The only thing people are interested in today is earning more money

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people's parents shook their heads. `You can't get married yet,' they said. `Wait till you get a good job with good prospects.' So the young people waited until they found good jobs with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still poor, of course. They didn't have a house to live in or any furniture, but that didn't matter. The young man had a good job with good prospects, so large organisations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some furniture, all the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived happily ever after paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends another modern romantic fable.

We live in a materialistic society and are trained from our earliest years to be acquisitive. Our possessions, `mine' and `yours' are clearly labelled from early childhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money you earn. We spend the whole of our lives keeping up with our neighbours, the Joneses. If we buy a new television set, Jones is bound to buy a bigger and better one. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will go one better and get two new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbours who are struggling frantically to keep up with them are spending borrowed money kindly provided, at a suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly banks, insurance companies, etc.

It is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets out to create new markets. Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheels of industry must be kept turning. `Built-in obsolescence' provides the means: goods are made to be discarded. Cars get tinnier and tinnier. You no sooner acquire this year's model than you are thinking about its replace­ment.

This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of studies must lead somewhere: i.e. to a bigger wage packet. The demand for skilled personnel far exceeds the supply and big companies compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed their studies. Tempting salaries and `fringe benefits' are offered to them. Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the `brain drain', the process by which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder. The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbours of their most able citizens. While Mammon is worshipped as never before, the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.

Ex.1.10. Find in the text above words which mean:

a) rich, wealthy; b) an instrument or device for a specific purpose or task; c) keen to acquire new possessions; d) becoming out of date; going out of use; e) (of metal objects) not strong or solid; f) money charged for borrowing money, or paid to sb who invests money; g) to throw sth out or away; to stop using sth that is no longer useful; h) (sb/sth of sth) to take sth away from sb/sth; i) a fixed charge, payment or value; j) (fml) to obtain sth; to buy or be given sth.

Ex.1.11. Match the following nouns with suitable adjectives from the previous exercise and translate the expressions they make into Russian:

collector, company, lifestyle, society, circumstances, technology, equipment, car.

Ex.1.12. Match the verbs with the nouns or noun phrases as they occur together in the text above. Translate the expressions they make into Russian.

1) to get	1) education
2) to create	2) the supply
3) to earn	3) business
4) to pay off	4) a good job with good prospects
5) to influence	5) students
6) to measure	6) the means
7) to provide	7) a living
8) to exceed	8) debts
9) to make	9) a bigger wage packet // the ‘brain drain’
10) to recruit	10) success
11) to lead to	11) money
	12) new markets

Ex.1.13. Read the following extracts from a girl’s diary (John Fowles. The Collector). After reading, do the following:

1) Make your own vocabulary list with the words which have a negative meaning: look them up if necessary, be able to explain what they mean, give their translation and examples of their usage. (Vocabulary Extention II may come in useful.)

EXAMPLE: phoney - adj, infml, usu derog (someone or something) pretended, false, unreal, or intended to deceive; fake – ложный, поддельный, фальшивый, дутый, e.g. He’s such a phoney // a phoney accent // I gave the police a phoney address.

2) Express your attitude to the girl’s ideas.

3) Can you find ideas similar to those expressed in the text above?

I hate the uneducated and the ignorant. I hate the pompous and the phoney. I hate the jealous and the resentful. I hate the crabbed and the mean and the petty. I hate all ordinary dull little people who aren’t ashamed of being dull and little. I hate the New People, the new class people with their cars and their money and their tellies and their stupid vulgarities and their stupid crawling imitations of the bourgeousie.

The New People are still the poor people. Theirs is the new form of poverty. The others hadn’t any money and these haven’t any soul.

I feel it more and more, this awful deadweight of the fat little New People on everything. Corrupting everything. Vulgarizing everything. Raping the countryside. Everything mass-produced. Mass-everything.

The New People are not ashamed of themselves. They think they’re all equal to the best as soon as they have a telly and a car. There’s the hatred of the unusual, this wanting everybody to be the same.

The New People destroy themselves because they’re so stupid. They can never keep the intelligent ones with them, because the intelligent ones want something better than just money and keeping up with the Joneses.

I love honesty and freedom and giving. I love making, I love doing. I love being to the full, I love everything which is not sitting and watching and copying and dead at heart.

Ex.1.14. Get ready for a discussion based on the text and the extracts above. Divide into two groups: one group supporting the idea of the ‘material world’ (Pessimists), the other being just the opposite (Optimists). Then change parts. It is essential to use as many ‘new words’ in your speech as possible.

The following arguments and counter-arguments will help you.

The argument: key words

1. Once upon a time: young woman, young man; poor, in love.

2. Parents objected to marriage: good job, good prospects first.

3. Young people complied: could get married.

4. Still poor: borrowed money for house, furniture, car, etc.

5. Lived happily ever after paying off debts; modern romantic fable.

6. We live in a materialistic society; trained to be acquisitive.

7. `Mine', `yours' concepts from early childhood.

8. Success measured by money.

9. Keeping up with the Joneses: e.g. new TV; new car.

10. Jones and neighbours spending borrowed money, paying interest rates.

11. Not only affluent societies want more money; consumer goods de­sirable everywhere.

12. Modern industry creates new markets.

13. Wheels of industry: built-in obsolescence: e.g. cars.

14. Materialism influences education.

15. No knowledge for its own sake; purpose, more money.

16. Big firms compete; recruit students: big salaries, `fringe benefits'.

17. Brain drain: services to highest bidder.

18. Wealthy nations deprive poorer neighbours of talented people.

19. Rich get richer; poor, poorer

20. words with a negative meaning (from your own Vocabulary List; see also Vocabulary Extention I and II)

The counter-argument: key words

1. Interest in earning money not a modern phenomenon, but people not interested only in that.

2. Young people borrow money: a satisfactory arrangement: inde­pendent of parents, can start lives.

3. The argument proves nothing: only that living standards are better. People interested in living decent lives consistent with (=in agreement with) human dignity. Education is not money-orientated; it's skill-orientated; necessary be­cause of modern technology.

4. Technology requires professionals, not amateurs.

5. Brain drain: skilled people are not always after more money but better work facilities.

6. A marked swing (=change from one opinion, etc. to another) away from scientific studies has been noted: return to humanities (the; = the subjects of study concerned with human culture, especially literature, language, history and philosophy); knowledge for its own sake.

7. Many young people not motivated by money: many reject materialistic values.

8. Many voluntary organisations (e.g. Peace Corps): idealistic, work without reward.

9. A marked reluctance (=unwillingness) to work long hours for money: desire to enjoy life.

10. Social welfare in many countries makes it unnecessary for people to struggle for money.

11. State provides: education, medical services, etc.

12. High taxes: a disincentive (=a thing that discourages an action or effort).

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