Interviews

“Economic Woes”

Level

High-intermediate

Pre-Listening Question

What economic and financial issues concern you most in today’s world? Here are some possible example:

Vocabulary and Expressions

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

even out (verb): make balanced or equal
– We experienced a lot of ups and downs last year, but everything evened out financially in the end.

produce (noun): food grown in a garden or on a farm
– Where do you buy most of your produce for your family?

skimp on(verb): spend money sparingly or carefully on something, often because of economic hardship
– There were times when our family had to skimp on some fun activities because we didn’t have enough money for necessities.

snob (noun): a person who feels their opinions in a particular area are superior to the views of others (negative meaning) OR a person who believes himself or herself an expert on a particular topic OR a person who has exceptionally high standards and is not satisfied by the things that ordinary people like
– My father is a meat snob. You have to buy the highest cuts of beef to please him.
– James is a real snob. He won’t associate with anyone who doesn’t think as he does.

switch jobs (verb): change jobs
– I might have to switch jobs if the company continues to do poorly.

go without (verb): not have enough
– There are some families that have to go without because of economic instability.
– Amber went without sleep for several days while caring for her mother.

Listening Comprehension Questions

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.


Conversation Questions

In what ways are your concerns similar and/or different to those expressed by Aubrey and Emily?

Related Language Activities on Randall’s Web Site

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

Try More Free Listening at Dailyesl.com