#0297 – Being Rich and Poor, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 297 – Being Rich and Poor
GLOSSARY
affordable –
able to be paid for; not too expensive; not so expensive that one
can’t pay for something
* Do you know where I can buy affordable business clothes?
budget –
a plan for how one will spend one’s money; a plan for what one should
buy, and how much it should cost
* Sampson’s monthly budget includes $760 for rent, $250 for food, $130 for
transportation, and $100 for entertainment.
commute –
the daily drive to and from work
* Elia usually listens to the radio during her long commute from Baltimore to
Washington, DC.
income gap –
the difference in the amount of money made by two people or by
two groups of people
* There is a big income gap between people who finish only high school and
people who have graduate degrees.
poverty –
poorness; the state of many people not having enough money
* Poverty in Detroit became a big problem when the major car factories closed.
affluence –
richness; wealth; the state of many people having a lot of money,
often more money than they need
* Owning very large houses and having servants are signs of affluence.
to poor-mouth –
to say you are poor when you is not; to say bad things about
something; to complain about something
* Damian thinks it’s a good idea to poor-mouth in front of his relatives because he
doesn’t want to lend them money.
to afford –
to be able to pay for something; to have enough money to pay for
something
* If I save $200 each month, by the end of the year, I’ll be able to afford that
vacation to Hawaii.
basic necessities –
the things that one really needs, like housing, food, and
warm clothing; not luxuries
* Our mayor said in his speech that everyone should have enough money for the
basic necessities so that they don’t have to go hungry.
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ESL Podcast 297 – Being Rich and Poor
hypocrite –
a person who says one thing but does something else; a person
whose actions are different from his or her words
* Quincy is such a hypocrite! He tells his patients that it’s important exercise
everyday, but he doesn’t exercise at all.
food stamps –
small pieces of paper that are given to poor people by the
government so that they can buy food without money
* Food stamps can be used to buy food, but not cigarettes or alcohol.
to put things into perspective –
to help one understand what is truly important,
and what isn’t
* Living in Sub-Saharan Africa for four months helped Bernice put things into
perspective as she began to understand how many opportunities she has in her
life.
inequity –
something that is unequal; something that isn’t fair
* In many companies, there is an inequity in how much money men and women
get paid for doing the same job.
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 297 – Being Rich and Poor
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Why does Santiago say that he feels like a hypocrite?
a) Because he can’t buy the new car that he wanted.
b) Because he complains about being poor when he really isn’t.
c) Because he sees poverty in L.A. and affluence everywhere.
2. According to Lynn, what are “the great inequities” in the world?
a) That she doesn’t have enough money for a vacation.
b) That she can afford the basic necessities.
c) That some people are much poorer than others.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
budget
The word “budget,” in this podcast, means a plan for how one will spend one’s
money: “Jasmine’s budget doesn’t include any money for eating at restaurants,
because she always cooks at home.” As a verb, “to budget” means to make a
plan for spending one’s money: “Terrence needs to learn to budget his money,
because he never has anything left at the end of the month.” The phrase “to go
over budget” means to spend more money than one had planned: “The
construction project went over budget because the wood was more expensive
than they thought it would be.” The phrase “to go under budget” means to spend
less money than one had planned: “The president was very pleased when the
team reported that its project was under budget.”
gap
In this podcast, the phrase “income gap” means the difference in the amount of
money made by two people or by two groups of people: “Why is there such a
large income gap between engineers in the U.S. and those in Asian countries?”
Normally the word “gap” means a space between two things, or something that is
missing: “Cynthia has a big gap between her two front teeth.” Or, “I learned from
my driving teacher that good drivers always leave a gap between themselves
and other cars.” A “gap” can also be a period of time when something stops:
“Kelly has a two-year gap in her work experience because she was traveling
around Europe.” Or, “There was an uncomfortable gap in the conversation when
nobody knew what to say.”
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 297 – Being Rich and Poor
CULTURE NOTE
The United States has many “social welfare programs,” or governmental
programs that are designed to help poor people have a better quality of life. Two
of these programs are “the U.S. Food Stamp Program” and “Supplemental
Security Income.”
The U.S. Food Stamp Program is “administered” (managed) by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. It is designed to help poor people buy food. In the
past, poor people were given paper “food stamps” that they could give to the
grocery store instead of money when buying food. Now, small cards similar to
credit cards are more common.
More than half of the people who participate in the food stamp program are
children, and 9% are more than 60 years old. Most people believe that the food
stamp program is good for helping people in emergencies, but they worry that the
program creates “dependencies,” meaning that the families think they need the
food stamp over a long period of time, and aren’t able to stop using the food
stamps.
Another social welfare program is “Supplemental Security Income” (SSI), which
is a program that pays “aged” (65 years or older), “blind” (not able to see), and
“disabled” (injured and not able to do normal activities) people a monthly
“stipend” (an amount of money). The stipend is supposed to help them “cover
their expenses,” or pay for the things they need. To receive SSI payments, a
person must show that his or her “income” (the amount of money that he or she
earns) is below a certain “limit” (maximum). These people also have to be “legal
residents,” or people who can show that they live in the U.S. legally.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
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ESL Podcast 297 – Being Rich and Poor
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 297: Being Rich
and Poor.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 297. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for
this episode. You can also take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, which has
some additional premium courses that you may be interested in.
This episode is a dialogue between Lynn and Santiago about being rich and
being poor in the United States. Let's get started.
[start of story]
Lynn: I’ve been trying to help Monica find an apartment, but it’s impossible to
find anything affordable on this side of town and near her work. The only thing
that’s within her budget would require a 50-minute commute each way!
Santiago: I know. It’s become really ridiculous. I’m reading an article about how
the income gap between the rich and the poor in this country is getting wider and
wider. Poverty is the worst it’s ever been in cities like L.A., while you see
affluence everywhere.
Lynn: I know I poor-mouth sometimes, but at least I can afford the basic
necessities.
Santiago: Yeah, I do the same thing. I feel like such a hypocrite sometimes.
The other day, I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn’t afford the fancy
new car I wanted. My old car isn’t that old! I’ve only had it for five years and it
still works, most of the time. I forget about people who don’t have a car and are
living on food stamps.
Lynn: Me, too. Looking for an apartment with Monica has really put things into
perspective for me. The next time I complain about not having enough money for
a pair of new shoes or to take a vacation, remind me of the great inequities of
this world, will you?
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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