跟讀練習: Money: Humanity's Biggest Illusion - 通過影片學習英語口語

選擇練習模式

每種模式都會開啟全屏練習室。

221 句

如果句子過短或過長，請點選 Edit 進行調整。

If I asked you the question: What is man's greatest invention?

What would your answer be?

There's a lot of options.

Would it be fire?

Because it gives us warmth, protection, and the ability to cook our meals.

Or perhaps you would pick the wheel, because it's the driving force behind the beginnings of trade, commerce, and travel.

While both of these are excellent choices, Most of the time when we think about the greatest inventions of mankind, we tend to forget one of the most important ones of all.

Money.

But, unlike man's other great inventions, money is immaterial.

Maybe that's why we don't often think of it in the same breath as some of the other great inventions.

Things like fire in the wheel are tangible.

But not money.

Money is merely an idea.

An illusion whose value is non -existent, only determined by the importance we place on it.

or at least money as we know it today.

However, the fact that money is an illusion does not in any way undermine its importance.

Before we created money, we were forced to trade goods and services directly in what we refer to as the barter system.

people exchanging goods and services for other goods and services in return.

Because there was no arbitrary value placed on these items, Every single trade was determined by what each party was willing to give up for something they wanted.

It was kind of like a game.

If I wanted some of your vegetables for dinner but I only reared cattle, I would have to give you one of my animals in exchange for a bag of vegetables.

If I wanted shoes to wear but I only made tents, I would have had to give you an entire tent in exchange for a pair of shoes.

and immediately you can already see one of the major problems with this system of trade.

It's the asymmetry.

As a tent maker, there's no way I wouldn't feel cheated having to exchange an entire living space for simple footwear.

Because there was no standardized medium of exchange, it was very difficult to get two people who needed things from each other to come to an agreement.

Having to wait until a double coincidence of once where two

people need the exact opposite thing at the same time was also very difficult and inefficient.

And that wasn't all.

You see, Our money is not only a medium of exchange, it's also considered a store of value.

And before the invention of money, some people could never store their wealth for no fault of their own.

Think about the farmer who sells tomatoes and the man who makes tents.

The man who makes tents can create an entire village of real estate

and barter it out with anyone who needs a place to rest their head all year long.

And he would probably cash out on that.

But the farmer who sells tomatoes can only barter when tomatoes are in season.

And because tomatoes are perishable goods, You cannot keep them for a long period of time. So...

Although he would be putting in the same effort into his business as the tent maker, there's absolutely no way for him to remain wealthy all year long.

There's also the problem of having something that only very few people want.

Nowadays, when starting a business, You're often told to find a niche.

A small group of people who are very interested in what you have to offer.

Before money was a thing, That advice would have you left with nothing worth bartering.

The people who had the most were those who owned things that everyone wanted.

Things like weapons, animal skin, and salt.

But then since everyone knew that everyone wanted these things, They started buying them even if they didn't need them at the time, just so they could trade with them later.

And so commodity money became a thing.

People would exchange goods and services for the most common items, like salt or weapons, and just use that to trade for what they want from someone else.

from salt and weapons to tiny collectibles like shells and beads.

Humanity had found a better way to trade and transact.

Instead of exchanging goods and services for goods and services you may not need at the time,

You can exchange your goods and services for arbitrary objects to act as placeholders of value. and IOU.

or I -O -U After that, You can use these placeholders to get goods and services you actually want from someone else.

The idea was brilliant.

So brilliant that the entire world slowly moved away from the barter system to the money trading system.

But there was still one problem with this medium of exchange.

You see, for money to be worth anything, it needs to be scarce.

the more available something is, the lesser its implied value.

That's basic economics.

If everyone can get their hands on something, It can't be worth that much.

Right?

So things like sand or shells that you could easily pick up on any beach weren't really a good measure of value.

As a result, around the year 770 BC, the first metal coins were created in China.

As a sort of homage, the Chinese made miniature versions of the tools that were once regarded as currency, They made the coins circular so that it was easy to reach into your pocket

and take the mount without hurting your fingers.

Then they cast the coins in bronze.

This was it.

Money was finally worth something.

You couldn't just go to a beach somewhere and pick up bronze.

It was scarce.

It had value.

At this time, money wasn't yet an illusion.

The value of a coin was determined by the value of the metal the coin was made out of.

If you had a coin that was made from one gram of gold, It was worth one gram of gold.

You could easily measure it and see for yourself that it is, in fact, 1 gram of gold.

However, Kings and rulers quickly discovered the power of money.

They realized that the more of these tiny precious metals you had, the more power you could control.

And so in 600 BC, Aliades, King of Lydia, created the first official money mint.

He created the coins using a mix of silver and gold, and stamped an image on the coin to act as denominations.

