📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you received money as a gift

This episode's vocabulary

Odd (adj.) - strange or unexpected.

Age of majority (noun) - the age of majority is the legally defined age at which a person is considered an adult, with all the attendant rights and responsibilities of adulthood.

To invest (verb) - to put money, effort, time, etc. into something to make a profit or get an advantage.

Fit (adj.) - to be suitable for something.

Envelope (noun) - a flat, usually square or rectangular, paper container for a letter.

To save (verb) - to keep money or something else for use in the future.

A rainy day (idiom) - a time when money might unexpectedly be needed.

To wind up (phrasal verb) - to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do.

Imaginative (adj.) - good at thinking of new, original, and clever ideas.

To arise (verb) - to start to happen or exist.

Questions and Answers

R: It's a bit odd to discuss money so openly as it's considered a little rude where I'm from. However, when I was younger, I used to get money on my birthdays from certain relatives. One particular occasion that stands out was my 18th birthday, and this is an important birthday, as it's actually considered the age of majority in my country. That's when you're recognized as an adult in the eyes of the law and the wider culture. So you're seen as ready to make adult decisions and can be trusted with things like large amounts of money. So in keeping with that idea, my parents gave me quite a large amount of money that I had to invest as I saw fit. This was actually the day after my 18th birthday party. Since I doubt it would have been a good idea to make such serious decisions there and then, but the purpose was connected to me being older. They gave it to me in an envelope and said I could use it however I liked. I think it was part tradition and part letting me know they were seeing me as someone they could trust with such a large amount or such a responsibility. And I hope I managed to make a decision they would have agreed with. Since my parents are quite good with money themselves, I decided to save it in a bank account for a rainy day, and about 16 years later, that day came when I used it to buy things for the house that I bought. I hadn't touched it in all that time, so it had built up quite a bit of interest, and I wound up with more than I thought I had at the start. Part of me wishes I'd invested it in Bitcoin or something, but no one knew much about that at the time, and I wasn't very imaginative when I was younger, so I suppose that was the wisest choice at the time. Although if a similar situation arises again, I will know exactly what I'll be doing.

M: And do you usually give money as a gift?

R: I can't think of the last time I've done that. I don't think it's something I would ever do.