Za A Contribution to Make the World a Better Place WOR UEC 2h Financier and philanthropist, George Soros » ANTICIPATING THE ISSUE AT] PREDICTING From the title, discuss what you think the interview in this unit is about. | THINKING AHEAD In groups, discuss your answers to the following questions. 1. People dream of being wealthy. But, what disadvantages can you imagine there might be to having a lot of money? 2. Ifyou had a lot of money, what would you want to do with it? 3, How would you like to be remembered by others? 87 Scanned with CamScanner“YCABULARY Read the ons an The boldfaced Words will help you understand the interview. ‘Try to stalin © meaning of these words. Write the number of each word next to its OF Synonym in the list at the end of the text. In 1930, George Soros was born in Hungary. His father was a lawyer who s raised in a comfortable, intellectual environment, ne difficult when the Nazis occupied on the street by liked living well, and Soros w But his life as a Hungarian Jew bi Hungary. Assuming a false identity, Soros learned to survive him his first lessons in learning the value dealing with black marketers who gave young George got through this difficult period unscathed, of things. Amazingly, and he looks back on his youth with fond memories. George Soros went to England in 1947 and attended the London School Economics in 1952. It was there that he became aware of the sad condition of immigrants through his own experiences as an immigrant. While in England, Soros became familiar with the philosopher Karl Popper. Popper had a big influence on Soros’ thinking and on his decisions about donating money as a philanthropist. Soros then moved to the United States in 1956 to become one of the world’s biggest financiers of all time. In America, he began to build a large fortune as an institutional investor. By investing money in organizations or companies, such as banks and insurance companies, and by taking risks investing in hedge funds, his own portfolio grew larger and larger. Soon Soros became a multibillionaire and one of the most influential men in the world. Soros recalls his earlier life saying, “I have prospered, but I know we all need a helping hand at some time in our lives.” He established his first foundation, the Open Society Fund, in New York in 1979, his first European foundation in Hungary in 1984, and the Soros Foundation in the Soviet Union in 1987. He now funds a network of foundations that operate in 31 countries; these foundations Scanned with CamScanner1d maintai, “Sntaining of the basie systems and sibility he ity he has assumes him i . alot of influcn, » but it ay Co AlS0 gives hy ce, ‘n ‘d for others gives S05 fom mop Worries. He has even experienced oper yp, ™S>S ther Peoples money: eT Who has . And tes dove the raded many Commodities in the world, believes that the wor = efi Uhat could harm the worlds econo He : m the middle of . points out th ¢ of financial and litical eri at there ane my dee a Political crisis. Soros emmple t ; H Vs glot pie, international financial markets h oe , h economies, Consequently, aS a phil Soros talks ‘apitalist system, For 'wve been the main cause of fling Capitalism has : weil nse ed many drawbacks, However, Soros’ ng the operation of f a ree ' capitalistic societies, ‘ee markets to protect our a. relati ionshiy relating to the relationship between the mind and physical illness b. not hurt by a bad or dangerous situation —— ©. imperfections d. acollection of stocks owned by a particular person or company .Tich person who gives money to people who are poor or who need ~ money to do useful things nm products that are bought and sold g. decide to give a particular amount of money h. an extremely rich person who has many billions of dollars igh risk techniques in order to make savho contol or lend Tage sums of money nt, negative effects sho buy and sell goods illegally Scanned with CamScanner90 Unit 7 CONSIDER THE ISSUES Il, > LISTENING TASK LISTENING the answer to the following question- Listen to the interview. Fin t started trading in currency? How old was George Soros when he firs LISTENING FOR MAIN IDEAS Linen wth tender. Tie hard te bee OS into five parts. You wit hear a beep at the end of each part. A word or phrase has been given to help you focus ses re ce eau ar. rtm ss lan STE sentence. You should mary of the interview. Compare your summary have five statements that make a sum with that of another student. Part 1 multibillionaire Part 2 anxious Part 3 experiences in trading Scanned with CamScannerUnit7 = 4 conta 'DUTION TO MAKE THE WORLD A peTtER PLACE ” LISTENING FOR DETAILS Read the questions for Part 1. Then li isten to Part 1 again. As best answer. Compare your answers with you listen, circ! 5 those student. it yo listen again. of another student. If you c Part 1 1. What is special about Tuesdays on Morning Edition? a. The program will discuss taxes. b. The program will focus on money. c. The program will interview rich people. 