《listenthisway4uni.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《listenthisway4uni.docx（13页珍藏版）》请在三一办公上搜索。
1、listenthisway4uniPart I Getting ready Dialogue one A: You asked me where all the money goes. Its difficult to say exactly, but obviously we spend a lot of money on groceries. I enjoy cooking, and as we have a large family four children our food bill is quite big. We also like eating out my wife and
2、I probably go out to a restaurant about once a week. Unfortunately, there are no theatres round here, so we dont go to the theatre as much as wed like. But we do spend money on our hobbies. I like doing jobs around the house Im one of the local DIY centers best customers and Im very keen on sailing
3、thats a very expensive hobby. Im also very interested in antiques, especially clocks. You must let me show you my collection one day . B: Id like that. I wanted to ask you about holidays. Do you usually go abroad or stay in this coutry? A: We usually stay here. In fact, we spend very little on holid
4、ays. We have a small house near the sea and we usually go there. Thats where I do my sailing. We did go away for a week last year, but that was exceptional. Dialogue two A: So how much did we spend on entertainment this year? B: 2566. A: Thats down a little on last year. And whats the figure for dep
5、reciation? B: 300, the same as last year. A: Hm, expenditure on secretarial expenses is up. B: Yes, theres a big increase there. A: Whats the figure of 2612 for? B: Wheres that? A: Six figures down. B: Thats motor expenses. A: And what does this figure represent? B: Audit and accountancy costs. A: T
6、heyre both up a lot. B: Yes, but expenditure on telephone and postage is down.Its half as much as last year. Part II Raising money for buying a car B: Well, good afternoon, Mr. Jackson. J: Good afternoon. Ive come to see you to see whether its possible to . get an overdraft. Im . I want some money.
7、Yes Ill tell you quite frankly what it is. Im wanting to buy a new car. Yes I dont know whether its possible to raise any money from the bank in this way. B: Er, I see no reason why not. J: Ive got an old car . B: Whats your proposition? J: Well, Ive got this old car which is an eight-year-old Morri
8、s 1000, and I dont think theres any point in having it repaired any more because it just isnt worth it. I feel that I could probably get about a hundred pounds for it and then that means that I would need about another four hundred-odd, three hundred and fifty . Mhm er, on top of that, to buy a, a,
9、not a new car exactly, but a newer one. Mhm Um, . B: Do you use the car for your business, for your work? J: Er; yes I do, up to a point. That is to say, sometimes I take it to work and sometimes I dont, because Im almost within walking distance of the College. Mhm Does this have some bearing on the
10、, on the question of whether I can get an overdraft? B: No, I dont think so. I, er, it was just a matter of interest that I asked you, really. You think three hundred and fifty? J: I would say about three hundred and fifty to four hundred. With the other, with the other Yes hundred pounds then it wo
11、uld be about, er, five hundred pounds; well, one can get quite a decent car for five hundred pounds Quite second hand, of course. B: Quite. And what sort of period of time could you repay us? J: Well, erm, this rather depends on you. Um, I would like to . I, er, what is the normal procedure for such
12、 a sum of money? B: Well, for such a sum of money we could expect repayment within twenty-four months. J: Two years. B: Two years. J: I see. B: We are lenders in the short term, remember, not long term. J: Yes. Er, is there . Do you, do I pay interest on this? B: You will pay interest on well, the t
13、ype of loan I have in mind is a Personal Loan, as I assume youve got no form of collateral to offer. J: What is what is collateral? B: Well, have you any shares in any companies or life policies, deeds of houses, or anything like that? J: I have some Government Securities, is . would this be . suffi
14、cient? B: You have some Government Securities, and what is their value? J: Er, its about . B: Have you got the certificates? J: . eight hundred pounds or so. B: About eight hundred pounds? J: Yes, but I dont want to . B: You dont want . J: . cash them. B: No. No, well you wouldnt . that wouldnt invo
15、lve you in cashing them. I could grant you an Ordinary Loan where the interest to you would be less than on a Personal Loan, if you were willing to charge that Share Certificate to us. J: Yes. I see, um, er, is it, is it possible to er . whats . that, that would be the only security which you would
16、need, in fact? B: I shouldnt need any other security, other than that . I see not on a loan, not on a loan of that size. Or if you would agree to do it on a Personal Loan basis which cough I would not require any security whatever, as on a Personal Loan we have death cover and you are in regular emp
