Unit Eight  Money

Part 1  Listening, Understanding and Speaking

Listening I 

Exercise 1  1)His allowance. 2)Every Saturday. 3)The father isn’t sure if he’s got enough cash. 4)Under his bed.

Exercise 2  1)F 2)F 3)T 4)T 5)F

Scripts:

Joshua: Dad. Allowance day. Can I have my allowance?

Father: Oh. I forgot about that.

Joshua: You ALWAYS forget.

Father: I guess I do. How much do I owe you?

Joshua: Just $13.

Father: Thirteen dollars? Why do I owe you that much? It seems like I paid you just the other day.

Joshua: No. You forget every Saturday, and it’s been piling up.

Father: Well, I’m not sure if I have enough cash.

Joshua: Go to the bank, Dad .You have lots of money.

Father: Lots of money, uh? Uh, well, I think the bank is closed.

Joshua: Then, what about your secret money jar under your bed?

Father: Oh, I guess I could do that. So, what are you going to do with the money?

Joshua: I’m going to put some in savings, buy Mum a gift for her birthday, and use the rest to buy books.

Father: Well, that sounds great, Joshua.

 

Listening II 

Exercise 2  1)F 2)F 3)T 4)T 5)T 6)T

Exercise 3  1)no 2)persuading/getting 3)thought 4)fun 5)happiest 6)penniless 7)money 8)peace

Scripts:

I know a man called John Smith who is a very unusual millionaire. What makes him unusual is that he has no money. He says the average millionaire never uses money and always gets other people to pay for taxis or drinks. This is because he is so used to thinking in millions that small amounts of money are not worth thinking about. But this does not mean he has no worries. On the contrary, the average millionaire worries constantly about his businesses. His great wealth also makes it difficult for him to be happy and comfortable with other people. Are they friendly because they like him? Or do they pretend to like him because they want his money? John Smith says he feels very sorry for millionaires, who, instead of being masters of their wealth, are slaves of their millions. In one way, however, John Smith always behaves exactly like a millionaire. He never has any money and generally manages to persuade someone else to pay for his drinks. But unlike other very rich men, he gives back good value for money. He is full of jokes and fun. An evening spent with him is not cheap because he is usually very thirsty, but he always makes people happy. He does not give much thought for tomorrow. He is the happiest man I have ever met. Whenever I meet him, he tells me, “In money I am not rich, but in peace of mind I am a millionaire.” And then the world’s richest, penniless man usually adds, with a smile, “Do you have time for another drink?” How can I refuse?

 

Listening III

Exercise 1  1)D 2)C 3)B 4)D 5)A

Exercise 2 

1)shivering  2)desire  3)check  4)repay  5)invitation  6)perform

Scripts:

For reasons long forgotten, a 14-year-old girl in Cleveland got so angry with her parent that she ran away to New York City. Cold and hungry, she was shivering on a street corner when a taxi pulled up. As some party-goers got out, a man in the group notice the girl and, asking if she needed help, insisted that she joined them for dinner in a nearby restaurant.

After hearing her story, the man took her to the train station and bought her a ticket back to Cleveland. “Whatever you desire,” he told her, “if you want it enough, you can make it happen.” Then he gave her $20 and his address and telephone number. If she ever needed anything, she was to call him.

She returned to her family, but could not find the paper with his name and phone number. Twenty-five years later, she found the lost paper in a diary. Ralph Burke received a letter and a check for $300. The woman asked that he accept it with the love and spirit in which it was sent. The idea, she said, wasn’t to repay a “kindness that has no price”; rather, she hoped he would come to meet her family. Accepting the invitation, Ralph was welcomed like a long-lost uncle.

Today he insists that one should perform those “simple acts of kindness” whenever one can. “Sometime, some way,” Ralph says, “they always come back to you.”              

 

Listening IV

Exercise 1  1)C 2)B 3)B 4)A 5)B    

Exercise 2

1)He should find a cheaper apartment outside of the downtown area.

