📘 Part 3: Money and gifts

This episode's vocabulary

Contactless (adj.) - relating to the use of wireless technology to make a payment using a credit card or debit card, or a mobile phone.

To haul (verb) - to pull something heavy or transport something over long distances.

Secure (adj.) - likely to continue and not fail or be lost.

Remotely (adverb) - from a distance.

To deem (verb) - to consider or judge something in a particular way.

Medium (noun) - something that helps you to do a particular activity.

To come/get to grips with something (idiom) - to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation.

Mean (adj.) - not willing to give or share things, especially money to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation.

Generous (adj.) - willing to give money, help, kindness, etc., especially more than is usual or expected.

Asset (noun) - something having value, such as a possession or property, that is owned by a person, business, or organization.

Stock (noun) - part of the ownership of a company that can be bought by members of the public.

Recession (noun) - a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad.

Inflation (noun) - a general, continuous increase in prices.

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Questions and Answers

M: Why do people rarely use cash these days?

R: Well, I'm hardly an expert. But if I were to guess, contactless payments seem a lot better than having to haul around a lot of cash with you. And they're probably more secure as well. I mean, for example, you can cancel your cards remotely if they get stolen.

M: Do you think it's helpful to give money as gifts?

R: I think it's an increasingly popular choice compared to trying to predict what people might like, though sometimes it can be a bit strange to do. I mean, for instance, at work, it could be deemed inappropriate to give your colleague a gift of money. Why? Why not? I think it probably has something to do with the fact that you're together in a place where you're getting money anyway. So if you give them money, it's almost like you think they don't have enough or something. I mean, I think that's the logic behind it. I wouldn't complain if somebody gave me money at work.

M: Do people value money the most today?

R: What, over everything else? Probably not. I mean, money is a medium that you can use to get the things you want. It gets you access, which is what people actually want.

M: What do young people usually spend money on?

R: Well, if I were to guess it would be technology and gadgets that get them access to greater novelty and interaction, especially hyper-social teenagers.

M: Why do young people tend to waste money?

R: Well, when you're young, you don't give much thought to the future, do you? And why should you? Immediate needs are taken care of and there's all this time to get to grips with things like consequences, so you put it off until later. Plus, they lack the knowledge and experience to make informed choices.

M: Do people in your country like to save money?

R: Well, Scottish people have this reputation for being notoriously mean, when it comes to money, though I've yet to see any actual evidence of this. I actually think we're very generous in spirit.

M: What's the best way of saving money?

R: Well, ironically, by buying the right assets, or maybe more fittingly investing it appropriately. Precious metals are always going up in price, as are certain stocks, which are pretty much recession-proof. You spend money to make it in that way, I suppose.

M: Do you think in the future people will spend more money than today?

R: Well, yes. Because there's, because of inflation. So I mean, literally, there's more money to be spent. So yes, they will. That's just a fact.

M: And who should teach children how to spend money, how to manage their money?

R: I suppose the combination of teachers and parents, really. Because parents will have different values and spending habits and priorities. And then teachers can cover the general ground like what money is used for or what it can be used for.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers! This is the end of the speaking test. Hey, let's go wild and crazy!

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