节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-10-09
难易度:High
关键字:boom, flush, stock, recoup, dividend, shareholder
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
Our lesson is called Too Much Money?
Hmm, what a good question!
Do you have this problem or do you know someone who has this "problem," who has
too much money?
Well, speaking of money, what is a good thing to do with your money?
What are some good ways to use your money?
What do you think, Carolyn?
Well, I think that money can be used for a lot of good things.
You could use it to support a group, an organization, maybe a charity that you
like, that you think they are doing a good job.
You could also use your money toward education.
You could spend it on learning a new skill to improve your own knowledge or to
get a better job.
I like those suggestions.
This also makes me think of what my older sister says.
She says any money spent on other people is good.
It's not wasted.
I agree with her.
If you spend money on other people, taking them out to meals or buying gifts for
them, that is something good to do with your money.
Well, let's get started in our lesson today: Too Much Money?
Too Much Money?
What should a business do with all its profits?
Hi, Uncle Bob.
Sorry I haven't been around much lately.
Sandy and I have been really busy.
That's OK, Ben.
I figured that meant things were going well.
As a matter of fact, business is booming.
And to be honest, I'm starting to get a little worried that I might become a
victim of my own success.
What do you mean?
Well, the company is flush with money right now.
I know that it's import to keep your money actively working for you, but I can't
figure out what to do with it fast enough.
Well, I guess having too much money could be a problem.
Well, let's go back to the very beginning of this conversation.
What should a business do with all its profits?
Carolyn, what is a profit?
Well, a profit is the money that you make.
So after you've paid all of your employees and yourself, and you've paid off all
of your expenses, all your bills, you pay for the lights, the machines,
all of the supplies that you need to run your business, all of the money that
you have left over, that is your profit.
OK. So what should your business do if you have these kind of profits?
Well, Ben is asking his Uncle Bob about this because their business is doing
pretty well and they have a lot of money left over.
OK, let's get started with this conversation.
I will be Ben today.
So you can be Uncle Bob.
Oh, great. All right.
So I'll be Uncle Bob.
Well... Ben, you start.
Hi, Uncle Bob.
Sorry I haven't been around much lately.
Sandy and I have been really busy.
Well, I guess that's a pretty good reason to not be around if you're busy.
You know, you don't have a lot of time, so.
Uncle Bob responds:
That's OK, Ben.
I figured that meant things were going well.
Well, that's a good word that Uncle Bob uses here.
He figures that means things were going well.
So if you figure something, that means you thought about it for a while, that's
the answer you came to.
OK. Well, Ben says:
As a matter of fact, business is booming.
Great! Great job, Gabe... Ben.
Booming.
Booming is a word from our Word Bank.
And if something is booming, then it is doing really, really well, almost
exploding.
That's right.
So usually I hear this word when I'm talking about a business of some kind.
Someone's business is booming.
It's doing really well.
What about the economy?
You could talk about the booming economy.
That means it's starting to get really, really good.
It's doing OK now.
So the business is booming.
That's right.
Well, uh, it's still your line, Ben. Continue.
Yes. Yes, of course.
Booming...
And to be honest, I'm starting to get a little worried that I might become a
victim of my own success.
Well, that is a great phrase there, Gabe.
To be a victim of your own success.
Let's look at that.
What does it mean?
To be a victim of your success.
Well, of course, success is a great thing, right?
Everyone wants success.
Everyone wants to succeed.
Now maybe you're doing really, really well.
You're really successful.
But then you're so successful that troubles start to come, troubles you did not
plan.
If those things happen to you, then you become a victim of your own success.
That's right.
And people that I think of that can easily become a victim of their only success
are businessmen who work really hard,
but they spend so much time at the office that they don't really get to spend
time with their family.
They make plenty of money, but the relationship they have with their wife and
children gets pretty terrible.
And that can make you a victim of your own success.
I think that is a very common way that people become a victim of their success.
So if that is happening to you, watch out!
Make sure that doesn't happen.
Do something about it.
Don't become that kind of victim of your success.
OK, Uncle Bob, carry on.
Oh, yes.
Uh, Uncle Bob has a question for you.
What do you mean?
Well, the company is flush with money right now.
Great! Great. I will stop you there, Ben.
Gabe, I'm sorry for interrupting, but you said a word from our Word Bank, the
word "flush." If something is flush, that means it is full.
There is so much of something.
So you might say that the company is flush with new employees.
There are many, many new employees in the company right now.
OK. It's flush with employees.
Usually I hear this when you're talking about money as well.
Maybe you are flush with cash.
You have a lot of cash.
Or maybe someone is flush with power.
They are a very powerful person.
So Ben and Sandy Johnson, they have a good company and it's flush with money
right now.
That's a great thing, right?
Well, it is a great thing.
But Ben seems to be having a little bit of a problem.
So why don't you continue with his line?
Yeah.
I know that it's important to keep your money actively working for you, but I
can't figure out what to do with it fast enough.
This is a great point that Ben has.
Actually, if you have money, you want to keep it working for you.
What does that mean if your money is working for you?
Well, that means that you have invested it somewhere that somehow, without much
effort, you're making more money.
It's like the money is working for you.
That's right.
So instead of just letting the money sit around, maybe in a drawer or under your
mattress, you invest it so that it is gaining interests.
You are making more money from the money you already have.
That's right.
And if you're doing that, maybe if you're making a lot of money, you don't know
what to do with your money fast enough.
You have Ben's problem.
Well, maybe you have too much of a good thing.
Let's learn something about that phrase with Steve and Ken in the Information
Cloud.
And then we'll join Michelle.
Hi, friends.
Have you ever had the problem that Ben and Sandy are having?
They're making so much money that they don't know what to do with it.
Well, I'm not sure I would call that a problem, Ken.
Having too much money, personally, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
But this situation reminded me of an expression: too much of a good thing.
Ah, yes, too much of a good thing.
That means something pleasant becomes unpleasant because you have too much of
it.
This phrase was actually coined by Shakespeare in the 17th century when he wrote
the play As You Like It.
Of course we can apply this expression to anything that might be bad for you
when you have too much of it.
For example, we all love chocolate, right?
But too much chocolate can actually make you sick.
Perfect example.
So moderation is key when we have too much of a good thing.
But Steve, I've always thought too much of a good thing is wonderful!
You're not the only one, Ken.
"Too much of a good thing is wonderful" is a purposefully humorous or irreverent
variation of the traditional saying.
So the conventional message is reversed.
That's right.
The original saying is an appeal to moderation while the modified saying
suggests that people should enjoy themselves more and worry less.
Well, maybe on your birthday you can allow yourself to be spoiled and pampered
with whatever you want no matter how much of it there is.
Right, because too much of a good thing can sometimes be wonderful.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.