Read the text. Answer the questions. You can give short answers.
Money today
When I was young, I got 50p a week pocket money from my parents. That’s about fifty-eight cents
today. To get this money I had to help my parents in the house. I usually spent some of my money on
sweets but I also saved some. When I was sixteen, I got a part-time job. It was what you did in those
days. I worked 13.5 hours a week in a local shop and loved it.
Today, many of my friends give their children ten euros a week pocket money. This is not to spend on
big things like mobile phones but for new CDs, going out and daily life. Their children have TVs and
computers in their bedrooms and always want money to follow the latest fashion. Although their
parents’ wages might not go up much each year, pocket money always does.
As a society, are we spending more and why? Some people think we are richer now, others think the
products we buy are cheaper and we buy more of them. I’m not sure. I never had a computer as a child,
but now, most children I know have one. A computer is necessary for school and modern life – in the
same way that mobile phones and MP3s are.
But, are we really richer now? We may earn more money but we spend a lot more too and generally,
things cost more, especially large electrical products. Perhaps it’s because we follow fashion more and
don’t want to wait and save. It’s good to have the latest new products. My parents had to wait until they
had enough money to buy something new.
My parents also never spent money they didn’t have. Perhaps this is the biggest difference with money
these days. It doesn’t have to be cash. We don’t have to have the money at this moment, either in the
bank or our pocket. Today many people live on credit and use credit cards. It’s a ‘spend now and pay
later’ society.
29. What did the writer do with his/her pocket money?
30. What does the writer say children spend their pocket money on?
31. What do most children have now, which the author didn’t have?
32. What did the writer’s parents have to do when they wanted to buy something?
33. How do people often pay for things these days?
____________________________________________________
Money today
When I was young, I got 50p a week pocket money from my parents. That’s about fifty-eight cents
today. To get this money I had to help my parents in the house. I usually spent some of my money on
sweets but I also saved some. When I was sixteen, I got a part-time job. It was what you did in those
days. I worked 13.5 hours a week in a local shop and loved it.
Today, many of my friends give their children ten euros a week pocket money. This is not to spend on
big things like mobile phones but for new CDs, going out and daily life. Their children have TVs and
computers in their bedrooms and always want money to follow the latest fashion. Although their
parents’ wages might not go up much each year, pocket money always does.
As a society, are we spending more and why? Some people think we are richer now, others think the
products we buy are cheaper and we buy more of them. I’m not sure. I never had a computer as a child,
but now, most children I know have one. A computer is necessary for school and modern life – in the
same way that mobile phones and MP3s are.
But, are we really richer now? We may earn more money but we spend a lot more too and generally,
things cost more, especially large electrical products. Perhaps it’s because we follow fashion more and
don’t want to wait and save. It’s good to have the latest new products. My parents had to wait until they
had enough money to buy something new.
My parents also never spent money they didn’t have. Perhaps this is the biggest difference with money
these days. It doesn’t have to be cash. We don’t have to have the money at this moment, either in the
bank or our pocket. Today many people live on credit and use credit cards. It’s a ‘spend now and pay
later’ society.
29. What did the writer do with his/her pocket money?
30. What does the writer say children spend their pocket money on?
31. What do most children have now, which the author didn’t have?
32. What did the writer’s parents have to do when they wanted to buy something?
33. How do people often pay for things these days?
____________________________________________________
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Answers & Comments
The writer spend his/her money on sweets and saved up some of it as well.
The writer says that the kids spend their money on useless stuff, and the parents buy them all of the other things. For example, TVs in bedrooms, latest trendy clothes and so on.
Children nowadays have a lot of pocket money they can spend however they want, but she/he didn’t. Because a little before, people did not have as much as money as today.
The writer had to help the oarents around the house, to get some pocket money.
Mostly these days, people carry credit cards and pay with them. Not only it is easier, but also more comfortable to use.