Warm-up
Step1Brainstorming
Acost-benefitanalysisisusefulwhenIamdecidingwhethertostudyatauniversitynearmyhometownorinamoredistantcity.Itisconvenientformetotakecareofmyfamilywhenstudyingattheuniversitynearmyhome.Icangeteasyaccesstotransportationwhengoinghomeonweekendsorholidays.Andthelivingcostislower.Itwouldbeinconvenienttogohomewhenstudyinginacityfarawayfromhome.ButIcanliveindependentlyandacquiremorelifeskills,andperhapsIcangetgreateracademicimprovements.Weighingtheprosandcons,Imadeadecisiontogotoadistantcityforhighereducation.
Whenmakingdecisionsinmydailylife,Iusuallyapplythecost-benefitanalysis.Forinstance,whendecidingwhethertoshoponlineorinarealshop,Iwouldtakeintoaccountthetimeandtransportationcostsofgoingtoarealshop.Therefore,onlineshoppingwhichsavestimeanddoesnotrequireacommuteismoreappealingtome.
AnotherexampleI’dliketosharewithyouisapplyingacost-benefitanalysisonwhetherIshouldstandupandvolunteertoanswerthequestionorkeepquietinmyseat.AnsweringthequestionbenefitsmebyexercisingmyspokenEnglish.ThecostisthatIneedtothinkofareasonableanswerandifImakeawronganswerImayfeelembarrassedinfrontofmyclassmates.Weighingthecostandbenefit,Ithinkthatitisworthmakingatry.Step2Sharingyourideas
Indailylife,anothereffectiveeconomicprinciplethatcanbeusedisopportunitycost.Opportunitycostistheforgonebenefitthatwouldhavebeenderivedfromanoptionnotchosen.Toproperlyevaluateopportunitycosts,thecostsandbenefitsofeachoptionshouldbeconsideredandweighedagainsttheothers.Soconsideringthevalueofopportunitycostscanguideindividualstomakeprofitabledecisions.
Takethedecisionofwhethertogotouniversityorgetajobafterhighschoolasanexample.Fortheaverageperson,theopportunitycostofgoingtouniversityis32,000yuanforfouryears.Ifyoufindajobandearnprobably3,000yuanamonth,youcanearn144,000yuanforfour
1Unit4
years.Itseemslikethatbasedontheabovescenario,takingajobhasafinancialadvantageovergoingtouniversity.Doesthatmeanweshouldn’tgotouniversity?
TheanswerisNo.Noteveryonehastheabilitytoobtainaconsiderable-payingjoboutofhighschool.But,peoplewhograduatefromuniversitiestypicallyhavelong-termcareersalariesthanthosewithoutabachelor’sdegree.Inthelongrun,thefouryearsspentpursuingadegreeinuniversitiesbenefitone’scareerlifemoreandwouldresultinahigherfinancialbenefit.
Reading1
Languagefocus1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.
optimalbulk
demographicstagnantproddedtransactiontransmitenormous
Globalunderstanding1)2)3)4)5)6)7)8)
starkermores
savinghabitseconomiccontexteconomictransactionsTrustlevels
financialcontractswillingness
Detailedunderstanding1.2.3.4.5.TFFFT
26.T7.F8.T
Culturalthinking
Apennysavedisapennyearned.People’sattitudestowardssavingorspendingdiffer.Whydosomepeoplesavemorethanothers,eveniftheyhavesimilarincomes?Thetraditionalanswerhasbeenthatthereareidiosyncraticdifferencesbetweenindividuals—someofusarefrugal,andsomearenot—whilecountriesdifferonthingslikedemographics,creditavailability,incomeexpectations,anduncertainty.Alltheexplanationsaretrue.Butitmightnotbethewholetruth.It’salsopossiblethatoursavingsbehaviorisshapedbytheculturalimpactofwhichwewerebroughtupwith.
MostAsiancountries,suchasChina,Singapore,andSouthKoreahavetraditionallyhadhighsavingsrates.Allthesecountriesareinfluencedbythevirtueoffrugality.AnotherexampleisthatAmericanswhoweredescendedfromslavessavesignificantlylessthanotherAmericans,eveniftheyhavethesameincomes.Thisshowsthelegacyofslaveryisstillwithus:slavescouldnotownpropertyandsoneverhadasavingsculture.Thisabsenceofsavinghasbeentransmitteddownthegenerations.
Reading2
Languagefocus1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.
incentiverestrictionsinhibit
convincinglysusceptibleincomparablyabuseperception
Globalunderstanding1)2)3)4)
biased
lifeexperienceacculturationimplementation
35)inequality6)interventions
7)alternativenarrativesDetailedunderstanding1.2.3.4.5.6.FFTFTT
Culturalthinking
Version1:Yes,Iagreewiththeauthor.Changesinpeople’smindsetcanaffecttheeconomy.Forexample,inChina,thereisatraditionaleconomicconceptof“livingwithinone’smeans”,sotraditionallypeoplewouldspendmoneyaccordingtotheirsavings.Butwiththedevelopmentofsociety,modernyoungpeoplehavestartedtoaccepttheideaof“spendinginadvance”andareconsumingwithcreditcards.ThisisahugechangeinmindsetandhashadacorrespondinglyimpactonthedevelopmentofChina’sfinancialmarkets.
