节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-02-04
难易度:Medium
关键字:discipline, desperate, community, convince, dice, addict
Hello again.
Today we've heard a bit more from Bennie and Peggy on how they feel toward
casinos and gambling.
Peggy worries that it could lead to addiction and serious debt, but Bennie is
not worried about that happening to him.
This conversation, of course, goes back to the issue of Bennie buying lottery
tickets.
Well, let's find out the conclusion of this conversation with the next part of
our reading.
(Music).
Testing Your Luck.
Some of them do!
But most don't.
Some even become desperate and turn to crime to get money to pay off their
debts.
Oh, those are just extreme cases.
That doesn't happen often.
I'll bet it happens more often than you think.
Well, casinos help communities, too.
They provide jobs and give money to community causes.
Sorry, Bennie.
You still can't convince me that gambling helps anyone.
That's OK.
But I won't stop buying my lottery tickets.
I'll let you know when I win.
Yes, Bennie, let me know if you win!
(Music).
All right.
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thanks, Michelle.
Well, it looks like Bennie and Peggy have decided to disagree.
Yes, they have.
So let's take a closer look at their conversation.
Great idea.
Peggy says that a lot of people turn to crime to pay off their debts.
Now that may or may not be true, but one thing is for sure - We should look at
that phrase: turn to crime.
And that doesn't mean that you change the direction that you're walking and have
a meeting with crime.
Hello, crime!
No. It means that you decide to become a criminal.
Oh. So Peggy worries that many people who are addicted to gambling get in debt,
then start committing crimes to pay off their debt.
Now certainly this does happen often, and it's very unfortunate.
But Bennie believes these are just extreme cases.
And if something is an extreme case, that means that it is not normal.
It is unusual and should not be treated as being average.
Of course, though, Peggy does not see it the same way and says that they happen
more often than Bennie thinks.
And Peggy may be right.
According to a professor at the University of California, one fourth of all
gambling addicts will turn to crime to support their addiction.
Wow! Really! That's... that's really scary.
Gambling can be fun.
But if it gets out of control and becomes an addiction, obviously it's very
destructive.
Right. So I think Peggy's concerns are well-founded.
Now I really like the way she starts this sentence.
She says, "I'll bet..." and since they are talking about gambling, it's an
interesting word for her to use.
You're right about that, Carolyn.
I didn't notice it before, but betting is what a person does when they gamble.
They bet on the cards or dice or a winning number.
But here... Peggy is betting on her own logic and the belief that people turning
to crime is not an extreme case.
Right. It happens more often than you think.
And that is a great phrase that Liz wants to tell us more about in the Grammar
Gym.
Well, what are we waiting for?
Let's go there now.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym, friends.
My name is Liz.
Here's today's Grammar Tip sentence from today's lesson:
I'll bet it happens more often than you think.
Our focus is on the pattern: [something] happens more often than you think.
You might meet someone who thinks that a certain situation is very rare or it
seldom happens,
but you want to explain that the situation is actually quite common.
So you can use this phrase: [something] happens more often than you think.
For example, some people are very careless when they ride their motor scooters.
So you can advise someone by saying:
Please be careful. Scooter accidents happen more often than you think.
Or let's suppose you want to remind somebody to always keep their windows and
doors locked whenever they leave the house.
So you can say:
Remember to check your windows and doors. Burglaries happen more often than you
think.
If you want to see some more example sentences, they're available in today's
Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's all the time we have for today, friends.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
I'll see you next time. Bye.
Thanks, Liz.
So we were just talking about how serious gambling addictions can be and that
turning to crime happens more often than people might realize.
That's right.
And these crimes have a very wide range: stealing money from friends, family,
the company a person works for or even taking on illegal jobs.
Well, I certainly hope that anyone who gambles only does it for fun and not
because they need to win the money.
Me, too.
Now Bennie tries to make another point here.
He says the casinos help communities by providing jobs and supporting community
causes.
