节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-10-10
难易度:High
关键字:prudent, extraordinarily, bonus, charitable
(Music).
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
We're continuing our lesson: Too Much Money?
In yesterday's lesson, Ben and his Uncle Bob were having a conversation about
Ben and Sandy Johnson's business.
And of course the problem is now they're making so much money, they don't know
what to do with it.
What else did we learn about yesterday's lesson?
Well, they are very concerned, so Ben wanted to ask his Uncle Bob for help
because he doesn't want to become a victim of his own success.
The company is flush with money.
And he really wants to know how he could invest that since they don't have any
stock for their company.
They're just a small business.
That's right.
So they don't have any shareholders because they don't have any stock.
And of course, they have paid everything off.
They have recouped all of their expenses.
So they're doing great.
Now let's continue to see how this conversation plays out.
Let's get started with today's part of our lesson: Too Much Money?
Too Much Money?
Do you think we should just reinvest in the company?
That might be a good option, but you should be prudent.
Why?
We've talked about how successful businesses need to grow in a balanced and
controlled way.
As far as I can tell, your business is already growing pretty quickly.
That's true.
So what am I going to do with this extra cash?
Well, it seems that hiring employees was the right decision.
They've definitely helped your company grow.
That's true.
They've been extraordinarily helpful in expanding the business.
We wouldn't be where we are without them.
Well, that is very good to hear, very encouraging because Ben had been having
some employee troubles.
If you remember, there were some problems with some of his employees before.
But now it seems that that has all worked itself out.
And Ben gets to start this conversation today.
So let's go back to the beginning.
And Gabe, would you like to continue as Ben?
Of course.
He says: Do you think we should just reinvest in the company?
Now that's an interesting word that Ben uses: to reinvest.
You know what "to invest" is - you put something somewhere.
You invest into a stock, for instance, hoping that it will grow.
Now you can reinvest.
That means you do it again.
You can reinvest into your company.
That's right.
So he's thinking:
What options do I have as a small business?
What can I do with this extra money, all of these profits?
Reinvest in the company could be one option.
Uncle Bob says: That might be a good option, but you should be prudent.
Ah, well, that is a good word straight from our Word Bank: prudent.
If you are prudent, that means you have common sense.
You are wise in handling the things that you own.
It's good to be prudent.
It is good to be prudent.
So when you are thinking about investing, be prudent.
Use good judgment, and your money will begin to work for you.
So you won't be a victim of your own success.
That's right.
So if you are prudent, you can make prudent decisions.
Of course, you can be a prudent person.
That's very important.
And the noun form of this word is prudence, P-R-U-D-E-N-C-E.
It's good to have prudence.
That's right.
Well... Ben, so Uncle Bob just said that you should be prudent.
And you have the next line.
Ah, yes, it's a very long, important line here.
Why?
Ah, yes, very long, indeed.
Well.
We've talked about how successful businesses need to grow in a balanced and
controlled way.
Mmhm. That's good.
Can I interrupt you for a minute there?
OK.
All right.
A balanced and controlled way, yes.
You learned about this before, but it's a good reminder.
If you have a business, you don't want things to get out of control.
Even if you're making a lot of money, you should still try to balance and
control your growth.
Do go on, Uncle Bob.
Oh, well, thank you.
As far as I can tell, your business is already growing pretty quickly.
This is great.
Uncle Bob has a lot of good lines here.
"As far as I can tell," I like that phrase.
That means he's not sure about things exactly, but it looks to him a certain
way.
It seems to be a certain way.
If you're not sure, but it seems to be a certain way, you can use this phrase -
as far as I can tell.
As far as I can tell, well, your business is improving.
How else can you use that phrase?
That's right.
So you understand something to be true.
It's just your understanding.
There might be other things that you don't know about.
So as far as I can tell, the project will be finished by next week.
But maybe some other factors come in; maybe someone needs to take a vacation.
Well, that could push the project back another week or two.
That's right.
And of course here, as far as I can tell, we're making pretty good progress
today.
And I think you are, too.
As far as I can tell, your English is improving.
Well, Ben has another line here.
He says: That's true.
So what am I going to do with this extra cash?
Well, it seems that hiring employees was the right decision.
They've definitely helped your company grow.
Well, that's true, Ben says.
They've been extraordinarily helpful in expanding the business.
And that's a great word we want to talk about from our Word Bank:
extraordinarily, kind of a big word.
But you know the word "extraordinary." If something is extraordinary, it's
amazing, beyond normal.
If it's... if something is done extraordinarily, that's the adverb form of this
word.
So how could you use this word?
Well, it is a modifying word, extraordinarily.
You might say that building is extraordinarily tall.
You can't believe how tall it is.
Maybe you feel that way when you first look at Taipei 101.
Oh, that's how I feel sometimes - extraordinarily short, compared to the
building.
You could also talk about a person.
That person is extraordinarily smart.
Or she is extraordinarily lazy.
Or you could talk about your day.
I had an extraordinarily great day.
Well, that is a fantastic day if it is extraordinarily great.
Wonderful.
Well, um, Ben, you still have another line there.
Ah, yes.
Ben's not finished.
He says: We wouldn't be where we are without them.
He's talking about the people that he hired and their company has grown to a
great place.
It's got a good foundation.
And he wouldn't be where he is without his new employees.
That's right.
Well, it is time for us to learn something with Michelle in the Language Lab.
We wouldn't be where we are without her.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.