1. To have a discussion that elicits expressions relating to finances;  

2. To increase the familiarity and use of such expressions; 

3. To translate the visual information from the video clip into the appropriate language; 

4. To use the audio information in the corresponding exercises;

5. To reinforce productively the language that has been learned.

●  Think about the following questions and try to answer them.

1) Are you money-conscious? 

2) Do you think that money is an emotional issue?

3) What’s your attitude towards money?

* suggested answers:

1) Yes, I am. You have to be money-conscious so that you can survive in this economic world. As a student, I am becoming increasingly money-conscious just to prepare for my independence upon graduation.  

2) Yes, it is. We learn about money and our attitudes about having it or not having it, earning it or not earning it, stealing it or not stealing it come from the psychological environment in which we grow up.

3) It is that a penny saved is a penny earned; also, you can’t take money with you. 

●  Listen to each of the following expressions of Money Talk to make sure that you understand its meaning, and then translate it into Chinese.

1) I can’t afford that. 

我买不起那个。

2) I’m in the red. 

我负债了。

3) We have to watch our spending. 

我们必须计算着用钱。

4) I need to watch my costs. 

我需要注意我的花销。

 5) I have to cut back on expenses.

我必须削减开支。

 6) We’ve got to tighten our belt.  

我们必须省吃俭用。

 7) I have to cut out all unnecessary expenditures. 

我必须停止一切不必要的开销。

 8) We have to get back to basics. 

我们必须重新过简朴的生活。 

 9) I’m on a strict budget. 

我手头拮据。

10) What a miser! / What a Scrooge!

好一个吝啬鬼。

11) Money burns a hole in his pocket. (idiomatic)

他一有钱就花光。

12) You have no business throwing money around like that. 

你不该这样挥金如土。

13) Money is no object. 

钱不成问题。

14) You’re living beyond your means.  

你过着入不敷出的生活。

15) A penny saved is a penny earned. (cliché) 

省一文等于挣一文。

16) You can’t take it with you. (cliché, “it” refers to money here)

钱财乃身外之物，生不带来，死不带去。

17) Money doesn’t grow on trees. (cliché)

钱不是生在树上的；钱不是容易挣的。

18) You must make both ends meet. 

你必须量入为出。

19) Penny-wise, pound-foolish. (cliché)

小处节约，大处浪费；小事聪明，大事糊涂。

钱是一个敏感的话题，它与文化息息相关。在钱的问题上，各种文化反映出不同的风俗习惯。例如，在美国，人们一般不询问别人的收入，就像人们一般不询问女士的年龄一样，因为在该文化中打听别人的收入被认为是不礼貌的。一旦来自不同文化的你提出这个问题，就会使对方感到非常尴尬。

同时，钱的话题也能反映出每个人对钱的态度是不一样的。一人会说“Money is no object”（钱不是问题） ， 而另一人会说“A penny saved is a penny earned”（省一文等于挣一文） 。 显然，两者对钱所持的态度是不同的。

● Useful Language

●  Watch the video clip, and then check off six items that you have observed in it, saying out loud a sentence composed for each checked item.

a dinner party (  )  

a Christmas wreath ( √ )

Santa Clause (  )  

flowers in a vase ( √ )

a quarrel (  )  

casual clothes ( √ )

a glass ( √ )  

a gift (  )

a library (  )  

a coffee mug ( √ )

a clock (  )  

a plant ( √ )

* suggested answers:

1) There is a Christmas wreath hanging on the wall. 

2) There are flowers in a vase between Shelley and Michael. 

3) Both Shelley and Michael are wearing causal clothes. 

4) Michael is drinking from a glass.

5) Shelley is drinking from a coffee mug. 

6) A plant is growing in a basket behind Shelley. 

A. Watch the video and then decide whether each of the following statements is true (T  ) or false (F  ).

1) At a café, Michael is anxious to give Shelley some good news. (F) 

2) Michael has decided to cut out all unnecessary expenditures, for he is now on a tight budget. (T)

3) Shelley congratulates Michael on his promotion in the company. (F) 

4) Michael is worried about the future of his company. (T)

5) Shelley suggests that Michael start his own business when he’s laid off his job. (F)

B. Now watch the video again and then complete the following conversation.

Shelley:  Michael, what’s wrong? 

Michael:  I just applied for a mortgage. 

Shelley:  Did you? 

Michael:  Yes. And I’ve been approved for a bank loan for my apartment. 

Shelley:  That’s good news. How come you look so worried then?

Michael:  You know, it’s so expensive to live here in the city. I need to watch my pennies. I’ll have to cut corners all I can with spending.

Shelley:  You mean, you will have to tighten your belt? 

Michael:  You could say so. I can do without a few things — like fewer movies, fewer dinners in restaurants. 

