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Level 5: Advanced Daily Audio Lessons

DailyStep-5_economy-Greece-002_GB-03

Sally: So, as a result of Greece’s huge budget deficit, investors are wary

of lending it more money, and demand a higher premium for doing so.

This is particularly troublesome as Greece must refinance more than 50

billion Euros in debt this year.

Ben: How on earth is it going to manage that? Surely the whole country

is in danger of going bankrupt?

Sally: Yes, that is a very real danger. So the other Eurozone countries,

along with the IMF, have come up with a bailout package, conditional on

Greece slashing its public spending and boosting its tax revenue. Needless

to say, these austerity measures haven’t gone down too well with the

Greek people!

Ben: You don’t say! What a nightmare for them. I mean, they didn’t ask

their government to borrow so heavily, did they? They must be furious.

Sally: Yes, they are – you’ve seen the level of unrest on the telly. There

are wildcat strikes hitting schools and hospitals, and public transport has

ground to a halt. But unfortunately, after all is said and done, they don’t

have any choice but to accept the new austerity measures. The

alternative would be far worse for the country.

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Level 5: Advanced Daily Audio Lessons

Situation: Ben and Sally talk about the package of loans that the International
Monetary Fund and the European Union put together in order to help Greece find a
solution to its financial problems. This conversation took place in 2010.

Style: informal conversation

Functions:
1. Giving an explanation: So, as a result of Greece’s huge budget deficit,
investors are wary of lending it more money... (note: please copy the tone and
emphasis carefully here.)
2. Emphasising a question: How on earth is it going to manage that? (note:
please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
3. Explaining something that may appear obvious: Needless to say, these
austerity measures haven’t gone down too well with the Greek people! (note:
please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
4. Responding to a statement that was very obvious: You don’t say! (note:
please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
5. Making an assumption: They must be furious. (note: please copy the tone and
emphasis carefully here.)
6. Introducing an inconvenient or unpleasant truth: But unfortunately, after all
is said and done, they don’t have any choice but to accept the new austerity
measures. (note: please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
.

Notes:
1. as a result of = because of / as a consequence of (more formal)
2. budget deficit = the negative difference between the amount of money the
government receives from taxation and the amount of money that it spends
3. investors = people or institutions that finance businesses / people or companies
that invest money on the financial markets
4. are wary of = are suspicious of / do not trust
5. demand (more formal) = ask for / insist on
6. a higher premium = higher returns / a higher rate of interest
7. for doing so = in order to do it (more formal)
8. This is particularly troublesome as = This is especially problematic because
9. refinance = re-arrange repayment of, usually on different terms
10. debt = money owed
11. is in danger of going bankrupt = has a strong possibility of collapsing financially
12. Eurozone countries = countries that use the Euro as their currency
13. the IMF = the International Monetary Fund
14. have come up with (phrasal verb) = have produced / have devised
15. a bailout package = a collection of loans and financial measures to relieve the
economy
16. conditional on = dependent on
17. slashing its public spending (stronger) = deeply cutting its public spending
18. boosting its tax revenue = obtaining more money from tax / increasing the
amount of money it receives in tax
19. Needless to say = It is not necessary to point out (phrasal verb)
20. austerity measures = moves to cut down (phrasal verb) government spending by
a great deal

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Level 5: Advanced Daily Audio Lessons

21. (they) haven’t gone down too well with (idiom) the Greek people = (they) have
not been well received by the Greek people / the Greek people do not like them
much (note: the speaker is using understatement here – the Greek people’s
reaction has been much stronger than that.)
22. You don’t say! (idiom – very strong and could be offensive. Use only with friends
or if you want to indicate a very strong reaction.) = There was no need to tell me
that because I already know
23. What a nightmare for them (stronger) = What a horrible situation for those
people
24. They must be furious = I assume they are extremely angry (more formal)
25. unrest = discontent
26. the telly (informal) = the TV / the television
27. wildcat strikes = unplanned strikes without any notice
28. strikes = mass refusal to work in order to make a political point or to win an
argument (note: the verb structure is ‘to go on strike’, and then ‘to be on strike’)
29. ground to a halt (idiom) = stopped completely after first moving more and more
slowly
30. after all is said and done (idiom) = but in the end
.
Audio file name: DailyStep-5_economy-Greece-002_GB-03
.

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