Unit 6 Wealth and Poverty
Part Ⅰ Getting ready
A. The following words and phrases will appear in this unit. Listen carefully and study the definitions.
1. per capita income:
2. reserve:
3. exploit:
4. affluent:
5. protectorate:
6. Vatican:
7. chandelier:
8. jacuzzi:
9. hormones:
10. currency devaluation:
11. outlet:
B．You are going to hear some people giving their opinions about wealth and poverty. What would you reply to these people? The following expressions are for your reference only.
Narrator: What would you reply to these people?
Man: Well, as I see it, millions of people in the world are worse off than us, but there's nothing we can do about it.
Woman: I'd say that if you do have plenty of money, there's no point in spending it on private education for your children.
Man: It seems to me that the only way to help the poor in the world is to find ways of helping them to help themselves. … er … not … by … er … giving them free food.
Women: If you ask me, taxes for rich people should be really high — 95% or something - so that everyone is at the same economic level.
Man: Er … in my view it … it's worth making a lot of money … er … so that you can leave it to your children when you die.
Man: Don't you agree that if people are starving or have nowhere to live, it's the duty of better-off people to give them food and shelter?
Woman: Look, let's face it, there's only one reason why people work and that's to make as much money as possible.
Man: Surely, as long as you've got enough to live on, there's no point in making more and more money.
Woman: If you're earning a good salary, surely you should save as much as you can for a rainy day.
Man: I must say that one thing is certain: money doesn't buy happiness.
C You are going to hear ten short conversations. Pay special attention to the second speaker in each conversation who reacts to the first speaker's opinion. Listen carefully to the tone of voice. Tick all the proper boxes to indicate the second speaker's response.
Narrator: You'll hear some people reacting to various opinions — decide if they are agreeing or disagreeing with the opinions expressed. Pay attention to the tone of voice they use.
1. Woman: Aren't you glad you're not a millionaire?
Man: Sure!
2. Man: Don't you wish you could afford to spend our holidays in the Caribbean?
Woman: Mm, ye-es.
3. Woman: It's not worth saving your money, it's better to spend it.
Man: Oh, sure!
4. Man: It's better to be happy than rich.
Woman: Hmm.
5. Woman: Well, basically, in a job the most important thing is how much you earn.
Man: Oh, yes!
6. Man: It's really important to save a little money every month — you never know when you might need it.
Woman: I don't know about that!
7. Man: The only way to survive on a tight budget is to keep a record of all your expenses.
Man: I don't know about that!
8. Woman: Children these days get far too much pocket money.
Woman: Mmm!
9. Woman: In a family it should be the mother that controls the budget.
Woman: Yes!
10. Man: If I inherited a lot of money it wouldn't change my life at all.
Man: Oh, yes!
Part Ⅱ A millionaire
A You are going to hear a monologue talking about the world's richest man. Listen carefully, note down the key words in the notes column. Then work out the following outline.
Brunei is in the north of the Island of Borneo in the South China Sea, bordered by Malaysia. It's a small country, about one fifth of the size of Belgium and it has fewer than 250 000 inhabitants. Brunei is a very rich country. It has a higher per capita income than Japan, the U.S.A. or any European country. And its wealth comes from reserves of oil and natural gas.
The Sultan is Brunei's head of government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and he's also the religious leader. He himself earns more than $2 billion a year — that's over 2 500 pounds per minute.
The Sultan's total wealth is more than $25 billion, which makes him the world's richest man. He is a rather shy, self-conscious person. He avoids publicity and doesn't make many public appearances. He has two wives and they both have their own separate palace.
The palace he built for the first wife is the largest palace in the world. It cost $400 million. This palace stands on a hill overlooking the capital and has 1 788 rooms, including 257 toilets. And it has 564 chandeliers and eighteen lifts.
The palace he built for the second wife is away from the capital in the jungle. This second palace isn't quite as big as the first but it still has five swimming pools, one of which is Olympic size, and it's full of all kinds of high-tech gadgets and equipment.