Now people could easily tell the value of the piece of

metal they were holding simply by looking at the picture on its face.

But the kings of the world wanted more money, and precious metals were too expensive.

To produce more money, they started slimming down the coins.

then mixing the more expensive metals with cheaper metals.

Soon.

All the coins in circulation were worth less than what the image on their face said they were worth.

And so the illusion of money was born.

The value of the coin was no longer determined by the value of the metal.

The value of the coin was now simply what the rulers in the bank said it was.

So, one British pound sterling represented one pound of sterling silver.

However, when international trade became a thing, people realized that metal coins were too heavy to log around.

And so kings around the world started issuing IOU certificates for long distance trading.

Because these pieces of paper were stamped by the king, people trusted its value and believed that they could use it to get back whatever it was worth in coins.

And that was true for the time being.

As more of these IOU certificates flooded the market, People needed coins less and less.

until finally, The paper was worth what we believed it was worth.

even if we no longer exchanged it for physical pieces of gold and silver.

from ancient kings to modern -day governments and central banks.

Money has remained an illusion.

A mere representation whose value is determined by the importance people place on it.

100

The most valuable banknote in circulation today is the 10 ,000 Singapore dollars note.

101

Although not being produced anymore, This single piece of paper, worth $7 ,345 at the moment, is still regarded as a legal tender.

102

So you can still use it to buy things, valuable things like houses, cars, and even metals like gold.

103

The banknote itself costs less than 20 cents to produce.

104

But the illusion of the fiat currency system means it's as valuable as 120 grams of gold.

105

Fiat is the fancy word we use to describe the modern day illusion.

106

It's a Latin word that translates to "let it be done."

107

It's a decree by the government that In the case of money, determines what its value is and enforces it as legal tender.

108

The illusion of money is one that we never really think about.

109

But just like the kings of old, The governments of today understand the power of money, and As always.

110

want more of it.

111

They know that the more of these pieces of paper you have, the more power you have.

112

So what do they do?

113

Amen.

114

Well, They can simply create more pieces of paper out of thin air.

115

Yes, if for example the United States government wanted $340 million for I don't know, maybe another F -22 jet?

116

They can simply print the money to do so.

117

But there's one problem with this: inflation.

118

The thing about money is that primarily, it needs to be a means of exchange to be considered valuable.

119

So, the amount of money in circulation needs to reflect the output of the goods and services that are being produced.

120

When more money is printed than there are goods and services, all other things being equal.

121

The prices of these goods and services increase and the value of the money itself drops.

122

This is why many economists, and even everyday people like you and me, are worried about the current global reserve currency.

123

the United States dollar.

124

2020 was a terrible year for the entire world.

125

in the wake of the pandemic, Most economies had to be shut down.

126

The goods and services available and the general output of the economy was reduced to mere trickles.

127

and the world kind of came to a halt for a while.

128

Because there wasn't as much money flowing around, to keep the economy from going under and basically our world falling apart.

129

The US government started printing money at a rate faster than has ever been printed before in its entire existence.

130

Right now, 40 % of the US dollars in existence today were printed in the last 18 months alone.

131

That's Outrageous.

132

and because the output of the country hasn't really increased by that much, Eventually, the prices of the goods and services might start to skyrocket.

133

You can see this taking place in the price of commodities, such as lumber, which had as much as tripled in price from just a year ago.

134

If you haven't noticed, Some of the prices of the things at your favorite restaurants are now slightly higher than they were last year.

135

It's an ever so small increase.

136

Maybe the guac at Chipotle is 20 cents higher.

137

but it's happening right there under your nose.

138

On the surface, it seems like a good thing that governments decided to send out stimulus and unemployment checks to their citizens.

139

But the reality is, it's a double -edged sword.

140

Of course, it helps those most in need, and that's a good thing.

141

We're at the point where, because of inflation and a slowed economy, people really aren't able to get the right jobs at the right times.

142

Sometimes it's not even because they don't want them but because it's simply worse than the alternative.

143

For example, in the United States at least, if you're a waiter or a waitress, you aren't required by law to be paid even minimum wage.

144

Some are literally paid $2 - $3 an hour, with the rest of their income coming from tips.

145

But with a lot of restrictions and rules in place around the country, and not as many people going out, There's less customers.

146

Less customers with less money means less tips.

147

If your employees aren't making enough money, They're gonna quit.

148

Simple as that.

149

If your business doesn't have employees to help you run it, you're going to go under.

150

It's a domino effect.

151

But what can you even do?

152

When you can earn more money from unemployment and stimulus checks than you would from being employed, Why even look for a job in the first place?

