Gold First Coursebook Audio Script

Unit 3, Listening focus Activity 5

Gavin: I’ve always been interested in making lots of money and I always believed I’d be
successful. My father was very proud that I’d been to university – the first in my
family to do so, and I think he hoped I’d become a banker or a lawyer, and not a
fruit seller like him. But instead I saw an opportunity to make money from sports
shoes, which were becoming fashionable in the early 1980s, and from a humble
start on a market stall my business grew rapidly. I took a lot of risks and faced
an uncertain future, especially as the economic situation wasn’t good at that
time, but somehow I still knew things would work out. The company kept
growing; by 1990 I had 120 shops, and just before I sold the business in 1998,
this figure had grown to two hundred and fifty, with over seven thousand
employees.

I made £268 million from the sale and, obviously, I’d now made all the money I
could ever need. I decided to take time out and enjoy myself. I spent loads of
money on a yacht and luxury homes but I didn’t find this lifestyle satisfying; so I
decided to do something useful. I got interested in education and invested in
training programmes that taught children about business. I thought this would
give them the opportunity to do what I’d done.

After a while, I was bored and wanted to work again. But I didn’t need any more
money for myself so I decided to give the money I made to charity. I visited
Africa for the first time in 2004 and saw I could offer business advice and
financial support to farmers who were in difficulty. They were given small loans
which, in the vast majority of cases, they were able to pay back on time.

I started thinking, and realised that the £3,000 I would spend on a suit was a
fortune to most people . Even £100 could make a huge difference to someone. It
was a chance to get out of poverty. So about five years ago, I started lending
small amounts of money to people all over the world who had nothing, and who
wanted to start their own business.

Recently I’ve been involved in projects that help village communities in Africa to
help themselves. We’ve been able to build new schools, improve access to water
and invest in farm machinery. The first of these projects to be completed was a
hospital in a small town in Malawi. Seeing that finished and operational was the
most satisfying experience of my life – far more important to me than any
business deal.

I feel very privileged to be able to help people in this way. I think it’s taught me
what’s really important in life – now I appreciate my family so much more and
I’m not as interested as I used to be in holidays or expensive clothes. But in
order to finance these projects, I need to spend about 70 per cent of my time
working. Now I’m mainly involved in property companies, and it’s the money I
make from these that I spend on development projects in Africa.

I would advise anyone who’s earning millions to give most of it away. Initially I
was only interested in the security money could bring, but now it means
something else to me. It means freedom to do what I want with my life. I’m
much happier now than I was twenty years ago. I do understand that not having
enough money can be very worrying, but it’s important to realise there’s a limit
to how much you actually need for yourself.

People often ask me how much money I intend to give away. I don’t know the
 answer to that exactly, but what I do know is that I wouldn’t feel right if I ended
up leaving a lot of money to my kids. I don’t think a yacht or a Ferrari would
bring them happiness – I’ll make sure they have enough to buy a house, but I
want them to work and earn their own money. It’s important to be independent.

Unit 3, Grammar Focus Activity 1

Narrator: 1
Gavin: I’m not as interested as I used to be in holidays.
Narrator: 2
Gavin: Building the hospital was the most satisfying experience of my life.
Narrator: 3
Gavin: I’m much happier than I was twenty years ago.

Unit 3, Speaking focus Activity 3

Candidate: In both pictures there are people doing something which is very important to
them. In the first picture the people look very happy because they are
celebrating success. It looks like a graduation ceremony. In the second picture
the man looks as if he’s very proud of his car because he’s taking very good care
of it. It looks like hard work. He probably spent a lot of money on it and it looks
like it’s very valuable.

I’d say that both pictures show an achievement but the first picture is
celebrating an experience whereas the second picture shows someone who
values an expensive thing. The graduation photo is more special because it’s
something you can remember for your whole life. The car can be sold or it could
be damaged in an accident – it’s not something that lasts in the same way.
While the man might really love his car, his passion is something he does on his
own. The girl in the graduation photo seems happier because she’s sharing her
success with her family and friends. She looks like she’s having more fun than
the man.