The Sultan's great passion is playing polo, he's got air-conditioned stables with over 200 ponies and he has his own polo club which has three polo fields, as well as a golf course and swimming pool. He enjoys other sports too: he likes swimming, and he plays tennis and squash. He also likes driving fast cars, playing video games, piloting planes and shooting. He also likes acquiring possessions such as hotels and airplanes.
The Sultan does enjoy spending his money, but he also seems to be a very generous man who likes giving people expensive presents. And he believes in looking after his people: he provides free health care and free education for them all, and if you're a citizen of Brunei, you don't have to pay any taxes at all!
B Now try this: listen to a more authentic presentation of the same story. A presenter named Nigel is interviewing Lesley Andrews who knows quite well the story of the richest man in the world and his amazing wealth. After listening, fill in the gaps in the summary.
Nigel: A few years ago a man gave a birthday party in London for his daughter and her friends — it cost 100 000 pounds. This generous father was his Majesty the Sultan of Brunei — the world's richest man. Lesley Andrews has been finding out about the man and his amazing wealth. Lesley …
Lesley: Thank you, Nigel. Well, actually, many people don't even know where Brunei is: it is in fact in the north of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea, bordered by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It's a small country, about one fifth of the size of Belgium and it has fewer than 250 000 inhabitants. The Sultan is Brunei's head of government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and he's also the religious leader.
Brunei is a very rich country. It has a higher per capita income than Japan, the U.S.A. or any European country. And its wealth, Nigel, comes from reserves of oil and natural gas, which have been developed and exploited by Shell.
The Sultan himself earns more than $2 billion a year — that's over 2 500 pounds every minute. His total wealth is more than $25 billion, which makes him wealthier than the Queen of England, who by the way is worth a mere $7.4 billion.
However, when he was born, on the 15th of July 1946, Brunei was not then the affluent country it is today. The … um … huge oil and gas reserves were only discovered in the 1970s. During this time Brunei was a British protectorate and it didn't become fully independent until 1984.
Nigel: What sort of man is he?
Lesley: Well, he's a rather shy, self-conscious person. He avoids publicity and doesn't make many public appearances. He is married, he first got married when he was nineteen to his sixteen-year-old cousin, Raja Isteri. Then sometime, I believe in the 1970s, he met an air hostess on the Brunei international airline, called Mariam Bell — she's part Japanese and part Scottish — and she became his second wife. So he has two wives and they both have their own separate palace.
Nigel: Could you tell us about these palaces?
Lesley: Certainly. Well, one of them, which he built for the first wife, is the largest palace in the world — it's even bigger than the Vatican. And it cost $400 million. This palace stands on a hill overlooking the capital and has 1 788 rooms, including 257 toilets. And it has 564 chandeliers and eighteen lifts.
Now, as the Sultan wanted the palace built quickly, teams of architects and interior designers in the Philippines had to produce the designs within two weeks — and they … er … had to do this without even seeing the site where it was going to be built. The palace, I must say, really does look wonderful from the air, but closer up some people say that part of it resembles a multi-storey car park. And it's also said that the Sultan himself was disappointed because parts of it didn't come up to his expectations. Anyway, he built a smaller one for Princess Mariam, and this was built away from the capital in the jungle. This second palace isn't quite as big as the first but it still has five swimming pools, one of which is Olympic size, and it's full of all kinds of high-tech gadgets and equipment.
Nigel: So … how does he spend his time and money?
Lesley: Well, his great passion is playing polo, he's got air-conditioned stables with over 200 ponies and he has his own polo club which has three polo fields, as well as a golf course and swimming pool. Oh, and he enjoys other sports too: he likes swimming, and he plays tennis and squash. He also likes driving fast cars, playing video games, piloting planes and shooting.
He also likes acquiring possessions such as hotels — he owns the famous Dorchester Hotel in London and the Holiday Inn in Singapore, for example. And … er … you know, Nigel, he buys airplanes too: he has his own fleet of planes and helicopters. One of his planes even has a jacuzzi in it!
Apparently, members of his family are keen mail-order shoppers: they look through the latest Harrods catalogues, mark what they want to buy, then they fax the order through to London and the very same evening the goods are loaded onto the evening flight from Heathrow to Brunei.