153

You see

154

The Federal Reserve of the United States is a very sneaky

155

way for the government to essentially create money out of thin air

156

and pump it into the economy without people thinking too much about it.

157

Before 2020, The United States was $29 trillion in debt.

158

It's an unbelievable and inconceivable amount of money to even begin with.

159

This debt is obtained in the form of bonds and treasury notes, which are basically just pieces of paper that say the government will pay you so and so amount plus interest.

160

Right now, A 10 -year US Treasury bond will return you about 1 .23 % on your investment at expiry.

161

So, if you put in $1 ,000 today, you will have made $12 .30 by 2031.

162

That sounds terrible already, but to add icing onto the cake, it doesn't even keep up with inflation.

163

which is targeted to stay around 2 % a year.

164

It's a lot higher than that, but that's for another time.

165

By investing in government notes of your own country, which issues the currency you use every single day, you actually lose buying power over a decade.

166

It is weakened by the day.

167

But regardless, Banks, businesses, and individuals around the world buy these bonds and treasury notes, and the government uses all that money it gets back how it sees fit.

168

However, when it's time for the government to pay its debt, all the money they made has already been spent.

169

So they buy back all the treasuries and bonds, but only from the big financial institutions, and then pay them back with new money, created out of thin air.

170

Since March 2020, the Federal Reserve has bought back over $1 trillion in bonds, and is planning to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

171

With all the new money pumped into them by the government, banks can now give out more loans to people, earn more interest, and help grow the economy.

172

But this increases the total amount of money in circulation, reducing the value of each dollar.

173

With multi -trillion dollar stimulus payments and infrastructure packages, it makes you wonder how long this stuff can go on for.

174

New money steals value from old money.

175

The amount in your bank account doesn't change, but because of the new money the government has just printed out of thin air, Your money is no longer valuable as it once was.

176

Basically, every second you store your wealth in any fiat currency, such as the US dollar, It is being devalued.

177

You could stare at your bank balance and day by day, you'll be able to buy less and less things with whatever you have left.

178

The reality that money is nothing but an illusion is one that we must all embrace.

179

Because only then will the path to financial freedom become clear.

180

It's all a game.

181

A game that never truly ends.

182

Understanding that money does not have any intrinsic value in itself, but instead only inherits the value we give to it, will prevent you from trying to store up your wealth in currency.

183

Instead, using that money to acquire assets that we'll appreciate faster than inflation is the only way to win the game.

184

And it's not really winning, it's avoiding total loss.

185

As more and more money is printed each and every day, the value of each dollar in your pocket will continue to decrease.

186

but the dollar value of the assets around the globe will continue to appreciate in value.

187

But it's all a mirage, it's smoke and mirrors.

188

A stock market that is literally in up -only mode may make it seem like it's all okay, But it isn't.

189

It's all denominated in the same currency that is slowly dying each and every day.

190

For example, if you were to denominate the Dow Jones, which is just a performance measurement of 30 large United States companies.

191

In terms of gold instead of USD, you'll see that we're basically at the same place we were in 1997.

192

smoke and mirrors.

193

But what's the end goal of all of this?

194

With fiat and an unlimited supply of money, Will the value of each currency just continue to decrease until the end of time?

195

while the gap between the rich and poor just continued to grow wider and wider.

196

Or are we finally going to fix the problem as old as man itself, and stop placing our financial success in the hands of those who are destroying it day by day?

197

Only time will tell.

198

But just know, There is a way out.

199

This video was sponsored by Private Internet Access.

200

There's a lot of information you can find on someone with honestly just a few clicks.

201

Somebody's IP address can give you their location, and it's getting a lot easier to track down anybody in the world.

202

You see all the time where your favorite creators end up having crazy fans show up at their doorstep.

203

And this happens a lot more than you think.

204

With private internet access, everything changes.

205

They host a series of virtual private networks, and they essentially put a layer between you and the internet, giving you an extra step of privacy while you're online.

206

They've had over 30 million downloads and are one of the most customizable VPNs on the market.

207

It's 100 % open source, so you can literally go in and see how it works for yourself.

208

This is something I would recommend everyone try out, not because everyone has to worry about stalkers, but because its benefits extend far beyond that.

209

While helping safeguard your online privacy, they also block ads, trackers, and malicious websites.

210

And speaking of websites, you can use the VPN to access all your favorite content anywhere in the world.

211

If you're American but want to watch Australian Netflix, just connect to any of Private Internet Access's Australian VPNs and you're set.

212

It's that easy.

213

You can also use it on up to 10 devices with just one subscription.

214

I've found this to be the most out of any other VPN service I've used in the past.

215

I've personally been using it for the past few weeks and it's worked seamlessly.

216

If you're interested, click the link at the top of the description and check out Private Internet Access.