Version2:No,Idon’tagreewiththeauthor.Economicdevelopmentandchangesinmindsetarenottightlylinked.Withthemodernizationofsociety,theeconomyinChinaisconstantlyandsteadilydevelopingandprogressing.However,peoplelivingindistantruralareascan'tkeepupwiththepaceofsocialdevelopment.Inthisregard,thepovertyalleviationmeasuresofthecentralandlocalgovernmentscanhelpthemtransformtheirproductionandlifestyle,thuschangingthelocaleconomicsituationandachievingtheresultofpovertyalleviationandcommonprosperity.
Integratedthinking
Answer1:Ithinkmyeconomicbehaviorisquitesimilartomyclassmates.Weareallfinanciallydependentonourparents.Inordertolivewithinourmeans,wealllikeshoppingonline.Throughshoppingonline,wecansearchforbargainsandsavebothmoneyandtime.Andwerelyverymuchonuserreviewsandrecommendationswhenshopping.Somesocialappsenableinfluencerstoadvertisetheproducts.We,asyoungChinese
4consumers,alsolikespendingmoneyondininginfancyrestaurants,havingentertainment,anddoingsports,whichIthinkisGenZ’sconsumingfashion.
Answer2:Chineseparentsalwayssay“Don’tspendallofyourmoney.Saveitforarainyday.”Whenmakingfinancialdecisions,theChinesepreferto“save”ratherthan“spend”.However,theeconomicbehaviorofyoungChinesehaschangedandisnotthatdifferentfromyoungpeopleinothercountries.
Answer3:TraditionalChinesecultureplaysaprofoundlyimportantroleinyoungpeople.MostChineseyoungpeoplearestillveryrationalintheirspendinganddonotspendmoneyblindlyonluxuriesthattheycannotafford.Theyaremorelikelytospendwiselywhenmakingpurchasedecisions.
Culturemosaic
1Howdifferentculturesdealwithcash
Version1:Yes,Ihaveahabitofsaving.Savingmoneyisimportantbecauseitgivesmemorefinancialsecurity,stability,andfreedom.Havingsavingsalsoprotectsmeduringfinancialemergenciestoavoiddebtandreducesstress.Additionally,savingmoneyalsoenablesmetohelpothersandsupportmyfamilytosomeextent.
Everymonth,Iwillbudgetmylivingexpensesgivenbymyparentsrationallyandwisely.Apartfromessentiallivingexpenses,suchaseatingandaccommodation,clothing,anddailynecessities,Iwillsaveuptherestmoney.EveryyearattheChineseNewYear,Ireceiveredpacketsfrommyelders.Iwillputthemoneyinthebank,mostlywithlow-riskcapitalpreservationprojectstoavoidfinancialrisks.ThesavinghabitallowsmetorelyonmyselfwhenIneedtospendalargeamountofmoney,suchasongraduationtravel.
Version2:No,Idon’thaveahabitofsaving.ThetopreasonisthatIbelieveinthephilosophyof“livingfortoday”.Idon’tknowwhattomorrowwilloffer.Therefore,Iwanttoliveeachdaytothefullest.Iliketotrynewthingsandenjoynewexperiences.Ispendmymoneyonhobbies,suchascampingandrockclimbing,whichareveryexcitingbutalsocostly.TheotherreasonisthatIhavenofinancialincome.Myparentsprovidemewithmonthlylivingexpenses,soIhavetolivewithinmymeansanddon'thavemuchmoneytosave.AlthoughImayfindapart-timejobtoearnmoneyafterschool,IchoosenottodososinceIamspendingmytimemainlyonthestudy.Afterall,studyingismore
5importanttomenow.IplantosaveandinvestwiselyafterIgraduatefromuniversityandfindajob.ThenIcanbefinanciallyindependent,wiselybudgetmyincome,andachievefinancialsustainabledevelopment.2Fromanathematoacceptability:thestoryoflifeinsuranceIthinklifeinsuranceisveryimportantformeandmyfamily.
Astherearealwaysunexpectedaccidents,fatalinjuries,anddiseasesinourlives.Death,disability,illness,andotherhazardsinourlivesareallcalledpersonalhazards.Therefore,lifeinsurance,asamethodtodealwithpersonalhazards,isimportant.Ithelpstoprovidefinancialhelptotheinsuredperson.
ItistraditionallytabootomentionillnessordeathinChineseculture.Butinmodernsociallife,theserisksinevitablyexist.Overtheyears,myattitudetowardslifeinsurancehaschanged.Now,Iamwillingtobuylifeinsuranceformyselfandmyfamily.Inthisway,Icanatleastprotectmypropertyincaseofaccidentordanger.3Moneyfacts
I’dliketosharewithyouanewformofcurrency,calle-CNY.
Thee-CNY,ordigitalyuan,isacentralized,cash-likedigitalcurrencythatisexpectedtobeprimarilyusedforretailpaymentsinChina.Thee-CNYhasbeenappliedinoveramillioncases,coveringutilitypayments,catering,transportation,shopping,andgovernmentservices.ItcanbeunderstoodasthethirdlargestelectronicpaymenttoolafterWeChatPayandAlipay.
Themostimportantpurposeofthecentralbank’sintroductionofe-CNYistoprotectthesovereigntyofthecurrency,aswellastoenhancetheRMB'spositionintheinternationalmarket.Itisaimedatcreatingafinancialinfrastructurethatservesbillionsofpeoplearoundtheworld,suchassolvingthechallengeofsendingmoneyinternationallytopeopleallovertheworldinaconvenientandefficientway.
6
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