So, as you see, Nigel, he does enjoy spending his money, but he also seems to be a very generous man who likes giving people expensive presents. And he believes in looking after his people: he provides free health care and free education for them all. Oh, and if you're a citizen of Brunei, you don't have to pay any taxes at all!
Nigel: Lesley, thank you.
Part Ⅲ Gulf between the rich and the poor
A You are going to hear the first part of a recording in which American economist Robert Frank tells you his opinion towards rich and poor. Listen carefully, note down the key words in the notes column. Then complete the following exercises.
Woman: In 1998, the United Nation's Human Development Report contains some interesting statistical comparisons about global wealth. For example the report notes that the world's three richest people own assets which exceed the combined growth domestic products of the world's poorest 48 countries. In another amazing comparison the report says the statistics show that installing water and sanitation for all the world's poor would cost roughly the same amount of money as is spent annually on ice-cream in Europe. It also notes that basic education for everyone would cost slightly less than is spent annually for cosmetics in the United States. What's wrong with this picture? The author of a new book entitled Luxury Fever says the answer is "spending priorities". Robert Frank, a professor of economics at Cornell University in Ithyca, New York has written a book which says Americans are spending so much of their income on ever larger houses and cars that they can't afford to spend on social programs or infrastructure repairs.
Frank: It's a strange position really when you look back on it. Over the last 25 years, we've been spending much more on building larger houses, we've been spending vastly more on automobiles. People in the middle of the income distribution don't have any more money in terms of real purchasing power than they did 25 years ago. People near the bottom of the income distribution have even less than they had. People at the top of course have done spectacularly well. There's been about a doubling in the real purchasing power that has been experienced by the top 1% of earners. So naturally, people at the top find it a perfectly reasonable thing to do to buy bigger houses or more expensive cars. But that's of the chain of imitative spending all the way down the income ladder, and many of the people in the middle who feel they desperately need larger houses because others have them really could be spending their money in other ways if we look back.
Woman: The time required as you put it to earn enough money to pay for a larger house could be used and could be freed up to use for family and friends.
Frank: Well that's true. There is always a cost of buying more things. Instead of building a bigger house or buying a more expensive car, I can work fewer hours and spend time with family and friends. And what the behavioral studies show very clearly is that if everyone did that, people would be happier. They'd have fewer disputes of work. They'd have lower levels of stress hormones in their blood. They get sick less often. They die at an older age. (To) sum it up, there is no free lunch. If we spend more on one thing, that always means spending less on another. And the best evidence we have such as that rich and poor life would be both healthier and happier if we rearranged our spending patterns in these ways.
B You are going to hear the second part of the recording in which another American economist W. Michael Cox gives you quite a different opinion towards rich and poor. Listen carefully, note down the key words in the notes column. Then complete the following summary.
Woman 1: Another economist and author, however, see the positive side to the increased prosperity of Americans. W. Michael Cox is the vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas. And his book is entitled Myths of Rich and Poor. Mr. Cox disputes the widely held notion that there's a huge gap between the rich and poor in America. He says all Americans are better off than they were 30 years ago.
Woman 2: Technological advances have created hundreds of gadgets that did not exit 30 years ago. Mr. Cox contains in his new book, appliances like cellular and cordless phones, computers, answering machines, microwave ovens. He says these new inventions make life today both easier and more pleasurable. And he says these conveniences are available to a broader cross-section of the general public in the United States than in any other country in the world. That's because improvements in productivity and the openness of the U.S. market has made them affordable for just about anybody.
Cox: Today of all the people in poverty in America, almost 3/4 have washing machines, half have clothes dryers, 97% have color televisions, 3/4 have VCRs, 2/3 have microwaves and air conditioners, 3/4 own their own automobile, 40% own their own home, half have stereo systems.
Part Ⅳ More about the topic: Japan Still Most Expensive
Listen to the material. Rearrange the cities in hierarchical order, from the most expensive to the least expensive.
