懂你英语 Level 4 - Unit 2 - Part 4
Listening
Al Capone 1
Al Capone was one of the most famous criminals in American history.
He came from an immigrant family.
His parents came from Italy, and his father was a barber.
As a boy, he belonged to a street gang.
He quit school after finishing the 6th grade.
He built his career as a crime boss in Chicago.
He became boss at 26 when the previous leader was nearly killed.
His crime organization made a lot of money, more than $100 million a year.
Most of the money came from illegal activities, especially the sale of illegal liquor.
His organization was also involved in gambling and prostitution.
Capone was flashy dresser who enjoyed being famous.
He protected himself by bribing police and public officials.
Though he was involved in the deaths of many, he was never convicted of a serious crime.
When he was finally arrested, it was for minor crimes.
In 1929, he and his bodyguard were arrested for carrying deadly weapons.
For that they were sentenced to a year in prison.
Capone was released in nine months for good behavior.
Al Capone 2
In 1930, Capone was public Enemy NO.1 in Chicago.
A year later he was arrested for failure to pay taxes.
The government had finally found a way to catch him.
After a trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
He spent the first two years of his sentence at a prison in Atlanta,Georgia.
Then he was sent to Alcatraz, the country’s most famous prison.
At Alcatraz, he was diagnosed with a disease that began to take over his brain.
As a result, he spent much of his time in the prison hospital.
By the time he was released from prison in 1939, he was no longer able to lead his organization.
He died of a stroke and pneumonia in 1947.
Vocabulary
Economic Terms
Income is money received for work or from investments.
For a company to survive, its income needs to be more than its expenses.
People who earn a good salary can buy what they need to survive.
A receipt is given to you after you have paid for something.
A receipt is proof that you have paid for something.
A receipt shows that something has been paid for.
After paying for something, be sure to get a receipt.
An invoice is a request for payment.
An invoice lists the prices and products being bought.
To invoice someone means to give them a bill for products or services.
Once an invoice is paid, it can be used as a receipt.
Taxes are what we pay to the government for government services.
Taxes pay for many services such as education, police and health care.
An income tax is a tax on your income.
In some countries, income taxes are very high.
Interest is what we pay to lenders when we borrow money.
If someone lends you money, you pay interest for the use of that money.
Personality Types
Emotional people often show their feelings and have a bad temper.
They make decisions based on their feelings more than facts.
Sometimes these people make bad decisions because of their emotions.
Leaders are people who take responsibility and are trusted by others.
Good leaders make good decisions and get things done.
In many situations, others look to them for leadership.
Loyal people can be depended on to follow their leader.
They will support and protect their leaders and friends.
A strong team needs a good leader and loyal followers.
Independent people can do things on their own.
They often prefer working by themselves.
Sometimes they have difficulty working in a group.
Creative people come up with new ideas and ways of doing things.
They often have a good imagination and can see things in different ways.
Many artists and musicians are very creative.
Independent people may want to do things their own way.
People don’t like to work for people who are too emotional.
Someone with a bad temper gets angry easily and shouts at others.
Dialogue
A Video Project 1
W：Congratulations, Lisa.
Lisa：Congratulations for what?
W：We just heard the news.
Lisa：What news? Don’t keep me in suspense.
W：QuickServe has accepted your video proposal.
Lisa：Already? I just submitted it a week ago.
W：Maybe so, but they liked it so much that they made a quick decision. They want you to get started on it as soon as possible.
Lisa：That’s great news. But I’m still working on some other projects. They need to be finished first.
W：Can’t you delay some of our other projects?
Lisa：I’m not sure. How important is this project?
W：They are putting a lot of pressure on us now especially since they read your proposal. They really like it. It’s a very creative way of presenting their company. It had everybody laughing.
Lisa：Yes, that was the idea. It was fun to do and our whole team thought it was funny.
W：Well, great job. I think it’s the best work your team has ever down.
A Video Project 2
W：When can you get started on the project?
Lisa：Are they going to pay extra? In my proposal, I said the earliest start date would be one month after signing the contract.
W：Was that in the proposal?
Lisa：Yes, it was. Have they signed the contract yet?
W：No, they haven’t. But I’m sure they will right away.
Lisa：They’ll also need to make an advance payment. That was in the proposal too. We can’t stop everything else just because they are excited.
W：OK, I’ll get back to them and let them know.
Lisa：Yes, please do. I’ve been though these kinds of thing before.