2, How is George Soros deseribed? a. one of the world’s worthiest men b. a financier c. aphilosopher 3, Which of the following is not true about Soros? a, Heis still working b, He ran a hedge fund. e_ He bought stocks and bonds Repeat the same procedure for Parts 2-5. Scanned with CamScannerPart 2 Part 3 4 6. x , according to Sores? What's the problem with managing people's mor ‘take risks with someone elses money’ . You b. You can lose people’s money: 7 weir portfolio is doing, i ight to see how the c. People will wake you up at night to currency trading have caused, according 4 What negative effect might Soros’s Stamberg? a. astock market crash on ‘Wall Street ncial ci b. As ¢. more from companies nci Which of the following is not true about Soros’s background? a. He was bom in Budapest. b. His father was a lawyer, c. He became an economist. Which of the following is true about the 14-year-old George Soros? a, He assumed a Jewish identity. b. He lived underground, or in secret. c. He was suspected of carrying currency. What lesson did George learn when he tried to trade? a. Sellers’ estimates were usually reliable, b. His merchandise was full of dents and not worth anything, & Gold was a commodity whose price could change, How did young George feel about his experiences? a They were frightening, b. They were a gift, . Fighting evil made him suffer Scanned with CamScannerLe 12. 13. 14. . Which of the , How doe: unit7 y Conta SUTION To ntake THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE 3 followin, ng describes George §, a He Jeorge Soros’ background: He fought the Co muna Ke Soros’ background? ary in 1956, b. He loft Hung © He arrived i i arrived in America with $4,000 in his. pocket, Which of the fol ‘owing describes George Sor 's George Soros’ a He would make plan?” a million dollars on Wall Street in five years. b. He would live on $15,000 a year, © He would become a philosopher How would Soros have liked to be appreciated by others? a. asa person who could make a lot of moncy b. asa thinker ©. as someone who was knowledgeable about the stock market ‘What fascinates Soros? a. the pursuit of money b. the anticipation of the future c. what money can buy What does having money allow Soros to do? a. focus on buying expensive things b. buy a private plane and boat c._ pursue his ideas = 10s i is “saving the world”? the idea that he is “savn 5 Soros react to | He rejects it totally. He thinks it’s very amusing. Scanned with CamScanner94 Unit 7 CONSIDER THE ISSUES 16. Which of the following is not correct in terms of number a. His foundations allocate half a billion dollars a year b. His foundations allocate money to 30 countries. . He has changed the lives of thousands of people 17. How does Soros feel about giving money? a. He doesn't like to give money to beggars on the street, b. He seeks personal gratitude. ©. He likes meeting the people who have received his money. 18. How would George Soros like to be remembered? a. aan author who has contributed to the world of finance cal final b. ©. asa philosopher trying to understand life as a pra LISTENING FOR INFERENCE Listen to the excerpts from the interview and answer the following questions. Compare your answers with those of other students. Excerpt 1 1. Why does Stamberg say that Wall Street would have sent Soros for X-rays? Excerpt 2 2. What does Stamberg imply by her comment about Soros’s father? Scanned with CamScannerSO NON 10m i O MAKE THE WORLD A pertEn A BETTER PLACE 95, 3. Why does st coment Pen copa g "ye and hair color in her v.. LOOKING AT Lancuace ql USAGE: Past Unreal Conditional a Notice Explanation Listen to the following verb forms in the stat the past? aple from ple from the interview. Notice the boldfi nL. Ts the speaker tal 7 s about the present or Imagine if Wall Street had known that, ‘Th X-rays hey"d have sent him for daily in the example above, the interviewer isi " he calc above, the interviewer is imagining an unreal situation in = Da e imagines nde : : he pas e imagines an unreal condition and an unreal result of that condition. ‘This statement can also be read as: : Imagine if Wall Street had knoten that. They would have sent him for daily X-r: . ‘The past unreal conditional is generally formed as follows: Condition clause Result clause subject + would/could/might (not) If + subject + (not) past perfect have + past participle tense If Wall Street had known about ; Soros’s backaches, they would/could/might have sent him for daily X-rays. ckache: he would/could/might not have aia pod bares Knoten that there was something, : wrong with his portfolio. Scanned with CamScanner96 Unit 7 CONSIDER THE ISSUES Exercise it 1e Soros. Complete the sentences, using information from the interview with Georas Use the past unreal conditional in each sentence. il a Oo »'s money, 1. If George Soros had not been responsible for other peoples money he wouldn't have had anxiety and backaches. If the Navis had not invaded Hungary when George was a young boy, —___ it could have been more dangerous for young George to trade in currency. 