217

It costs less than $3 a month, and you'll get two months free on me.

218

So stay safe.

219

You'll thank yourself later.

220

you Thank you you you you you you

221

you you

下載應用

流利口語所需的一切

AI 發音評分逐句打分

音標練習掌握每個音

詞彙學習建立你的詞庫

詞彙遊戲邊玩邊學

掃碼

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

同頻道

FOR YOU

為什麼要用這個影片練習口語？

在這個影片中，講者深入探討了金錢這一人類社會的重要構成。通過分析金錢的本質和它在交易中所扮演的角色，學習者可以在一個實際的背景中練習英語口語。進行英語影子跟讀（英語影子跟讀）可以提升自信心，改善發音，讓你在使用英語交流時更加流利和自然。

通過模仿講者的句子結構和語調，學習者不僅能夠理解金錢的歷史和其對社會的影響，還能加強對複雜句子的掌握。這種方法有助於增強聽力理解力，同時提高口語表達能力。在此過程中，掌握正確的發音和語調，也是學習的一個重要環節。

語法與表達在語境中的運用

影片中使用了一些關鍵的語法結構和表達方式，學習者在進行 shadow speak（影子跟讀）時，可以關注以下這些要點：

條件句: “如果我想要你的蔬菜，我就必須給你我的牛。” 這一句子展示了條件關係，可以用於日常交流。
被動語態: “金錢被認為是一種價值的儲存方式。” 被動語態在表達客觀事即時非常常見，有助於提升寫作和口語的正式程度。
比較結構: “像帳篷製造者和銷售西紅柿的農民。” 對比的結構能夠清楚地傳達不同角色和觀點，讓對話更具層次感。

這些結構的應用，不僅提升了講者的論證力度，也為學習者提供了豐富的語言資源，可以通過 shadowing site（影子跟讀平臺）進行更深層的練習。

常見發音陷阱

在影片中，有一些單詞的發音可能會讓學習者感到困惑。例如，“money” 和 “illusion” 這兩個詞，在快速的語速下很容易發錯。此外，講者使用了英式發音與美式發音之間的差異，特別是在“value”一詞的發音上，學習者需要準確掌握不同的口音細節。

通過反覆練習，不僅提升了個人的發音技能，也能讓你在與他人進行交流時更具自信。因此，建議在進行口語練習時，多加註意這些發音的小細節，與他人進行對話時能更自然流暢。

影片中的語法

說話人最常用的結構，並附上影片中的原話：

結構	影片中的用法
現在完成時 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去發生但與現在仍有關聯的事	has remained · has ever been printed · hasn't really increased
被動語態 be + 過去分詞 — 強調發生了什麼，而不是誰做的	were forced · were created · was made
定語從句 who / which + 從句 — 補充說明人或事物	people who needed · man who makes · anyone who needs

什麼是跟讀法？

跟讀法 (Shadowing) 是一種有科學依據的語言學習技巧，最初開發用於專業口譯員的培訓，並由多語言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。這個方法簡單而強大：您在聽英語母語原聲的同時立即大聲重複——就像是一個延遲1-2秒緊跟說話者的影子。與被動聽力或語法練習不同，跟讀法強迫您的大腦和口腔肌肉同時處理並模模擬實的講話模式。研究表明它能顯著提高發音準確性，語調，節奏，連讀，聽力理解和口語流利度——使其成為雅思口語備考和真實英語交流最有效的方法之一。

影子跟讀法: 閱讀完整分步指南 →

跟讀練習: Money: Humanity's Biggest Illusion - 通過影片學習英語口語

選擇練習模式

下載應用

同頻道

Why Nihilism is Taking Over Modern Society

Quantum Consciousness Theory

Why Being Single is Better Than You Think

Stoicism: Become Undefeatable

Every Level of Consciousness

The Psychology of People Who Never Feel Good Enough

The Psychology of People Who Don't Post Their Photos on Social Media

推薦影片

Everything Valuable from an MBA in 25 minutes

🇬🇧 Real English Conversation - Money 🇬🇧 Intermediate English Listening Practice B1/B2

A.I. ‐ Humanity's Final Invention?

Misemployment

Have We Made The World Too Convenient?

The Real Reason We Left the Gold Standard

The AI Bubble Survives on $1.65 Trillion in Hidden Debt

Podcast Nâng Cao - Cùng Mình Nói Về Tiền | Học 37 Từ Vựng Hàng Ngày | Tập 23

Opportunity Cost and Tradeoffs

If you Don't Understand CREDIT, You Don't Understand Money

RE2 Unit 11B

The strange science of your ever-changing identity

為什麼要用這個影片練習口語？

語法與表達在語境中的運用

常見發音陷阱

影片中的語法

什麼是跟讀法？