Shelley:  Well, I guess that’s a price worth paying to own your own home.

Michael:  Plus, I have to pay my mortgage every month. So I do know my job takes on real importance. 

Shelley:  Any likelihood of getting promoted? 

Michael:  Fat chance! Probably, I’ll get laid offsoon, instead. You know why? The company has decided to decrease production, because it’s been operating in the red for too long. Apparently, the company started losing money three years ago. 

Shelley:  Oh really? Have you ever thought about changing your job? 

Michael:  I don’t know which is best: hang on and fight, or give up and start all over in a new one. Life is hard sometimes.

Shelley:  Yes, but you have to put up with the dilemma, at least for now. 

Michael:  I know. 

Shelley:  Actually, I’ve been wondering if you and I could possibly start our own business. 

Michael:  Like what? 

Shelley:  I have no idea. We could explore the market. 

Michael:  Do you know what it would take to do that? 

Shelley:  It depends. But one thing is for sure — to get ahead means taking a risk. 

C. After watching the video a third time, complete the following third-person account of the conversation.

Shelley and Michael meet with each other at a café. Michael tells Shelley that he has applied for a mortgage and has just been approved for a bank loan for his apartment. Now he is on a tight budget so he has decided to watch his costs very carefully. He has to meet his mortgage paymentevery month, and so his job has taken on real importance. The other reason he seems anxious to Shelley is that he is worried about the future of his company, which has been operating in the redfor some time. Shelley learns that Michael will have little chance of getting promoted and will probably get laid off soon. In view of all this, Shelley suggests that they start their own business together as a way to get ahead.

1) Watch the video again, with a female student doing Shelley’s voice.

2) Watch the video once more, with a male student doing Michael’s voice.

3) Watch the video one last time, with a male student and a female student doing both  of the voices for the whole conversation.

● 1. Do you mind telling your classmates about your personal finances, including your attitudes towards spending money? Try to use the expressions you have just learned as idiomatically as possible in your discussion about finances.

* suggested answers:

Now I am a student. I am dependent on my parents. They support me financially. But I know it is hard for them to do so. Money doesn’t grow on trees. At present, I have to watch my spending. If I were in the red, I wouldn’t turn to my parents. I am a conscientious student, and I am studying hard for a scholarship. I have a part-time job. I am trying to make both ends meet.

● 2. Discuss the following topics in groups.

1) Easy come, easy go.

2) A penny saved is a penny earned. 

3) You must make both ends meet. 

* suggested answers:

1) You spend easily the money you receive, without paying much attention at all, so that it soon disappears.  

2) When you save a penny, you have an extra penny to spend, so saving is a little like earning double. Money doesn’t grow on trees, so watching over carefully what you have ensures you will have something for the future. 

3) You must watch your spending so that you have just enough money to pay all your bills. Put in other words, you must earn exactly what it costs you to live. 

A. You will continue to watch a video clip. Below are suggested steps for the learning activities: 

● Watch the video;

● Go through the list of the useful words and expressions;

● Watch it again to know the ethic of Chinese; 

● Explore whether the ethics is till true today. 

B. Decide whether Jennifer Song-Sheldon’s statement is still true today. Justify your answer.

“One of the things that are really strong ethic of Chinese is to own property.”

* suggested answers:

— It’s still true here in China nowadays. It’s hard to know whether a Chinese is rich or poor judging from what they eat or wear. Some of us could look ordinary, but we actually have plenty of property. Traditionally, we tend to save as much money as possible and own as much property as possible, and try to pass it to our children. For example, we’re still crazy about buying up a living place for our children.  

— I think things have changed, especially among young people who live in cities. They live on their credit cards. They tend to spend more than they make. They’re used to immediate satisfaction. They just live for the present. They don’t worry about the future. It’s really hard for them to save money, let alone to own property. It’s no way. So I don’t think the ethic of Chinese is still true. 

      * Script:

The Strong Ethics of Chinese

      My grandfather came from China. His name was Zhu Jackson-Song. He was one of the founders of Scottsdale because he used to trade with the Indians. He was the only man who would trade with the Indians. So they would come in, and he would sell them flour. That didn’t have to happen in the early days of 1900, the early 1900 in Scottsdale.

      One of the things that are really strong ethic of a Chinese is to own property. So he would buy up a land all over Scottsdale, and Phoenix, and else, surrounding areas, just trying to build himself up with as much as money he could save and then invest in land and invest back into the store. As it stands, my uncle still owns the store. And my father has a little business back behind the store in the center of Scottsdale. 

      But I think at all I trickle down from my grandfather. And what he gave us in terms of ethics and how to really do your best all the time, do your best in school, and to do your best as a person. My name is Jennifer Song-Sheldon. And this is my American Story.