4. If Soros had not accomplished his five-year plan, ——————— George Soros wouldn’t have been able to pursue his ideas, he would not have created foundations that allocate half a billion dollars a yea lars a year, - Scanned with CamScannerBeeeoeeoeeryw eee VALUES CLARIFICATION: The Values of a Philanthropist / 1. Take Notes to Prepare By focusing on George Soros’ life experiences, you may be better able to react to the importance of his foundations’ projects. Listen to the interview again. Take notes on experiences from Soros’s life that may have led to his role as a philanthropist. Key phrases and an example have been provided for you. Use your notes to help you in the values clarification exercise that follows. Soros’s physical effects from handling other people's money «made him anxious His life as a 14-year-old boy Coming to America Scanned with CamScanner-~wVww” His personal values today: What he wants What he doesn't want 2. Values Clarification Work in groups. Read the following project descriptions of the Soros Foundation’s U.S. Programs. Consider the purpose and goal of each project. Based on the interview with Soros, which of these projects best reflects Soros’s values? If you were George Soros, to which projects would you allocate the most money? Rank these choices from the one you think most reflects Soros’s goals (1) to the one you think reflects them the least (5). Then, consider the problems of your communities. Decide which of these projects are most important and would deserve the most financial support. Criminal Justice Initiative The goals of this initiative are to reduce unnecessary dependence on the use of prisons and to promote equal and fair treatment in the criminal justice system. The initiative includes programs which: 1) help prisoners reenter their communities, 2) explore alternative systems of punishment, 3) find ways to put an end to the death Penalty, and 4) provide education to prisoners. Scanned with CamScannerYouth Initiatives programs are focu ‘, who often experience cans on aseno disadvantaged youth, especially thos? ‘en up opportunities for nd poverty. The goal of these programs is t0 trodern world. The ies ae Beople to gain skills and compete in the to increase access to the ae consist of: 1) The Arts Initiative. which aims Oe 2 Ut On oun a and Communications Program, which supports the involvement of minorities in These media. Emma Lazarus Fund This fund supports nonprofit organizations that help legal immigrants become U.S. citizens as well as organizations that provide legal service to immigrants. One goal of this program is to fight anti-immigrant attitudes in the U.S. Another is to ensure ‘equal protection by the government, such as in making sure legal immigrants receive their share of welfare benefits. Ninety percent of the fund is used to help legal immigrants become citizens. Project on Death in America m this he culture of dying. Money fro It is also and their families. ifficult issues surrounding death and 4) improving doctor-patient care for the dying in g of AIDS, and 4) ct is to transform tl The goal of this projet rove care for the terminally ill project is used to imp! used to educate the public about the di dying. For example, projects focus on: communic: sues, 2) developing ation about end-of-life iss nursing homes, 3) providing homecare for children dyin’ providing information on physician-assisted suicide. ___. Soros Documentary Fund ind is used to support d freedom of expression ded films: Money from this fu jocumentary films and videos that deal with human rights, and social liberties. Here are some examples of recently fun und reveals the lives ucharest, Romania. of abandoned children who live in Children Undergro! subways below the streets in B Scanned with CamScannerUnit 7 CONSIDER THE ISSUES 1 Was A Slave Labourer is about the current campaign for justice, recognition, and compensation by former slave-laborers of the Nazi industrial and economig complex. The Charcoal People portrays the thousands of migrant workers who cut down forests in the Brazilian Amazon to produce charcoal for steel industries in Brazi and abroad. 900 Women: Inside St. Gabriel's Prison documents the lives of six women who live in the largest jail in Louisiana. They survive giving birth while facing many challenges and the possibility of dying in prison. “A Contribution to Make the World a Better Place” was first broadcast on Morning Edition, April 3, 2001. The interviewer is Susan Stamberg, Scanned with CamScanner