Now before we talk about that idea, let's look at that phrase: community cause.
What does that mean, Gabe?
Well, a community cause is something that the community wants to achieve or
accomplish.
So the group of people that live in a place come together in support a certain
cause.
So this could be anything from repairing a bridge to building a city park to
funding children's programs.
Right. There are so many different kinds of causes, right?
So if casinos help support these things, then they must not be that bad.
Well, Bennie seems to think that way, though they are not always so helpful.
They may provide jobs for some people and encourage and support community
causes.
But if many others are spending all of their paycheck at the casino because of a
gambling addiction,
then that's not really helping anyone, especially if those people turn to crime.
Ah, yes. I see your point here, Carolyn.
And I think that Peggy would agree with Carolyn.
So if Bennie wins, he can let Peggy know.
Yes, if he wins.
And that's a good point since there's no guarantee.
That's right. There is no guarantee.
All right.
Now it's time for us to enjoy a review skit.
And then, of course, we will join Linda for the Editor's Summary.
So let's get started.
Hey, are those lottery tickets?
Yes! Lottery tickets today, money tomorrow.
No. Lottery tickets today, trash tomorrow.
Hey, I might win.
You might, but you probably won't.
You're wasting your money.
Oh, it's just fun, a little harmless entertainment.
Maybe it's harmless for you.
But a lot of people buy lottery tickets who can't afford them.
Yes, they're hoping to win a jackpot.
And so am I.
You're deceiving yourself.
You're going to lose more often than you win.
It's gambling.
Yes, but it's different than playing games at a casino.
I'm not betting on cards or dice.
No, but it's still gambling.
And some people lose a lot of money.
Not me.
Hmm. Besides, you might become addicted.
You might get into debt.
Not me! I set a limit for myself.
And when I reach that limit, I stop playing.
But some people lose, and they play more.
They hope to win their money back.
Yeah. But casinos provide people jobs.
Well, true, but you'll never convince me that gambling helps anyone.
You'll see. Someday I'm going to win the big jackpot!
You want to bet?
Sure.
Bennie and Peggy are continuing their discussion about gambling.
And today they talk about addiction to gambling and getting into debt.
Bennie knows that people lose money, but he sets a limit for himself when he
goes to a casino.
He also talks about how helpful casinos are by providing jobs and giving money
to community causes.
But Peggy is not convinced.
What do you think?
Today has been an interesting one as we've gone through this conversation
between Bennie and Peggy on gambling and playing the lottery.
Uh, so, Gabe, have you ever played the lottery?
Hmm, have I ever played the lottery?
Well, not exactly.
There have been a couple of times where friends have bought me some lottery
tickets.
I didn't go and buy them myself, and they just bought it for me because they
thought it would be fun.
Uh, I didn't win those times.
Um, I haven't played the lottery, but something that we do in Taipei is... is
collect receipts.
And sometimes we win money based on if we win or not.
If the numbers match up, we might win some money.
Oh, that's true.
I know a lot of people collect those receipts because you can win money just for
buying things at a store and keeping your receipt number.
Well, you know, some of my family members like to play the lottery, and they
would buy lotto tickets to share.
And it was just kind of a game that we would play.
It wasn't ever to see if we would actually win a lot of money.
Yeah. You know, sometimes it is fun, though, if you take a certain amount of
money, everyone gets... pitches in a little bit,
and maybe you play a game to see who will win it all.
And of course your friends will take the money, so it's not going to anybody you
don't know.
But I do think it's kind of interesting this whole idea of winning a lot of
money or winning the jackpot.
I've just heard so many stories of people's... people whose lives were ruined
after winning so much money.
It's because they didn't earn the money, so when all of a sudden they had a lot
of money,
they weren't sure what to do with it and they made a lot of poor decisions.
Well, what do you think about playing the lottery or going to... casinos?
And if you know someone who has an addiction, try to get help.
Maybe try calling a hotline.
All right.
And of course, we will see you next time right here at Studio Classroom.