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
Today we're continuing a conversation between Ben and his Uncle Bob in our
lesson: Too Much Money?
Well, Ben and Sandy Johnson have a business that is growing, and they have a lot
of money.
Uncle Bob reminds them that you want to make your business grow in a balanced
and controlled way.
And as far as he can tell, their business is doing pretty well.
He just reminds Ben to be prudent with what he has.
Ben, of course, is very grateful for the people that he's hired.
They have been extraordinarily helpful.
Well, let's continue this conversation between Ben an Uncle Bob.
(Music).
Too Much Money?
Then one good option for you might be to give employee bonuses.
It isn't the end of the year, but I guess that doesn't really matter.
No, it doesn't.
Giving bonuses is a great way to show your employees you value them and their
hard work.
I suppose we could also use some of the money in support of a charitable cause
or community project.
That's another great idea.
It never hurts to be generous or to show your community you care.
Thanks, Uncle Bob.
I'll let you know how things work out.
(Music).
Well, those are some good options, so.
Let's go back to this part of the conversation and learn something from it, so.
Let's see, um... oh, Uncle Bob has the first line.
That is... me today.
Then one good option for you might be to give employee bonuses.
Hmm, that's a good idea.
Of course Ben was just talking about how helpful his employees are.
Maybe he should give them bonuses.
Let's look at that word - a bonus.
That's an amount of money that your boss might give you, maybe just to show that
he appreciates you.
Or for some other reason, he might give you a bonus.
That's right.
So a bonus is something extra.
It's not something that is required by someone to give to another person, but
it's a little bonus.
You can get bonuses when you go shopping.
If you buy so many items, maybe the store will give you a bonus item, something
extra.
But here we're talking about extra money that a boss gives his or her employees.
Now a lot of times in the U.S., companies will give their employees Christmas
bonuses.
That's right.
So Christmas bonuses in the United States.
But around the world, that might happen at different times.
Of course in Taipei, you might receive your bonus around Chinese New Year.
So this is a bonus, something undeserved.
It's different than a raise, of course.
If you get a raise, that means your salary every month is going up.
A bonus could just be one time.
It's a special occasion.
Well, Ben continues here.
He says: It isn't the end of the year, but I guess that doesn't really matter.
So it's not around Christmas time, but I guess that doesn't matter.
Right. So those bonuses usually come out around the end of the year, Christmas,
New Year's, the end of the year.
So it could be Western New Year, Chinese New Year.
But you know, it doesn't really matter.
And Uncle Bob agrees.
He says: No, it doesn't.
Giving bonuses is a great way to show your employees you value them and their
hard work.
And I think that's a good point.
If you have a company, you're running a business and you have people working for
you, it's good to keep the morale up.
It boosts people's morale.
M-O-R-A-L-E.
And you want there to be a good morale among your employees.
That's right.
So you want them to be happy to work for you, not to come into work every day,
feeling like they aren't going anywhere or they aren't appreciated for all that
they do at your company.
So if you give them a bonus, whether it's the end of the year or not...
It doesn't have to be a special occasion, but do reward them with something
nice.
That's true.
Well, Ben says: I suppose we could also use some of the money in support of a
charitable cause or community project.
So now he's getting creative.
Now he's thinking about what to do with his money.
Let's take a look at our key word: charitable.
What does that mean, Carolyn?
Well, if you are charitable, that means that you want to support people who are
in need.
Maybe you want to be charitable toward a hospital and support the doctors who
work there, the sick people that they treat.
You could be charitable toward many nonprofit organizations and help support
them, like the Jumbo Foundation that we learned about earlier this year.
That's right.
Or the Christian Salvation Service.
There are so many charities out there.
Sometimes a nonprofit organization that helps people in need or animals are
called charity.
C-H-A-R-I-T-Y.
A charity or many charities.
So it's good to be charitable to help with money or in other ways.
Right now Ken and Steve are going to help us explain what a cause is in the
Information Cloud.
It's always a good idea to support a charitable cause.
It's even better if you believe in a cause.
So what is a cause?
"Cause" here has a special meaning.
It's a goal or principle that you feel strongly about.
What would be a good cause, Steve?
How about ending world hunger?
Good one.
If you believe in a certain ideal, you can call it a good cause or a worthy
cause.
And to Steve, ending world hunger is a good cause.
Another good cause might be reducing carbon emissions.
Nice.
Once you've discovered a good cause that you believe in, you might ask people to
donate money to that cause because it's a worthy cause.
Now we need to be careful and not confuse a good cause with having good cause to
do something.
If we use "cause" as an uncountable noun, cause takes on the meaning of reason.
So if you have good cause to do something, you have good reason to do it.
That's right.
We should not be absent from work without good cause.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
There are many good causes out there that Ben could be donating to or be
charitable toward.
Now Uncle Bob continues.
That's another great idea.
It never hurts to be generous or to show your community you care.
Yes. And it's a good idea for us to talk about that phrase he uses:
It never hurts to do something.
That means it can never be bad to do something.
Let's use that phrase in another way.
You could say it never hurts to try something new.
Even if you don't do it for a long time, it never hurts to try.
You might fail, but it never hurts to try.
How could you use that phrase?
Well, it never hurts to tell your family how much you love them.
Many times we don't tell our family members, our parents just how much they mean
to us.
But it never hurts to tell someone I love you.
All right.
And of course it never hurts to be generous or to show your community that you
care.
Ben says: Thanks, Uncle Bob.
I'll let you know how things work out.
He always likes to let Uncle Bob know about his business.
They have a great relationship.
Well, now it's time for a review skit.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Well, hello, Ben.
Long time no see.
I know. I've been really busy.
Busy doing what?
Busy making this... money.
Whoa... So business is booming.
It sure is.
The company is flush with money.
Woo-hoo! Well, that's a lot of cash.
Yes. But what should I do with it?
Well, what are your options?
I could pay dividends or buy back some of our stock.
But your company doesn't have stockholders.
Yeah. That's why I'm at a loss of what to do.
Oh, why don't you pay down debt?
We don't have any debt.
Hey, maybe we should reinvest.
Ooh, only if you're prudent.
Businesses need to grow in a balanced and controlled way.
Right. So what should I do with this extra cash?
Oh. How about employee bonuses?
Oh, our employees have been extraordinarily helpful.
Yeah. Show them you value them and their hard work.
Good idea.
And maybe we can support a charitable cause.
Yes. Another great idea - show the community that you care.
Thanks, Uncle Bob.
I'll let you know how things work out.
Uh, Ben?
Yes?
Don't forget your money!
Oh, yeah.
OK.
(Chinese).
And now let's get back to our teachers.
We've had a great conversation the past two days between Ben and his uncle Bob
trying to decide what Ben and his wife should do with their profits.
One thing they talked about was that Ben could donate to a charitable
organization or be charitable toward something.
Now do you agree that it never hurts to be charitable? Gabe?
Hmm, that's actually a pretty good question.
Of course you want to be a generous person.
But we also learned another word in today's lesson - prudent.
It's good to be prudent with what you have as well as be generous.
You want to find a good balance between the two.
That is very true.
Well, think about that question.
What are some good things and bad things about being charitable?
And we thank you for joining us today.
We'll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
We'll see you then.