General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on payday loans and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Man: Hey, Rachel. Can I borrow your large suitcase?

Woman: Wait. Why do you need it?

Man: Okay. Get this. Some friends and I are going to Hawaii next week, and my small bag won’t be big enough for all the souvenirs I plan to bring home. I’m going to get you some peanuts, too.

Woman: What? How can you afford that? You don’t have a job, you already have an outrageous car payment, and you still owe me $500 for that old car that didn’t last a week.

Man: Hey, those things are behind me. You see, I took out a loan.

Woman: Where? I mean to be honest, your credit history is terrible. 

Man: Well, it’s complicated.

Woman: What do you mean complicated? Give it to me straight. Where did you get a loan?

Man: Well, I got a payday loan at a place near our house.

Woman: What? That’s an awful idea.

Man: Ah, you don’t know anything. And you . . . at these places, you can get a loan quickly without any hassle.

Woman: Exactly, because they can run you dry. [ No. ] I mean they might charge you over 300% interest compared to about 12 to 30% interest for a regular credit card.  [ Ah!! ] A personal loan at the bank might even be cheaper. [ Oh, yeah, but . . . ] And then people like you get locked into a vicious loan cycle that is almost impossible to escape. Like quicksand.

Man: How do you know so much about payday loans?

Woman: Well, I took out a loan once, and it took me forever to pay it back. So, yeah, how do YOU play to pay it back?

Man: Uh, well, I thought I’d sell my mountain bike, or my comic book collection, or you could give me the money.

Woman: Yeah, forget it. Not in a million years.

Man: Ahhhh!

• afford (verb): have enough money to pay for something
  – I don’t think we can afford a new car right now.
  – Do you think we can afford to eat out this week?
• outrageous (adjective): very unusual or surprising
  – The cost of housing is outrageous these days.
  – That is an outrageous tie. The colors are hard to look out.
• up to one’s ears in debt (idiom): have a lot of debt
  – Some students are up to their ears in debt because of student loans.
• give it straight (idiom): speak directly and openly about something
  – Give it to me straight. How much money do we still have in the bank? 
• awful (adjective): terrible
  – Our family is in turmoil right now because of our parent’s divorce and the death of our sister.
• hassle (noun): an inconvenience or bother
  – It is a real hassle to take so many buses to work.
  – Driving to school is such a hassle because the roads are always congested.
• up to one’s ears in debt (idiom): have a lot of debt
  – Some students are up to their ears in debt because of student loans.
• give it straight (idiom): speak directly and opening about something
  – Give it to me straight. How much money do we still have in the bank? 
• awful (adjective): terrible
  – Maria is in an awful situation right now without a job.
• hassle (noun): a bother or problem
  – It’s sometimes a real hassle to travel during the holidays. The traffic is terrible.
• run your dry (idiom): spend money you can’t afford 
  – My kids are going to run us dry.  They eat everything in the house.
• get locked into something (adjective): terrible
  – Maria is in an awful situation right now without a job.