📘 Part 3: Gifts and rewards

This episode's vocabulary

To tailor (verb) - to adjust something to suit a particular need or situation.

Commensurate (adj.) - in a correct and suitable amount compared to something else.

Tangible (adj.) - real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced.

Availability (noun) - the fact that something can be bought, used, or reached, or how much it can be.

Fleet (adj.) - short or quick.

Fulfilment (noun) - a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction because you are happy with your life.

Affluence (noun) - the state of having a lot of money or owning many things.

Revenue (noun) - the income that a government or company receives regularly.

Excessive (adj.) - too much.

Portion (noun) - a part or share of something larger.

Questions and Answers

M: How should the bosses reward their employees?

R: Well, in my experience it's been through a variety of means, like bonuses, promotions, or recognition in front of their peers. There's not one fixed rule for it, though, it's important to tailor rewards to each employee's individual needs and preferences and to ensure that rewards are, well, commensurate with the employee's level of performance. So people feel like they're treated fairly.

M: What kinds of gifts do children like to receive as rewards?

R: I suppose the most obvious are physical rewards like toys, books, games, and experiences like outings to the movies or amusement parks. There are some metaphysical ones, though, like a cuddle or being told well done. To be honest, it seems being praised means a lot more than the first set of things just based on the spring that seems to happen in kids' steps after they get it.

M: And what are children usually rewarded for at school? And how does it happen?

R: Well, the most obvious examples are things like good behaviour, academic achievement, and participation in extracurricular activities, which are all core parts of the school experience. As for the rewards themselves, they can take many forms like praise or recognition in front of peers and tangible items such as stickers, certificates, or trophies.

M: Why do people like shopping more now than in the past?

R: I would imagine due to the increased availability of goods and services as well as the convenience of online shopping. Moreover, shopping can give you a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, however fleeting, that may be and can be seen as a leisure activity or a hobby.

M: What's the relationship between shopping and the economy of your country?

R: I'd say they're quite closely tied together as shopping represents a significant portion of consumer spending, which is something that people in most Western countries do a lot of due to the relevant affluence. When people shop, they're contributing to the overall economic growth of their country, as well as supporting local businesses and industries. I'm not sure there's anything particularly unique about that in Scotland, though.

M: Do you think shopping is good for a country's economy?

R: Yes, because it generates revenue and creates jobs. However, it's important to balance consumption with responsible spending habits and to be mindful of the impact that excessive consumption can have on the environment and society. If we all engaged in mindless consumerism, then I think society would probably collapse if not suffer from significant weakening.

M: And is consumption important to a country?

R: Oh, absolutely. It represents a significant portion of economic activity and growth, although it's important to balance consumption with responsible spending habits, and of course, being mindful of the impact that excessive consumption can have on society and the environment, sort of like I just said, really, I remember seeing a statistic that we would need something like five Earths if we all had American lifestyles. So that's not good as we only have one planet now.

M: What are the things young people like to buy?

R: I'm not sure there's an end to that list, fashion and beauty products, electronics, entertainment, and experiences and travel. It's important to consider young people's individual needs and interests when selecting products and be mindful of their budget and financial responsibilities. But if we talk about them as a group, then, like I said, the possibilities are pretty much limitless.

M: How could online shopping grow and develop in the future?

R: I suppose it will continue to provide consumers with great convenience or greater convenience. Get access to a wider range of products and services. However, you know, we've already talked about being mindful of the potential impacts of online shopping, as well as the risks associated with security online and privacy. So it's possible with market expansion, there'll be increased regulation and perhaps limitations placed on growth by governments and the availability of resources.

Discussion

M: Hey, thank you, Rory, for your answers! Yeah, we have a kind of gift, rewards and shopping, because, well, you buy gifts. So it's about consumerism, it's about shopping again. It's about this rampant consumerism, dear listener. Yeah? So shopping and gifts and rewards. Speaking part three questions are kind of about, well, similar things. But here we have questions about rewards. And what is a reward?

