节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-05-01
难易度:High
关键字:fall back on something, evaporate, principal, expenditure, diversify
(Music).
Welcome, everybody, to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us.
Now how are you at saving money?
It's one thing to say you'll do it, it's quite another to, month after month,
take 10 or 15 percent of what you earn and set it aside.
Of course it's good and wise to save money because you never know what
surprises, emergencies and opportunities tomorrow might bring.
So if saving money is difficult for you, then this lesson is especially for you.
So let's open our magazines to page 12 and learn how to save for a rainy day.
Saving for a Rainy Day.
Saving money doesn't have to be hard.
Life is full of surprises.
That's why having savings to fall back on can give you peace of mind and is an
important part of being financially independent.
Sadly, for many, saving money is easier said than done.
Fortunately, by following these steps, you can do it yourself!
Step 1: Save differently for different things.
Many people put money away every month, only to see those savings evaporate when
a major expense arises.
This often happens because those same people don't have a clear conception of
what they are saving for.
The solution is to divide your savings into different categories - each geared
towards a different savings goal.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us on this first day of May right here in the
studio.
Yes. We're so glad you're here.
My name is Ryan.
And we're excited to be talking with you about this DO IT YOURSELF article.
Of course, we know it's important to know how to spend money wisely, but today
we want to show you how to save wisely.
That's right.
Now this phrase... this article actually starts off with a common English idiom
that, Ryan, we're using as the title.
And that is "saving for a rainy day." So let's look at what this phrase actually
means.
All right.
Now we use this phrase in the English to describe just saving a little bit of
money at a time so that you have enough for what we would call "a rainy day."
What does that mean?
Well, a rainy day does not actually mean a day that it is raining outside.
It means when things are not good.
When you expect... you thought they would be better, but they are not.
Maybe you don't have enough money.
Maybe you're in a bad situation.
You consider that a rainy day.
So when you save for a rainy day, you save, Ryan, in case there's something
wrong, something emergency happens, you're prepared.
Right. You save for an emergency.
And so many of us kind of... we have a hard time saving money.
I know I do.
I spend too much money, I think.
So it's important to know, though, that saving money, it doesn't have to be
hard.
It doesn't have to be hard.
There are some tips.
There are ways to save money successfully so that you don't end up in a bad
situation.
Well, we start out with our sentence, "Life is full of surprises." And Ryan, I
cannot imagine anything more true.
It's true.
Many of us, we don't know what's going to happen whether it's good or bad.
And so, yeah, you never know when you might need more money.
That's right.
It's full of surprises.
You don't know what to expect.
And that's why having savings to fall back on can give you peace of mind.
Now there's... this is a long sentence.
We're going to stop right there and take some of these phrases out.
That's right.
So you want to have savings, enough money saved, so that you can fall back on
it.
Now that phrase "fall back on" means that you can rely on something, especially
when there are no other options left.
That's right. You want something to rely on so you have peace of mind.
And that's "peace" as in being calm or relaxed.
And when we say the phrase "peace of mind," it means you're not worried about
anything, you can relax.
Yeah. And I think this is a good point.
We... a lot of us worry too much, and so it's good to have peace of mind.
And it's very... a very important part of being financially independent.
That's right. You want to be financially independent.
That means you're not relying on somebody else.
But sadly, for many, saving money is easier said than done.
Now this is another common phrase in English.
If something is "easier said than done," that means it's easy to tell someone
that you want to save money, but it's harder for you to actually do it.
So it's actually a little bit harder.
But fortunately, by following these steps, you can do it yourself.
You too can save money.
It doesn't have to be hard.
It doesn't have to be a challenge.
You can do it.
Exactly. And this way, when you need the money in an emergency,
or even if you want to save to buy something fun, a new phone or iPad or
something like that, you have the money saved.
So you can have fun too.
That's right.
You are prepared in case there's an emergency as well as have the money to spend
when you want it.
Well, we have a couple of different steps to go through.
Step 1 is save differently for different things.
OK. So we're going to see what this actually means here.
Many people put money away every month.
Now when you put money away, that means you are saving it.
That's right. You are keeping the money to save it for the future.
Now when they put the money away, sometimes they only see those savings
evaporate when a major expense arises.
Now that word "evaporate" means to cause something to change form or to
disappear.
Now usually we talk about this with a liquid.
It evaporates into a gas; water will turn into steam.
But with money, it means it goes away very quickly and you're left with nothing.
Right. So many of us, I know this happens to me, we want to save money, right?
We want to keep it for a major purchase or an emergency,
but then we buy something or we have an emergency and it all disappears.
Well, this often happens because those same people don't have a clear conception
of what they're actually saving for.
And a conception means an idea or why they are saving it.
So why are they saving it?
They're not sure.
Well, the solution is to divide your savings into different categories - each
geared towards a different savings goal.
Now this is actually a really good idea, and it's not something I would have
thought of doing.
You actually have different categories for the money you are saving, and each
one is geared towards a different goal.
That's right.
And when you say something is "geared," in this place, it means it is working
for something else.
It has a certain purpose.
That's right.
And so have different saving categories with different purposes, and that way,
you can save for what you need and for what you want.
All right. Now let's go visit Ken in the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan. You look upset.
What's wrong?
I just bought this cell phone two weeks ago, and I can't believe it's broken
already!
What's wrong with it?
It doesn't ring when people try to call me.
And sometimes it doesn't even show that I missed a call.
Well, you should take it to a store.
They might be able to fix it.
I'm planning to go today after work.
But it's frustrating that I have to go to this trouble so soon after buying it.
I'd like to talk to the manufactures and give them a piece of my mind.
Excuse me, you want to give them what?
A piece of my mind.
It means I want to let them know what a huge mistake they made and how mad I am
about it.
So to give someone a piece of your mind is to complain about something they did?
Yes, especially if you complain about something they did while you're really
angry.
OK. Well, I hope they're able to fix your phone without taking too long.
So do I.
I'll have a lot more peace of mind knowing that people can call me if there's an
emergency.
Uh... wait. I'm confused again.
Didn't you just say "piece of mind" meant angry complaints?
Why do they want something that will let people yell at you?
No, Ken. That's a different word.
If you're complaining about something, that's giving them a "piece" of your
mind.
"Piece" is spelled P-I-E-C-E.
I've got that.
But what did you say just now?
I said "peace of mind." Peace is spelled P-E-A-C-E.
"Peace of mind" is being calm and not worrying about things.
OK. That makes sense.
I hope you get your cell phone fixed soon then, so you can have more peace of
mind.
Thanks. So do I.