Paris has overtaken London. New York is getting pricier, while Harare in Zimbabwe, and Quito, Ecuador, rank as the world's cheapest cities for foreigners, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Japanese cities of Tokyo, followed by Osaka, remain the most expensive cities in the world, Hong Kong came in third with Zurich, Europe's most expensive city, fourth.
New York is the 12th most expensive city worldwide in which to live as a foreigner, and the most expensive city in the United States, followed by Chicago at 26th, San Francisco at 29th, and Los Angeles at 35th.
The data uses New York as a base index of 100 for relative comparisons.
The twice-yearly survey compiled by the unit, which is part of the Economist magazine group, compares prices and product costs for foreigners in 122 cities worldwide.
At No.7, Paris has become the Europe and Union's most expensive city, over-taking London, which slipped backed to ninth. At 61st, Lisbon was the cheapest major city in the EU while the Hungarian capital, Budapest, was the cheapest throughout Europe. Beijing is ranked 12th, along with New York City and Stockholm, Sweden. It is immediately followed by Shanghai at No.15 and Guangzhou at No.16. Taipei, Taiwan, comes in tied at No.17, with five other cities including Munich, Germany and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Currency devaluation led to sharp falls in the cost of living for foreigners in South America and Russia. Rio de Janeiro had been the 28th most expensive city. After the collapse of Brazil's currency, the real, Rio fell to the 111th most expensive worldwide.
Part Ⅴ Do you know ...?
A You are going to hear a recording some of the world's richest people. After listening, you'll find out more about Match column A with column B.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, Japanese, is the second richest man in the world who owns Seibu railroad, Seibu Lions baseball team, construction companies and real estate. His half brother Seiji is also a billionaire who owns department stores and Inter-Continental Hotels.
Sam Walton, is the richest American whose total wealth is $8.7billion. He owns the chain of Wal-Mart hypermarkets.
Roberto Marinho, Brazilian, owns newspapers and Rede Globo TV network which is the fourth largest TV network in world after ABC, CBS and NBC in the US.
The Cox sisters, Barbara Cox Anthomy and Anne Cox Chambers, are the richest women in the world. They are Americans. The Cox Communications owns many local radio and TV stations and newpapers.
The Benetton family has three brothers and one sister. They are Italians. They run the company and design the colorful clothes. They own the network of small shops all over the world and Nordica ski-boots.
The Duke of Westminster is the richest man in Britain. The family estate is worth $4 billion, including most of London's Mayfair and Belgravia. He only got two 'O' levels but has shrewd business brain.
Rupert Murdoch owns newspapers, entertainment companies and TV: The Times, The Sun and Sky TV and 20th Century Fox. He is born Australian, but later became a U.S. citizen.
Liliane Bettencourt is the richest person in France. He is formerly the president of L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company.
The Brenninkmeyer family is the richest family in Europe apart from the British Royal family. The family owns C&A clothes stores and retail chains in U.S.A.
Ingvar Kamprad opened first IKEA furniture store which produces simple and well-designed furniture in Almhult, Sweden. It has over 80 outlets in 20 countries. He is Swedish but lives in tax exile in Switzerland.
B You are going to hear a recording about the homelessness in America. Work out the following outline by filling in the gaps.
A new report from the Clinton administration says as many as seven million Americans may be homeless. If President Clinton approves this draft report, it will mark the first time the U.S. has officially pronounced homelessness to be a large-scale problem that demands a significant response from the federal government. Earlier administrations since the early 1980s have tended to minimize the scope of the homeless problem, estimating that several hundred thousand Americans were homeless on any given night.The new Clinton administration report not only claims the number is far greater, but it also disputes what the past two administrations described as the causes of homelessness. The Clinton report agrees that drugs and mental illness are common among the homeless, but it also argues that poverty, racism and budget cuts are pushing more and more people into the streets. Many of the homeless are responsible people who even hold down jobs.
Over fifty percent of the people that are homeless are employed. The salaries and the wages that they are making are just so ah … ah so little that they cannot afford … ah … basic rent or afford to buy a home. A lot of times when people think about someone being homeless, they think about the man sleeping on the park bench, or the lady walking down the street with the bags. Forty-three percent of the people that are homeless are women with at least two children. |