General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on credit cards and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Man: Hi, Sis. I just came over to drop off the DVDs you wanted, and . . . Hey, wow!? Where did you get all of this stuff?

Woman: I bought it. So, what do you think of my new entertainment center? And the widescreen TV . . .

Man: Bought it?

Woman: . . . and my new DVD player. Here, let me show you my stereo. You can really rock the house with this one.

Man: But where did you get the dough to buy all this? You didn’t borrow money from mom and dad again, did you?

Woman: Of course not. I got it with this!

Man: This? Let me see that . . . Have you been using Dad’s credit card again?

Woman: No, silly. It’s mine. It’s a student credit card.

Man: A student credit card? How in the world did you get one of these?

Woman: I got an application in the mail.

Man: Well, why did you get one in the first place?

Woman: Listen. Times are changing, and having a credit card helps you build a credit rating, control spending, and even buy things that you can’t pay with cash . . . like the plane ticket I got recently.

Man: What plane ticket?

Woman: Oh yeah, my roommate and I are going to Hawaii over the school break, and of course, I need some new clothes for that so . . .

Man: I don’t want to hear it. How does having a student credit card control spending? It sounds like you’ve spent yourself into a hole. Anyway, student credit cards just lead to impulse spending . . . as I can see here. And the interest rates of student credit cards are usually sky-high, and if you miss a payment, the rates, well, just jump!

Woman: Ah. The credit card has a credit limit . . .

Man: . . . of $20,000?

Woman: No, no quite that high. Anyway, . . .

Man: I’ve heard enough.

Woman: Did I tell you we now get digital cable with over 100 channels? Oh, and here’s your birthday present. A new MP3 player . . .

Man: Yeah. Oh, don’t tell me. Charged on the credit card. Listen. Hey, I don’t think having a student credit card is a bad idea, but this is ridiculous. And how in the world are you going to pay off your credit card bill?

Woman: Uh . . . with my birthday money? It’s coming up in a week.

Man: Hey, let’s sit down and talk about how you’re going to pay things back, and maybe we can come up with a budget that will help you get out of this mess. That’s the least I can do.

• stuff (noun): miscellaneous items 
  – His room is filled with stuff he bought on his credit card.
• dough (noun): informal for money 
  – He didn’t have enough dough to buy the TV, so he borrowed money from his brother.
• in the world: used to emphasize something you say 
  – Why in the world would you buy an expensive TV if you didn’t have enough money?
• rating (noun): a measure to show how good something is 
  – You should look over the ratings for MP3 players before you buy one.
• over (preposition): during 
  – You shouldn’t travel over the weekend because the weather is expected to be terrible.
• spend yourself in a hole (idiom): spend too much that leads to heavy debt 
  – Some people spend themselves in a hole because they can’t control their shopping habits.
• impulse (noun): a sudden desire
  – You can let your impulses to buy stuff get in the way of good common sense and judgement.
• sky-high (adjective): very expensive
  – Prices for houses in this area are sky-high, so I’m going to look for an apartment for the time being.
• ridiculous (adjective): absurd, silly, without good reason 
  – Spending more money than you earn is ridiculous and can lead you to major financial problems.
• pay back (phrasal verb): return the money you owe 
  – Could you lend me $20 if I pay you back by the end of the week?