2)Basketball.

3)He would feel ashamed.

4)Fifty dollars including her financial consulting fees.

Scripts:

Gilbert: Sophia, could I borrow a few bucks? I’m a little strapped for cash.

Sophia: I’m pinching pennies myself, and you still owe me $20. How are things going anyway?

Gilbert: Not very well. To be honest, I’m really in the hole these days.

Sophia: What do you mean? I thought you landed a great job recently, so you must be loaded.

Gilbert: I do have a job, but I’ve used my credit cards to pay off a lot of things recently.

Sophia: Do you have a budget?

Gilbert: No, but I guess I should have some financial plan.

Sophia: Well, let me see if I can help you. How much money do you spend on your apartment?

Gilbert: I pay $750 on rent for the studio apartment downtown, not including utilities and cable TV.

Sophia: Seven hundred and fifty dollars! Why not find a cheaper one somewhere outside of the downtown area?

Gilbert: OK.

Sophia: How much money do you spend on food a month?

Gilbert: Around $600. I go out to eat at least four times a week, so those expenses add up. I just don’t enjoy eating alone, and I don’t have a knack for cooking like you do.

Sophia: Perhaps you ought to buy some microwaveable meals you could prepare at home.

Gilbert: I guess I could.

Sophia: And entertainment?

Gilbert: I spend a few dollars here and there on basketball and movie tickets, a concert or two, and dance lessons.

Sophia: Just a “few” dollars?

Gilbert: About $450 or so.

Sophia: Or so? No wonder you’re having money problems. And what about transportation?

Gilbert: Oh, I go to work every day in my new sports car, and my monthly payments are only $480.

Sophia: No, I’ve heard enough. You’ve got to curb your spending. I suggest you get rid of your credit cards, cut back on your entertainment expenses, and sell your car. Take public transportation from now on.

Gilbert: Sell my car?! I can’t date without a car. What am I going to say? “Uh, could you meet me downtown at the bus stop at 7:00?” Come on!

Sophia: And you need to create a budget for yourself and stick to it, and start with paying off your bills, starting with me. You owe me $50.

Gilbert: Fifty dollars! Wait, I only borrowed $20 from you last week. How did you come up with $50?

Sophia: Financial consulting fees. My advice is at least worth $30!

 

 

Part 2  Viewing, Understanding and Speaking

Exercise 1  1) √B √C √E      2)  √B √D √G 

Exercise 2  1)thrilled 2)By the way 3)pay off 4)spare 5)big deal 6)unique 7)make it 8)07; 23;28

Exercise 3  1-B  2-E  3-D  4-A  5-C

 

Part 3  Video Appreciation and Singing for Fun

Exercise 1  1-D  2-A  3-B  4-C

Exercise 2 

1)They buy a plasma TV, cell phones, computers, and a SUV.

2)One percent.

3)They are WMDs. Weapons of Mass Destruction.

4)Five thousand million bucks/dollars.

5)No one is responsible.

 

Part 4  Further Listening

Listening I 

Exercise 1  1)T 2)T 3)F 4)F 5)T 6)T

Exercise 2  1)Week  2)Million  3)poor  4)alarm  5)give away

Scripts:

Each Friday evening the TV station chooses a “Person of the Week”, someone who helps others. Two newscasters discuss this Friday’s choice.

Jim: Our “Person of the Week” is Mr. Percy Ross, whose newspaper column, “Thank a Million”, is found in 200 newspapers. Mr. Ross lives here in Midville.

Ann: Right. Every week about 7,000 people write to him, asking for money. He reads the letters and sends money to some of the people. He also answers three or four letters every week in his newspaper column.

Jim: Who gets money from Mr. Ross?

Ann: Usually old people, sick people, and poor children.

Jim: Good.

Ann: Sometimes he doesn’t send money. He sends people the things they need---shoes, a smoke alarm, a hearing aid, etc.

Jim: Why does he give away his money?

