Open World p 50. Events and Services Related to Money. Listening. Sentence Selection

 

1. A gaming tournament held in Michigan is near the speaker's home.

2. Children are allowed to drive go-karts in their hospital rooms.

3. According to the speaker, the sooner children learn about economics, the better. 

4. Car boot sales have lost popularity with the advent of reselling apps and websites.

5. Not only did the organisers of a free business seminar make money from it but they also managed to make themselves known.

6. Loyalty cards is a gimmick companies use to collect useful data about shopping habits

 

 

KEY

 

 

1. F  (that’s right up my street anyway)

(right) up your street (also (right) up your alley)

(informal) very suitable for you because it is something that you know a lot about or are very interested in. 

E.g. A teaching job would be right up her alley.

 

 

2. F (These are robust gaming systems with the latest software that can be wheeled into a patient’s room) (https://youtu.be/qm_n8-BLo2w) 

3. F (To my mind, kids should be kids. They have plenty of time to learn about all that when they’re older.)

 

 

4. F (Or so I thought.)

 

 

5. T (Over the day, the organisers definitely weren’t out of pocket, and had certainly achieved their aim of getting themselves into the public eye.) 

 

 

6. T (The information they gain through the use of loyalty cards affords them major strategic and financial advantages.)

 

SCRIPT

Track 023
Speaker 1: Have you ever heard of Gamers for Giving? It’s a gaming tournament held in Michigan, which founder Zach Wigal describes as a ‘celebration of gaming culture’.

Well, that’s right up my street anyway, but to make it 100 times more worthwhile, the proceeds of around half a million dollars go to Gamers Outreach, who place ‘Gaming Go-Karts’ in Children’s hospitals.

These are robust gaming systems with the latest software that can be wheeled into a patient’s room to give access to what Wigal calls ‘recreation therapy’.

Volunteers act as digital activity managers, distributing games, solving technical issues and even playing with the kids. Sounds like the perfect excuse to have some fun!

Speaker 2: Apparently, these days there’s a drive to start ‘money management’ skills earlier and earlier.

I don’t think we ever thought about money management when I was a kid, apart from which sweets to buy with our pocket money, but this organisation called Coalition for Personal Economic Literacy has set up so-called ‘standards in economic education’ for children from kindergarten upwards.

According to them, a fourth grader should be able to understand how basic pay and tax deductions work. By the age of 12, they are supposed to understand about government benefits and earned versus unearned income.

To my mind, kids should be kids. They have plenty of time to learn about all that when they’re older.

Speaker 3: It seems unlikely in these days of digital reselling that people still get up early on a Saturday morning to go to a muddy field or car park to rummage through stuff other people are throwing out. Or so I thought.

They do say ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ and this seems to apply perfectly to car boot sales. There’s something in the atmosphere which sets them apart from other shopping experiences.

There’s always the remote but thrilling chance that you might find the bargain of a lifetime.

I love the amateur entrepreneurship and good-natured haggling at these events. It’s fascinating to see what other people are selling – and buying.

Speaker 4: Recently I attended a free business seminar. While I was registering for it I was asking myself how on earth the organisers could put on such an event without charging for admission.

I mean, surely they’d have to rent the venue and pay the speakers? What was the point?

I attended the event with that question in mind and I soon had it answered.

There were lots of paid extras on offer, such as virtual reality experiences and consultations with experts. There was even a photo booth that let you share pictures of yourself on social media.

Over the day, the organisers definitely weren’t out of pocket, and had certainly achieved their aim of getting themselves into the public eye.

Speaker 5: I have so many loyalty cards for different stores it’s getting out of hand. To be honest, I can’t keep track of them and don’t even know how they all work.

So, I was interested to read an article about how research has shown that the savings for the customer are barely worth the effort of getting these cards.

For example, you would have to shop in a particular supermarket every week for two years to get a free weekly shop.

The ones that actually benefit from these schemes are the companies that operate them. The information they gain through the use of loyalty cards affords them major strategic and financial advantages.

Given all this, I don’t think I’ll bother with them anymore.

Vocabulary:

drive: an effort to achieve something, especially an effort by an organization for a particular purpose.

E.g.

a recruitment drive for new members  

an economy drive (=effort to reduce spending)

drive to do something  a nationwide drive to crack down on crime

rummage: /ˈrʌmɪdʒ/ + adv./ prep. to move things around carelessly while searching for something. Sp. buscar revolviéndolo todo.

E.g.
She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys.
I rummaged through the contents of the box until I found the book I wanted.

 

put on: produce or present a play, a show, etc.

E.g. The local drama club is putting on ‘Macbeth’. 

keep/lose track of somebody/something      ​to have/not have information about what is happening or where somebody/something is. Sp. mantenerse al tanto,  llevar la cuenta.

E.g.

Bank statements help you keep track of where your money is going.         

I lost all track of time (= forgot what time it was).