节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-02-11
难易度:High
关键字:adage, investor, pledge, incentive, philanthropy
Welcome back.
What do you think about the saying "Wealth only lasts three generations"?
Do you think that's true?
Today we're taking a look at why some rich people are donating their money to
charity rather than giving it to their own children.
Would you be interested in doing something like this?
So far we've learned about some very wealthy people indeed:
Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Just what are they doing with their money?
Let's find out now.
(Music).
Giving Until it Hurts.
Indeed, Buffett and the Gates have set up "The Giving Pledge.".
This effort encourages the world's wealthiest people to give more than half of
their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes.
Pledge signers.
Among those who have joined are some very famous names.
But what stands out most about their generosity are their incentives.
Buffett explained, "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel
that they could do anything,
but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing." Other givers are
driven by a sense of responsibility.
Still others give out of concern for their children's well-being.
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thank you so much, Michelle.
Well, let's go back to the top here and take a look at what Warren Buffett and
the Gates have set up.
It's something called The Giving Pledge.
And it encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to
philanthropy or charitable causes.
And we have a lot to look at from that sentence.
First of all, there are many kinds of pledges.
When you pledge a certain amount of money, you are agreeing to give that amount.
It's serious like a contract.
But unlike a contract, you're not held by the law to actually do it.
Right.
I remember in high school, sports teams needed to raise money to travel to
compete with different teams in different countries.
They would sometimes do a walk-a-thon around the school track.
And they would ask friends, family, teachers, whoever, to pledge to give a
certain amount.
I've heard of people doing that.
It's a creative way to raise money.
Maybe someone pledges to give $100 for every 10 times you go around the track.
Someone else might pledge $50 no matter how many times you walk around.
Right. Different people pledge different amounts.
Now as you can see, this word can be a noun or a verb.
You pledge to give or do something, and today we read about The Giving Pledge.
As of July 2013, 113 people or couples have signed on to this pledge.
They're giving more than half of their wealth to charity.
Actually, Warren Buffett has pledged to give much more than half of his fortune
to philanthropy.
He's pledged 75 percent.
Can you imagine that?
Well, I can't imagine having as much money as he does.
Now friends, do you see that word there: philanthropy?
Philo- means love.
Philanthropy is the love of humankind.
What are some other words that have the word philo- in them?
Hmm, I can think of one.
Yes?
Philosophy! Do you like studying philosophy?
Are you a philosopher?
That means you love wisdom because philosophy is the love of wisdom.
And there's a famous city in the United States called The City of Brotherly
Love.
I know what city you're thinking of, Gabe, Philadelphia.
You're right.
So philanthropy is the love of humankind.
Are you a philanthropist?
Then you are someone who wants to increase the well-being of humanity.
And there are so many ways to do that.
That's right.
Improving education is an example; helping to find cures for disease is another.
Fighting against poverty is another example of a cause in philanthropy.
And we find out here that some very famous names or people have joined The
Giving Pledge.
But that's not what stands out.
According to our author, there are incentives that stand out, too.
That's right.
Well, I know someone else who stands out always - Liz from the Grammar Gym.
She's waiting for us there.
So let's go there now.
Hi there, friends.
My name is Liz. And thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
Here's today's Grammar Tip sentence.
But what stands out most about their generosity are their incentives.
The phrase "stand out" means to be noticeable.
So today's sentence means: What is most noticeable about their generosity are
their incentives.
Notice the sentence pattern: What stands out most about [something] is/are
[something else].
This is a great sentence pattern to use when you want to bring attention to a
certain quality of something.
For example:
What stands out most about his painting is his use of colors to represent moral
values.
Or: What stands out most about the director's new play is his combination of
Shakespearean drama with Chinese opera elements.
So friends, give this sentence pattern a try.
Think of a certain quality that's very noticeable in something and practice
using the sentence pattern to describe that quality.
And if you'd like to see some more example sentences, then check out today's
Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's it for now.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thanks, Liz.
That was outstanding.
Well, what are these billionaires' incentives, anyway?
How do they stand out from the rest?
First of all, an incentive is like a motivation for doing something.
It's the reason behind your actions or why you want to pursue something.
Right. So maybe you are a high school student who wants to get into a really
good university.
That's your incentive for studying hard in school now.
You know, I remember a time when I was much younger and we hated going to the
dentist's office.
There was a period of time when our dad would treat us to ice cream if we didn't
cry about going to the dentist.
Oh, ice cream, that's a good incentive to do something unpleasant.
Well, Warren Buffett and the Gates are very wealthy and very generous with their
money.
Buffett explains his incentives here.
He says: I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they
could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.
You know, that sounds like a common problem for kids of rich people that they
already have everything they need so they just don't do anything.
So Warren Buffett wants to avoid this problem.
But others have different incentives that also stand out.
For example, some are driven by a sense of responsibility to give.
Right. If you are driven by something, that means it causes you to do something.
It's an incentive.
For example, I'm driven by God's example of love to help out at my church.
Gabe, what kinds of things drive you to make decisions?
You know what, I'd love to say it's God's love that drives me to help others,
but sometimes it's my own need to do something important that drives me.
In other words, I'm driven by a need to feel important.
Now of course that's not the best incentive, and it's not always my incentive,
but I think many people share that incentive.
Well, I think that's true.
So, what drives you?
Well, right now it's time for us to join Linda for our Editor's Summary.
There's an adage about wealthy families that says that wealth only lasts for
three generations,
with the first generation making it, the second generation managing it and the
third spending it.
But some wealthy families are changing that.
They are giving to charities instead of just their families.
Two famous examples are the Gates and Warren Buffett.
Their... The Giving Pledge encourages wealthy people to give more than half
their wealth to charity.
What are their incentives?
They vary from a sense of responsibility to concern for their own children's
well-being to motivating their children to do something.
Thank you, Linda.
Well, that about wraps it up for the first day of our lesson about Giving Until
it Hurts.
But of course we have more to learn about tomorrow.
We'll be talking about more of the pledge signers and their incentives to be
generous.
So before you come back for our next lesson, think about this:
What reason or incentive do you have for giving?
Make sure you join us again tomorrow right here at Studio Classroom.
See you then.