R: A reward is something that is given to you...

M: In exchange for good behaviour or good work.

R: Is it?

M: Yeah. For example, there's a reward for a person who finishes work first. So usually, we get rewards at work, at school, and at university. So for our good behaviour or for our good work. It could be the amount of money, right? Or it could be, I don't know, anything, some discounts, some physical things. And the verb is to reward, to reward somebody for doing something. Or we can also use it as a verb, like his work was rewarded, or everybody's work should be rewarded. People should get rewards for their hard work. And the first question is how should bosses or companies reward their employees. Well, employees? Like workers. Or the question could be about, like the best employees, how should they be rewarded? And Rory told us about bonuses. Bonuses? Like money, extra money, promotions, when people get promoted, they were... Like a person is a manager and then he gets promoted to a director and also recognition in front of their peers. Peers? Their colleagues, and other workers who work with them, recognition. So maybe like in front of everybody, your boss tells you, oh, you are Rory, you are our asset. You are brilliant, thank you so much for being with us! So you see? This is recognition. Companies or bosses should tailor rewards to each employee's individual needs. So they should adjust rewards to each employee's needs. Tailor? Reward to their needs. For example, Rory needs discounts for his gym. So his company gives him a discount for his gym as a reward. You see? So ideally.

R: That would be amazing. Vanya, can I have money for the job, please?

M: And then you used this word commensurate.

R: Commensurate?

M: Yeah.

R: Commensurate just means that it matches like you give one level of something, and the reward matches it. It's commensurate. Your salary should be commensurate with the amount of work that you do.

M: Yeah. Like people should get salaries, which are commensurate with their skills and experience. Yeah? So to be commensurate with something. It's very formal. Commensurate. And rewards are commensurate with the employee's level of performance, level of performance? How well they work, how well they do at work. Children can get gifts as rewards, yeah? Kind of gifts and rewards are a bit different. Yeah, dear listener? So we give gifts for birthdays, for New Year, for holidays, gifts or presents, but rewards are special. Like if a child does something good in his life, then he can get a reward for this. And Rory told us about physical rewards like toys, books, games, and also metaphysical ones.

R: I probably should have just said psychological ones.

M: Psychological rewards. Like a cuddle, like a hug, right? Or a praise could be a reward. So well done my boy, you did a very good job.

R: I think that means more to children than physical rewards. I could be wrong, but I think it does.

M: It seems being praised means a lot, right? So to be praised could serve as a reward. Children are rewarded at school. Yeah? Or they get rewards at school for their good behaviour, for academic achievement, for good marks, for participation. So they take an active part in something. Participation in extracurricular activities, dear listener, which happen after school hours. So usually some, I don't know, like... Oh, could you give me some examples of extracurricular activities?

R: Oh, like a sport that you might do. Lots of children go to jujitsu or dance for example.

M: And rewards can take any form, including praise, recognition in front of their peers, or tangible items. Tangible? Items you can touch. Like physical items, such as sneakers, certificates or trophies. Trophies? Like you win a sports competition and then you get a trophy. Yep, this is kind of a cup or something. A certificate or a sticker. Usually, children get some stickers. Like, oh, you've done this exercise. So here's a sticker for you. And teachers give out stickers with hearts or monkeys or stars. Yeah. Even adults enjoy getting stickers during their English classes. A couple of questions about shopping. Yeah? Which are very similar to the ones that we've already discussed. So just to give you even more vocabulary, also shopping can happen in IELTS essays, dear listener. Some of these words could be used in IELTS essays about shopping, about consumerism. So yeah, you're welcome. And shopping can provide a sense of satisfaction, sense of fulfillment. When people feel happy, they are fulfilled. Yeah. Could you comment on relative affluence? It's an interesting word.

