大学英语听力材料(Unit 4)

T-31-32

Roger: Hi, Michelle. How are you doing?

Michelle: Hi, Roger.

Roger: So, are you ready for the independent life?

Michelle: Well, you know how I was really looking forward to getting away from home? Well, now I’m beginning to wonder how I’ll manage m y money and survive on my own. It’s easy when your parents pay all the bills but it’s gonna be different from here on.

Roger: Yeah, I know. My rent is $400 a month and that’s in a shared house.

Michelle: Mine is the same, but that includes all bills.

Roger: Really? Not for me. I have to pay all utilities separately—it’ll be about $50 a month. My parents are going to pay for my tuition this semester—about $500.

Michelle: Mine too—I think it costs the same as yours. You know, I think the toughest thing to man age is going to be food. There’s always the temptation to eat fast food, but that is so unhealthy. I am going to try to follow a healthy diet. My mom thinks food will cost about $100 a week. Roger: I want to keep my food expenses down to about $70 a week. I am also going to buy a bike and cycle to college. That way I won’t have any transportation expenses.

Michelle: My accommodation is only a five minutes’ walk from the

college so transport expenses will only be train fares home, which is about $50 a month.

Roger: I bought enough clothes for the term, so I don’t really expect to have to spend anything on clothes.

Michelle: Same with me. You know, I heard books can be quite expensive. We might have to spend like $300 on textbooks!

Roger: That’s a lot! I’m going to try to find some used books. I’d like to keep the cost of books to around $150. And what about recreation? I definitely need to go to the movies like at least once a week. I’m going to budget for about $30 at first.

Michelle: Me, too, and then a little more after I find a part-time job. Anyway, I’ve got to hurry now. See you tomorrow.

Roger: Yeah. See you, Michelle.

T-33

Anne: Doing an MBA is definitely expensive. I need to prepare a personal budget. I should plan my expenses so I don’t end up broke i n the middle of the year. First, I’ll calculate my expenses so I can figure out how much I’ll have for the year. It’s a good thing I worked in the summer—the $2,500 I managed to save will definitely be useful along with the $1,000 I have in my savings account. I think I can count on about $250 a month from my part-time job at the library so that gives me another $2,500 for the year. I really don’t want to take any money from

the family, but they have agreed to cover any medical and dental expenses—hopefully there won’t be any. Then there is the $1,000 from the grant along with payment of the tuition fees, which is a great bonus. I think I’ll go ahead and sell my car. I won’t need it this year and that should get me another $2,000.

Anne: Right, now the hard part—expenses. First thing every month is the rent—$400 a month. I’ll have to stay in the shared house because I just can’t afford a place on my own. Books and supplies it seems will cost about $300 in total and I’ll probably need about $350 a month for foo d and household supplies. I’ll definitely have to cut out shopping for new clothes and limit myself to about $50 a month for entertainment and let’s say $40 a month for phone and just $20 for transportation since I can walk to most destinations. So, if my calculations are correct, that gives me $9,000 income and expenses of over $11,000 so I’ll need to borrow to deal with the difference. I’ll go to the bank early next week and request a loan of $3,000. I can defer payment until I graduate. I’d better find a good job after this!

T-34

Bank employee: Good morning. Can I help you?

Chris: Yes. My name is Chris Brown. I have an account here and I’d like to apply for a credit card.

Bank employee: Fine. Can you give me your account number and let me