17、loyment, er, in, er, good-salaried employment, with a with a good, with a good salary, therefore I would not ask you for erm, any security. Yes. Yes. But the interest rate would be higher than on an Ordinary Loan. Yes I should charge you seven percent on a Personal Loan and thats on the original amo
18、unt taken, whereas on an Ordinary Loan it would be at one and a half percent over Bank Rate, minimum six percent, and that would be calculated on a, on a day-to-day basis, so it does in fact work out cheaper. J: I see. Yes. Part III Housing in the U.S.A. A. In the U.S. today, the cost of housing is
19、very high. It is common to pay one fourth to one third of a familys income on the place to live. The price of a house depends on its size and location. Big houses are more expensive than smaller ones. And houses closer to the center of big cities are more expensive than ones in the suburbs or in sma
20、ll towns. Regardless of the cost, its usual for people to buy their houses over a period of time. When a family buys a house, it is necessary to borrow money from a bank to pay for it. Then they repay the bank in regular payments. This kind of bank loan is called a mortgage. Families can take 30 yea
21、rs to pay off the mortgage. Without a mortgage, it would be impossible for most people to own their houses. Many Americans dont own their own homes. They pay landlords to live in their homes. The money they pay for this is called rent. Usually it is cheaper to rent than it is to buy and to pay a mor
22、tgage. Also when something needs to be repaired, it is easy for the renter to ask the landlord to fix it. Some people rent houses, but most renters live in apartments. Apartment buildings are located in cities where it is too costly to build houses. Recently, it has become common for renters to buy
23、their apartments. When this happens, the cost usually increases, but the money goes to pay off the mortgage. Apartments bought this way are called condominiums. B. Americans say owning a home is part of the American dream. But many people may not recognize the part that a company called Fannie Mae p
24、lays in the home loan industry. Now government financial investigators have found serious problems at the company. Fannie Mae began as the Federal National Mortgage Association. Congress established it in nineteen thirty-eight. It became a private corporation in nineteen seventy, and later changed i
25、ts name to Fannie Mae. A mortgage is a loan secured by property. A person goes to a lender, usually a bank, to borrow money for a home. The person pays the loan back, with interest, over a period of long as thirty years. The bank must wait a long time to get its money back. So Fannie Mae buys mortga
26、ges from lenders. This supplies them with money to use for other loans. Investors buy shares in Fannie Mae so the company has money to pay for mortgages. Fannie Mae also sells and trades what are called mortgage-backed securities. Bonds based on mortgages are considered low-risk investments. However
27、, these are not guaranteed by the government. Fannie Mae and a similar company, Freddie Mac, control about half the home loans in America. Experts say the market is worth almost eight million million dollars. Last year, investigators found problems with financial record-keeping at Freddie Mac. But t
28、hey say the problems at Fannie Mae are a lot more serious. An agency called the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight accused Fannie Mae of hiding changes in its value. The agency criticized the company for poor supervision and not carefully reporting its finances. Congress, the Securities
29、and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are also investigating Fannie Mae. Franklin Raines, the chief executive officer, defends the actions of the company. Mister Raines says Fannie Mae did not falsely represent its financial condition. Industry experts say the work of Fannie Mae and Fre
30、ddie Mac helps keep mortgage rates lower, so more Americans can own homes. But the price of Fannie Mae stock has dropped after news of the investigations. Experts say the company could have to pay more when it needs to borrow money. They say the situation could also lead to higher mortgage rates for
31、 home buyers in the future. Part IV More about the topic: Consumer Rights P: Many consumers are unaware of their rights in buying goods from shops and stores. Dave Watts of the Office of Fair Trading is here to explain exactly what your rights are under English law. Dave, first of all, what are the
32、Acts that give the buyer rights? D: Well, Sandy, there are two Acts: theres the Sale of Goods Act and the Trades Descriptions Act and both cover the rights of a buyer in contracts that he or she enters into with traders. P: And . um . who are the traders exactly? D: Well, traders means any shop, doo