R: Oh, that sounds complicated. But it's not. Relative affluence is just being... Or being richer or having more than the people around you. So for example, if I have 1000 pounds, and everybody else has 500 pounds, then I'm relatively more affluent than they are. Could you give us another example of affluence?

R: Well, what? There's probably more affluence in America than there is in, I don't know, in Britain. That would be my guess, I think there are more billionaires in the US than in the UK.

M: When people shop, when they buy, they are contributing to something. To contribute to the overall economic growth of the country. So the economy of a country, economic growth, and people contribute their money to the economy of a country. Shopping generates revenue. Revenu means money in this context. So shopping generates, it makes, it gives money, it generates revenue.

R: But you generate revenue, you don't make revenue.

M: Excessive consumption. Consumption? When we consume, when we buy, use. Excessive - too much. So excessive consumption... Not really good.

R: More than you need.

M: Excessive consumption could have a negative impact on the environment or society. Society without any article. Okay? The society? No, no, no, no. Society.

R: Well, I said the environment. So it could be the society of a country.

M: Yeah, but this particular society, but if you speak in general, like I think society would probably collapse.

R: Yeah, but we're not talking in general. It says, do you think shopping is good for a country's economy? So here, you could say the society.

M: Of this particular country. Yeah.

R: But the fact that there is no article means that it's also okay.

M: And then consumption represents a significant portion. Portion or part of economic activity. Economic growth or economic activity. And our shopping habits should be responsible. So we should be mindful of the impact. Okay? So have more responsible shopping habits. Avoid excessive consumption. And then Rory gave an example of the American lifestyle. Like I remember seeing some statistics, I remember doing something, so in the past, that we would need five Earths. So five planets, if you we all had American lifestyles, no way, really? Is it true? Because like in the States, they have this rampant consumerism, excessive consumption. Buy, buy, Black Friday everybody. Give me stuff.

R: I don't know if it's excessive consumption. I just think that's people going crazy because of discounts.

M: Well, but it's kind of excessive consumption. So they don't need it. But they just buy things just because of discounts.

R: Well, I guess that's part of it, isn't it? But why do people feel they need to have that stuff in their lives? The philosophy. Anyway, moving on.

M: IELTS is all about philosophy, dear listener, sometimes. Well, you know that, yeah.

R: It is. Actually, I found a research paper on improving exam scores and one of the things that they suggested was taking a more philosophical or academic approach to questions which I will be trying to model when I get back from Turkey because I think it sounds like a winner.

M: Really? So to get the questions even more philosophical?

R: That is oversimplifying it, but yes, there's an easy way to do it though. I just want to think about how I want to teach people how to do this.

M: Interesting. Okay. People enjoy buying beauty products, electronics, entertainment and experiences, can also travel. And it depends on young people's individual needs. But we should be mindful of the budget. So to be aware of the budget to be mindful of the budget, and also financial responsibilities. We paraphrase people who buy things like consumers, customers, shoppers, or buyers, so people who buy things, and in the future shopping will provide greater convenience. So it will be more convenient, and access to a wider range of products. So different products and services. However, it's important to be mindful of potential environmental impact effects. To be mindful of something is the key phrase of this episode, dear listener.

R: To be mindful of something?

M: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You should be mindful of your financial responsibilities. Financial responsibilities? Like paying out a loan or paying your bills paying taxes, yeah?

R: Well, it could be that or if you have children, then you might need to pay for their education and things that they need too. That's financial responsibility.

M: So whenever you're talking about shopping, you can talk about the dark side of shopping, the environmental impact of online shopping, or just usual shopping. Also, online security and privacy could be issues in the future. Sweet, thank you very much for listening, dear listener! You are our gift!

R: Helping you is our reward.

M: Yeah, and this is very rewarding. So we are doing something that's really rewarding. And if our job, if our work, what we're doing is rewarding. It brings us a lot of rewards, right? So and makes us happy, and it's making you happy. Thank you very much! Love you, hug you! Bye!

R: Bye!

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