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1、Pre-Reading Activities1. Do you believe that “money talks”?2. Many people around us are striving incessantly for money? What symptoms can be found about this money mania?3. Pay close attention to words, phrases, sentences, images, metaphors, idioms, figures of speech etc. in short, the kind of langu
2、age the writer uses.4. Read the text. As you read, try to guess the meaning of the boldfaced words from the surrounding words and sentences.TEXT Money Madness By Ralph HyattWord count: 1747The persistent popularity of the antiquated joke wherein one person remarks, “money is the root of all evil, an
3、d his friend responds,” “I know, Ive been rooting for it all my life” is a testimony to the ambivalences and conflicts generated by money in our society. Dow-Jones averages, tax shelters, investment opportunities, and the like make the front pages of our newspapers, respected magazines, and journals
4、. Get-rich books make the best-seller lists and “sweepstake” mailings bombard us regularly. Casinos, lotteries, the stock marketall government-supported and regulatedtransmit the idea that to own a million dollars is wonderful, a fantastic achievement. Thus, people strive aggressively for the accumu
5、lation of wealth in order to reach the promised goals of serenity and happiness. The fantasy of “miracles” which is created by a fat bank account, however, fades in the shadows of disappointments and frustrations once it is obtained. Those who spend a lifetime struggling unsuccessfully for green, si
6、lver, and gold usually die in depression and despair. Power, travel, external security, free time, and other blessings are potentially available to the affluent. The blessings, unfortunately, are often mixed.The values of our society and similar ones in matters of money and wealth are perfectly clea
7、r. Rich men are seen as capable and wise. Tevya, in “Fiddler on the Roof,” sings it powerfully: “When youre rich they really think you know.” Richness means success, and we are success-oriented. Religious groups and those who elevate the status of poverty as they equate money with evil exhort us to
8、live simply, to walk the straight and narrow, and to deny the flesh. Nevertheless, it takes little perceptual acuity to observe that the wealthy are given high positions in churches and synagogues, are continually feted at religiously supported affairs, and become the models for young churchgoers. M
9、ixed messages are dangerous; psychologists generally agree that they set the stage for schizophrenia.Those who are born into absolute poverty and are destined to live in it typically have an easier time with the money issue. They learn early not to expect wealth and so avoid wasting emotions on such
10、 aspirations. They become a motivational in this regard. Some, on the other hand, determine to break out of their fettered status and relentlessly strive for their share of the gold. Generally, they are bright, very ambitious, and follow fellow models of success. They develop skills, become knowledg
11、eable, develop expertise, and work very hard.A few of them make it, but frequently at great expense. Days and nights are spent in creating ideas, implementing plans and working all the shifts. Limited cash flow for rentals, purchase of equipment and inventory, employees salaries, and other expenses
12、test the physical and emotional stamina of even the very strong. A unique idea accompanied by efficiency and good fortune does indeed make the money goal reachable. More often, there is a washout because of physical, emotional, and economic deficits. Many fine business ideas go down the drain in thi
13、s way. In the meantime, family, friends, and health are flushed down as well.These over determined entrepreneurs give everything they have in the pursuit of their goals and frequently end up truly giving everything. They heave all of their possessions into the hopper and make crushing contributions
14、of self in the battle for material victory. They thrash about in the net society euphemistically terms workaholic, type-A, success-oriented, or excellent provider. In the process, control and power transfers from them to the goal itself. Means and ends are in total disarray. Thinking, acting, and fe
15、eling are no longer independent of the money motive. The victims justification for living is money and all it can buy. The self and all of its potential richness is lost.Contrary to expectation, the wealthy are lured into the money net just as readilyperhaps more soas others. The bait is habit, inse
16、curity, competitiveness, power control, and greed. With all the hype for everyone to save even a dollar at a time, it takes great discipline for those with small fixed incomes to pull dollars from a meager salary, to place into a savings account which grows ever so slowly. Reinforcements are weak.The wealthy, on the other hand, have a different “problem”their money accounts grow so steadily and significantly that the
