Upper Intermediate Unit 2 BBC Interviews Script

V = Val W = Winston T = Tracey N = Nick G = Glaucia

E = Elena F = Florence D = David
V: Hi. I’m Val, and I work as a producer for the BBC here in London. I like
living in London, but it can be quite expensive. Today I’m talking to
people about money and happiness. Do you think money makes you
happy?
W: No. Money can enhance happiness, but happiness is about family,
friends, enjoyment, and money can only help that—it doesn’t make you
happy.
T: I don’t think that money makes you happy, but it can enable you to do
more things, which could make you a happier person.
N: I think that lack of money makes people unhappy, and I think that
people need money in order to get the things that make them happy,
but money itself I don’t think makes people happy.
G: I think money wouldn’t make you happy, won’t give you happiness
directly, but I think it could give you a little help, sometimes, to do
things that you like. Yes.
E: I think money can’t make you happy at the end of the day if you don’t
have family and friends to share your money with and to have a good
time with.
F: Money would probably contribute to my happiness, but certainly not
make me fully happy.
D: Money makes a huge difference as to how happy you can be, but
fundamentally, happiness doesn’t come from just having money:
happiness comes from being able to do the things that content you.
V: What things are more important than money?
W: Family. I believe family is more important than money. Family can
enhance your life: your parents, your siblings, your children. Hearing
your child laugh on a bad day will brighten your mood—it does for me.
My sons’ laughing together makes me feel wonderful.

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 Upper Intermediate Unit 2 BBC Interviews Script

T: Love is more important than money. I think family is really important

and having, like, a nurturing environment to grow up in.
N: Security; having a stable family; feeling at ease with yourself; feeling at
ease with other people.
F: I believe that health is much more important than money.
D: Being able to enjoy your particular set of circumstances: feel
contentment. If you’re a family man, being able to spend time with the
family: money is there, but it’s the family itself that makes the
difference.
E: Your family, your friends, having good health and feeling satisfied with
what you’re doing in your life, and, I think, money can’t give you that.
V: Should wealthy people be taxed more to support the poor?
W: Depending on how rich they are: I think the richer they are, the more
they should pay.
N: Yes, undoubtedly. I’m a strong believer in a progressive system of
taxation.
E: I think that some people just come from a much more disadvantaged
background, and they need an extra push and some extra money to be
able to get ahead.
D: Whether the poor could do anything for themselves is the crucial
question. And, if the poor can’t do anything for themselves, then finding
a way in which the other end of the spectrum can help them is
important, yes. I would stop short at saying, "Yes, you should tax the
rich," though, "to pay for the poor."
G: I think, yes, there is a big difference in between the rich and the poor,
and, I think, if, if it’s possible, the rich people should give a little bit
more to the poor. And, then, perhaps, we can have a more equal world.

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