Ann: When he was young, he was poor. He worked hard, and now he is a successful businessman. But Mr. Ross remembers when he was poor. He wants to help poor people.

Jim: he also wants to give away his money before he dies and wants to choose who gets it.

Ann: He is a good choice for “Person of the Week”.

 

Listening II

Exercise 1  1)F 2)T 3)F 4)T 5)F 6)F

Exercise 2  1)five  2)35  3)excellent  4)counting

Scripts:

My brother, Henry, had an excellent job at a bank. I couldn’t believe him when he told me that he had decided to give it up. Though I tried to make him change his mind, I failed completely.

“You should reconsider your decision,” I said. “You have already spent five years in the bank and you could have a wonderful career. You might become a bank manager by the time you’re 35.”

“I know,” Henry answered. “I’ve got no complaints with the bank. It’s a pleasant job in pleasant surroundings and we keep civilized hours. The bank manager told me that my prospects were excellent.”

“Then why do you want to leave?” I exclaimed.

“It’s the money,” Henry said.

“But you are getting a good salary,” I answered.

“I don’t mean that,” Henry said. “What do I do at the bank? Well, at the moment all I do is to count money. I find it very depressing.”

“What’s depressing about counting money?” I asked, unable to follow the logic of Henry’s argument.

“You don’t understand,” Henry answered. “I enjoy counting my own money, but I hate counting other people’s!”

 

Listening III  

Exercise 1  1)50  2)85  3)$175,000  4)$3,000  5)$200,000

Exercise 2  1)C 2)B 3)A 4)C

Scripts:

For a long time, Albert Smith had the reputation as a miser. But yesterday, people found they had wronged him.

Mr. Smith was known by other residents as the meanest man in the village. He was a farmer who also owned a building business, and made money on the stock market. A fellow villager, who had known him for more than 50 years, said, “He never spent money on himself. He never bought a new suit and he even mended his shoes with sticky tape rather than buy a new pair.”

A woman villager added, “He was the meanest man I ever knew. He got the greatest pleasure from doing his account books. He worked on them for hours. We thought he was planning to take his money with him.”

Mr. Smith died in October at the age of 85, and yesterday his will became known. He left $175,000 for the building of houses for his former employees, and $3,000 for a new village bus shelter. The rest of his estate, more than $200,000, went to charity.

 

Listening IV 

Exercise 1  1)C 2)B 3)A 4)D 5)A

Exercise 2  1)two blocks  2)30  3)sick; hungry  4)25

Scripts:

Narrator: It’s a dark, cold, and rainy night. The taxi driver hasn’t had a single passenger all day. When he goes by the entrance of the railway station, he sees a young man from the country coming out, carrying two suitcases. “Aha!” thinks the taxi driver, “Here’s an opportunity to make up for the rest of this bad day.” He quickly opens the door of the taxi.

Driver: Where do you want to go, sir?

Hayseed: To the Continental Hotel.

Narrator: Hearing this, the taxi driver loses hope for a big fare. The Continental Hotel is hardly two blocks away. The most the hayseed will give him is one dollar. What bad luck! The driver then decides to take a long trip around town and then back to the Continental Hotel. So he does, and after a long time they arrive at the hotel.

Driver: You owe me thirty dollars, sir.

Hayseed: What? Thirty dollars? Do you take me for a fool? You’re trying to cheat me.

Driver: How dare you accuse me...

Hayseed: Only last week I took a taxi from the station to this hotel. I know how much the trip should cost!

Driver: Oh...oh...all right.

Hayseed: I think I should call the police.

Driver: Oh, no! Please don’t! I have a sick wife and four hungry children.

Hayseed: All right! This time I’ll let it go.

Driver: Thank you, sir. You are right. The trip isn’t worth 30 dollars...

Hayseed: I know that. I may come from the country, but I’m as smart as you city folks.

Driver: Yes, sir.

Hayseed: I won’t pay a cent more then I paid for the other taxi driver last week...26 dollars!