Transcripts
reputation. When things start to go wrong, a trader like Adoboli has two options. First, he can admit he’s made a mistake, but if he does that, he risks losing his reputation as a trader. The second option is to go on trading and try to get back the losses. And that’s exactly what Iguchi did – he used more and more of the bank’s money for risky trades, with the aim of hiding the losses and, more importantly, protecting his reputation.
9.4 Abed
Hey, Mei-Ling, why don’t you come along with Pablo, Djordje, Alicia and me next week? We’re going to do a bungee jump and raise money for charity.
Mei-Ling A bungee jump? Are you crazy? No way! Abed
Abed
Go on, it’s fun. I’ve done it twice before, and it will be Alicia’s second time.
Mei-Ling No, honestly. I don’t want to try bungee jumping. I’m scared of heights.
Really? I didn’t know that. But this could be the perfect way for you to overcome your fear. When you face the thing you are afraid of, and get over it, you don’t feel scared any more.
Mei-Ling I’m not sure about that. I mean, I’m really frightened of heights. I might have a panic attack at the top and then I would be really embarrassed.
Abed
I doubt it. We’re your friends, so you needn’t be embarrassed with us. And everyone feels good after doing a jump. It releases adrenaline and other chemicals in your body which make you feel happy and relaxed – it’s wonderful. Alicia was really frightened too before we did a jump the last time, but she felt great afterwards, and really proud of overcoming her fear.
Mei-Ling Yes, maybe, but what about the risks? If the rope breaks, you’ll die.
Abed
Actually, statistically speaking, it’s not that risky. There’s a one in half a million risk of dying; that’s actually less than cycling in traffic.
Mei-Ling Yes, but what if I turn out to be the one in that statistic? The fact that another 499,999 people survived won’t help me!
Abed
It’s really unlikely. The place we jump at is extremely professional – they check all the equipment very carefully. Anyway, like I said, it’s for charity. Don’t you want to help us raise some money for homeless people in the town?
Mei-Ling Well, possibly, but I could do something else … running or swimming or shaving my hair off or something.
Abed Mmmm. Mei-Ling OK, look, I’ll think about it, OK? But I’m not promising I’ll change my mind.
206 English for the 21st Century • Transcripts Unit 10
10.1 Alisha What would you do if your car broke down on a remote road at night?
Marti Well, it depends. If I were near home, I’d call my friend Alexi and ask him to pick me up.
Alisha And if you couldn’t get a mobile signal, would you go for help or stay in the car?
Marti Well, if there were a town or a village nearby, I’d walk there and try and get help.
Alisha You’d leave the car! I wouldn’t do that if my car broke down at night. I’d lock the door and stay in the car.
Marti That’s crazy. If you did that, you might be there all night.
10.2 a If you had more free time, how would you spend it? b What would you do if you left your laptop in a taxi? c If you weren’t able to find a job, what would you do? d Where would you live if you could choose anywhere in the world?
Slideshow – A 21st -century dilemma
In its everyday usage, the word ‘dilemma’ has come to mean ‘a difficult situation or problem’. So, we might say, ‘I’ve got a bit of a dilemma … My cousin and my best friend both have birthday parties on the same day. My family want me to go to my cousin’s party but I know it will be really boring. My friend’s party will be much more fun, but I’ll upset my family if I go.’ Pretty trivial stuff, really. But the word also has other meanings. An ethical dilemma can be defined as ‘a situation that requires a choice to be made between two alternatives, neither of which will resolve the situation in an acceptably ethical way’. An example situation could be something like this: you are in the middle of an exam and you see one of your classmates cheating. He is your friend, and you know he has been very stressed about the exam. You know he’s been revising hard. But, clearly, he is doing something wrong. It’s unfair! So, do you report him? In the 21st
century, with all the technological advances we have
made in the last four decades, the moral dilemmas we face today are especially complex and difficult. Many of these modern dilemmas involve our individual privacy and how changes brought about by technology have made it increasingly difficult to protect. There was a time when the line between our personal and public lives was quite clear. Our conversations with our friends were face to face or on the phone, and for our ears only. In the 21st
century, however, we
express many of our feelings and opinions online, which means they are potentially being seen by hundreds of people. And this poses a difficult question. What should people be allowed to say, and not say, on social media sites? If I go on Twitter and say something nasty or untrue about someone, it isn’t the same as saying it to a group of friends. Because by posting my words on Twitter, I have published them. The problem is that many people seem to
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