Words and Their Stories: Money, Part 2
Posted by admin on March 28th, 2010 at 07:59am
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Does money really make the world go round?
Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.(MUSIC)
Many people believe that money makes the world go around. Others believe that money buys happiness. I do not agree with either idea. But I do admit that money can make people do strange things. Let me tell you about a person I once knew who liked to play card games for money. He liked to gamble.
My friend Bob had a problem because he liked to gamble at all costs. He would play at any time and at any price. To take part in a card game such as poker, my friend would have to ante up. He would have to pay a small amount of money at the beginning of the game.
Bob always played with cold, hard cash –onlycoins and dollar bills. Sometimes my friend would clean up. He would win a lot of money on one card game. He liked to tell me that one day he would break the bank. What a feeling it must be to win all of the money at a gambling table!
Other times my friend would simply break even. He neither won nor lost money. But sometimes Bob would lose his shirt. He would lose all the money he had. He took a beating at the gambling table. When this happened, my friend would have to go in the hole. He would go into debt and owe people money.
Recently, Bob turned to crime after losing all his money. In his job, he kept the books for a small business. He supervised the records of money earned and spent by the company. Although my friend was usually honest, he decided to cook the books. He illegally changed the financial records of the company. This permitted him to make a fast buck. My friend made some quick, easy money dishonestly.
I never thought Bob would have sticky fingers. He did not seem like a thief who would steal money. But, some people will do anything for love of money.
Bob used the money he stole from his company to gamble again. This time, he cashed in. He made a lot of money. Quickly he was back on his feet. He had returned to good financial health. His company, however, ended up in the red. It lost more money than it earned. The company was no longer profitable.
It did not take long before my friend’s dishonesty was discovered. The company investigated and charged him with stealing. Bob tried to pass the buck. He tried to blame someone else for the deficit. His lie did not work, however. He ended up in jail. Today, I would bet my bottom dollar that my friend will never gamble again. I would bet all I have that he learned his lesson about gambling.
(MUSIC)
WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.
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Tags: money
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26 Comments for Words and Their Stories: Money, Part 2
1. Cao Thi Phuong Anh | March 28th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Nowadays I am a student and I want to improve my English. I fell that this website is very wonderful. I hope my English will be developed.
Thanks you very much
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Ha Dinh Nien Reply:
March 30th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Hi Phuong Anh,
it is very interesting on discussing with a student as you about english, do you know i am an civil engineer and i graduated university for ten years ago, I have been listening this program for 5 years ago, i think this website is really useful for student, i remember that when i was a student , i used to go to learn english at english centers in Ha Noi with Streamline program and i only could hear english by radio for some minutes per day; Nowaday there are many program and material for your choose to learn english and this program is once, you are a energy person, I think your english will be improved quikly in near future, If you want i can introduce one my foreign friend for your chat every day;
Thanks and see you again,
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Cao Thi Phuong Anh Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Thank you very much. I’m a student and i understand that English is a indispensable language. So, i want to improve my English. I really to be glad with your comment. You can introduce one my foreign friend for me chat every day, can’t you?. And i hope i can learn so much things from you about either life or experience. Thank you again!
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2. DO XUAN THAO | March 28th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
some phrases i understand. i need you explain these phrases:
have sticky fingers, back on his feett, cook the books, fast buck,pass the buck, bet my bottom dollar. Thanks
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admin Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Hi Thao, if you don’t know any phrase, try to guess! Because they also explain what that phrase(in bold font) means in the next sentence. This is the best way to learn new thing
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3. che tan | March 28th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
thanks for your listening .it hep me improve skill to learn good english.
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4. trami | March 28th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
that’s a good story for people who addict gamble. I hope that after reading this story about money, men will give up gamble as soon as possible.
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5. le thi dieu hue | March 29th, 2010 at 1:22 am
i like this website very much.Each day,i alway take somes minutes for listening a tittle from this website.Thanks very much
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admin Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Yeah, that will improve your skill quickly, because you do it everyday. Keep doing that:)
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6. ngan | March 29th, 2010 at 8:56 am
i think this website is really useful, the speaker have pronounced clearly , so i can learn to speak . But i have a problem, i can’t click a new word to translate. i have this problem two units ago. can you heip me?
i look forward to hearing from you
thanks very much!
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Le Nga Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:11 am
I get the same problem too. I double clicked the new word or phrase but anything is appear.
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admin Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Hi Nga & Ngan,
Thank you for inform me, I’ve just fixed it. Now you can double click to look for the meaning of the words!
Have a nice day!
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7. Le Nga | March 29th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I just knew this page a few day ago. It is very useful for everybody. I hope i will improve fastly my listening skill. Thanks so much.
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admin Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Hi Nga,
If you find it helpful, please tell your friends who need improve listening skill, too^^ This will help them!
Enjoy studying^^
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8. vanchau | March 29th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Please list all new works with bold letters, and translate into vietnamese ?
Thank you
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9. tuyet nhung | March 29th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
this website is very useful for everyone to improve english skills quickly. but there are some words and phrases i can not know its meaning and not in dictionary such as :ante up, cook the book, fast buck….can you explain me its meaning.thank you vary much!
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10. JT | March 30th, 2010 at 12:00 am
yeah! i agree this website very usefull ,u can change way to learn E …Anyway thank you alot who try to help every one els improve E skill… i can not speak E very well but i like to learn . some one have a good skills can help me ,pls contact my email to discuss more.thank see all of you soon
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hoang nhung Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 9:04 am
hi! can we make acquainted? i and you will chat together. hope my english skill to be improved. thanks for your help!
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11. Nguyen Thang | March 30th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
The story is very useful. I think, it is not only help me learning English but aslo help me and other people understand useful something. Thank you very much!
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12. Hong Lien | March 30th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I have known this webside recently but i think it is interesting. It is really suitable for me and others. I will pratise to listen every day. I hope my English skills will be improved in the near future, and your webside is more and more successful.
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13. onthanhthang1990 | March 31st, 2010 at 12:36 am
fisrtly,i study very bad english but when I know this website,I study very imprve.thanks
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14. hoang thi nhung | March 31st, 2010 at 9:41 am
hi everyone! I am also a student. I just have found this website for 3 days ago. previous I listened other website but I feel this website really useful. hope to make acquainted everybody!
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15. Thùy Nhung | April 1st, 2010 at 12:38 am
Thank you indeed for posting lessons like these.I really really want to improve pronouncing and listening skill quickly.I graduated from The Economic of University Ho Chi Minh city last year. And this year I want to take part in an IELTS examination, I know this a difficult exame so I need try to improve all of skills. I hope get some experience from everyone. Please share with me and everyone else what you know about IELTS. I am glad to hear you soon.
Have a nice day everyone!!!!
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16. vu thi hang | April 5th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I also agree with them. This is very a website well. We try again.
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17. kim thoa | April 16th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
i feel this program english very well
it helps i to improve my knowldege very much
hihi
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18. tttt | September 13th, 2010 at 9:40 am
I very like these your comments and the content of this lesson, but I want to look for the first lesson of “Money 1″; where is it fo me to find out?
Thanks
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