as possible according to the notes you have taken while listening.

Judy: Let me see, first I did the weekly shopping at the supermarket, that was about £9.50, as far as I remember, a bit up from last week, we must be more careful. Then I bought some petrol for the car, didn't I? Yes that's it, £7 or so. I must have had lunch a couple of times, yes I went to Browns, that was £3.20, and then there was that terrible meal in a pub in Headington, £2. I think I paid the newspapers, that's usually about £3, really we shouldn't spend so much but I think it's important to know what's going on in the world. Oh I went to the cinema, terrible film, and that was a waste of £2. I don't think there was anything else, a couple of coffees, say 50p and a chocolate bar, 20p, not very healthy but I do need a bit of luxury from time to time! Hold on a minute, there was a T-shirt £5.95, not bad at that price really.

Questions for memory test:

1.How much did she spend in all?

2.Did Judy spend more or less than last week at the supermarket?

3.How much did Judy pay for petrol?

4.Where did she go for lunch?

5.Why does Judy buy newspapers?

6.Did she enjoy going to the cinema?

7.Does she drink tea or coffee?

8.Does she really think chocolate is unhealthy?

9.How much did she spend on a T-shirt?

10.Was it of good value?

0

阅读 收藏 喜欢 打印举报/Report
  

新浪BLOG意见反馈留言板 欢迎批评指正

新浪简介 | About Sina | 广告服务 | 联系我们 | 招聘信息 | 网站律师 | SINA English | 产品答疑

新浪公司 版权所有