33、rstep salesman, street market stall or mail order firm. P: And so what is a contract then in . in this respect? D: Well, if you buy anything from a trader, you have in fact entered into a contract with him. P: And do traders have obligations? D: Yes, they have three main obligations. The first one i
34、s that the goods are of merchantable quality . P: Er . hang on, what does merchantable mean? D: Well, that means fit for the purpose, bearing in mind the price that youve paid for it, the nature of the goods and how theyre described. For example, a pair of shoes which fall apart after two weeks norm
35、al wear are not of merchantable quality. Very cheap or secondhand goods neednt be top quality but they must still fulfill this obligation. And the second obligation is that the goods are fit for any particular purpose made known to the seller. And the third one is that the goods are as described. P:
36、 As described? D: Yes, on the package or as illustrated or described on a display sign, or verbally by the seller himself. P: And . um . if you think you have cause for complaint, what should you do? D: Well, you must take the item back to the shop, unless its too large or fragile to move, in which
37、case the trader must collect it from you. And youll be entitled to all or part of your money back, a cash refund, plus compensation for any loss or personal injury. P: Instead of taking it back to the shop, would it be a good idea to send it to the manufacturer? D: No, definitely not. Its the retail
38、ers responsibility. But you could sue the manufacturer if youve suffered personal injury, say. P: Oh, and what about receipts should you keep them or doesnt it matter if you throw them away? D: Well, the purpose of keeping receipts is so that you have some evidence of your purchase and also of the d
39、ate of the purchase, which sometimes is very important. But the retailers not within his rights to say No refunds without a receipt. P: Suppose a retailer refuses to give a refund for faulty goods, even when he legally has to? D: Well, in that case you should go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau
40、or to the Trading Standards Office, sometimes called the Consumer Advice Center. P: Oh, I see. And if the worst comes to the worst? D: Well, you may have to go to court and sue the seller for your money or for compensation. But thats very rare, Im glad to say, as its more costly for the retailer to
41、defend themselves in court than it is to give you your money back. P: Dave, thank you very much. D: Thank you. Part V Do you know? April fifteenth is a special date for Americans. But it is no holiday. It is tax day. It is the last day to pay any federal taxes owed on earnings from the year before.
42、The Constitution gives Congress the power to establish federal taxes. State and local governments can also tax. But the idea of national taxes took time to develop. Not everyone liked the idea. In seventeen-ninety-one Congress approved a tax on whiskey and other alcoholic drink. Farmers in western P
43、ennsylvania who produced alcohol refused to pay. They attacked officials and burned the home of a tax collector. Americas first president, George Washington, gathered almost thirteen-thousand troops. The soldiers defeated the so-called Whiskey Rebellion of seventeen-ninety-four. It was one of the fi
44、rst times that the government used its powers to enforce a federal law within a state. At first the United States government collected most of its money through tariffs. These are taxes on trade. In the late eighteen-hundreds, Congress began to tax peoples pay. The Supreme Court rejected the persona
45、l income tax. But, in nineteen-thirteen, the states passed the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This gave Congress the right to tax income. Today, personal income tax provides the government with more than forty percent of its money. Taxes collected to pay for retirement programs and other s
46、ervices provide thirty -five percent. Income taxes on businesses provided seven percent of federal money in two-thousand-two. And the government collects other taxes, including customs. The Internal Revenue Service collects federal taxes. The I.R.S. is part of the Treasury Department. Most taxpayers
47、 do not owe the agency any money on April fifteenth. Their employers have taken income taxes from their pay all year and already given it to I.R.S. In fact, most people get some money back. But tax laws are often criticized as too complex. The United States has what is called a progressive tax system. Tax rates increase as earnings increase. This year people who earn more than three-hundred-twelve-thousand dollars are taxed at thirty-five percent. That is the highest rate. Individuals who earn less than seven thousand dollars pay no income tax, but they do pay other taxes.
