Richer, Fatter, Happier?

http://www.commongroundradio.org/shows/04/0408.shtml#3

Time: 00.00 - 2.47

Prelistening

1. The presenter opens with the questions: 'What does the weekend trip to the Wal-Mart Super Center have to do with world affairs?' What answer might you anticipate?

2. What do you understand by the expression 'shop 'til you drop?' What is the irony?

3. Make sentences using as many of the following words as you can.

household spending consumer society shopping trip

developing countries basic needs water food

warmth shelter policy makers outlook

rich countries sub-Saharan Africa material goods modern religion

First listening

Listen for the following statistics given in the report.

· number of cars on US roads/number of people with driving licenses

· population of developed world/percentage of world household spending

· population of sub-Saharan Africa/percentage of world household spending

· percentage of world population/living on x dollars per day

· size of US houses in 1975/size of US houses today

· size of US refrigerators in 1975/number and size of US refrigerators today

Second listening

Listen again to this excerpt, fill in the blanks with the exact words used in the recording and give a synonym which fits grammatically:

HUFF: In fact, the WorldWatch Institute is (1) , consumption—that shopping habit—has gone beyond fulfilling basic needs—food, shelter, water, warmth—to a whole new level. Christopher Flavin

FLAVIN: But it is a society in which, the outlook of people and the goals of people and the goals of policy makers, are increasingly (2 and (3) in terms of acquiring more and more material goods and services. So it's as much a (4) as it is, you know, an actual (5) of increases in material flows. And some people have called it a religion, you know, that it is a modern religion—that we define ourselves, we define our (6) , we define our being in terms of consumption.

Postlistening

Is Europe different, or just a little behind the trend?

Answers

1. The presenter opens with the questions: 'What does the weekend trip to the Wal-Mart Super Center have to do with world affairs?' What answer might you anticipate?

rich countries consuming more than the planet can support

2. What do you understand by the expression 'shop 'til you drop?' What is the irony?

coined to evoke tired but motivated shoppers, now points to shoppers using up the world's resources

3. Make sentences using as many of the following words as you can.

household spending consumer society shopping trip

developing countries basic needs water food

warmth shelter policy makers outlook

rich countries sub-Saharan Africa material goods modern religion

First listening

Listen for the following statistics given in the report.

· number of cars on US roads/number of people with driving licenses

· population of developed world/percentage of world household spending

· population of sub-Saharan Africa/percentage of world household spending

· percentage of world population/living on x dollars per day

· size of US houses in 1975/size of US houses today

· size of US refrigerators in 1975/number and size of US refrigerators today

Second listening

Listen again to this excerpt, fill in the blanks with the exact words used in the recording and give a synonym which fits grammatically:

HUFF: In fact, the WorldWatch Institute is convinced, consumption—that shopping habit—has gone beyond fulfilling basic needs—food, shelter, water, warmth—to a whole new level. Christopher Flavin

FLAVIN: But it is a society in which, the outlook of people and the goals of people and the goals of policy makers, are increasingly articulated and valued in terms of acquiring more and more material goods and services. So it's as much a mindset as it is, you know, an actual measure of increases in material flows. And some people have called it a religion, you know, that it is a modern religion—that we define ourselves, we define our purpose in life, we define our being in terms of consumption.

convinced persuaded

articulated expressed

valued evaluated

mindset way of thinking

measure gauge

purpose in life goals, raison d'etre

Postlistening

Is Europe different, or just a little behind the trend?

Transcript:

PORTER: What does the weekend trip to the Wal-Mart Super Center have to do with world affairs? Consumption habits, especially by Americans, are having an enormous impact on the well being of both the environment and the people who live in it. The WorldWatch Institute focused its State of the World 2004 report on the consumer society and its impact across the globe. The mantra "shop 'til you drop" has a whole new meaning in the context of their findings, as Priscilla Huff discovered.

[The sound of vehicles on a busy road]

PRISCILLA HUFF: Its time to drive out for your shopping trip.

[The sound of vehicles on a busy road]

HUFF: About one-quarter of the world's passenger cars are in the United States. In fact there are more passenger cars than licensed drivers in America.

CHRISTOPHER FLAVIN: Consumption is on the rise in rich countries and is rapidly spreading to more prosperous developing countries.

HUFF: Christopher Flavin is the President of the WorldWatch Institute.

FLAVIN: The bulk of this consumption is occurring, of course, in the industrialized world, so that US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with just 12 percent of the world's population account for about 62 percent of the world's household expenditures. By comparison, sub-Saharan African, which has only 11 percent of the world's population accounts for about 1.2 percent of the world's consumption expenditures.

HUFF: In fact, the WorldWatch Institute is convinced, consumption—that shopping habit—has gone beyond fulfilling basic needs—food, shelter, water, warmth—to a whole new level. Christopher Flavin

FLAVIN: But it is a society in which, the outlook of people and the goals of people and the goals of policy makers, are increasingly articulated and valued in terms of acquiring more and more material goods and services. So it's as much as mindset as it is, you know, an actual measures of increases in material flows. And some people have called it a religion, you know, that it is a modern religion—that we define ourselves, we define our purpose in life, we define our being in terms of consumption.

HUFF: For the half of the world that lives on less than $2 a day—that's about three billion people, mostly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa—more consumption is a good thing. But, its a different story in America, says Christopher Flavin.

FLAVIN: New houses, for example, in the United States, are 38 percent larger than they were in 1975. Most people in the United States were of course were living quite comfortably in 1975. There are more refrigerators per home today than there were 30 years ago and they are 10 percent larger on average.