跟读练习: More Money, Same Problems — Here's Why | Easy English Conversation | Mike's Podcast - 通过视频学习英语口语

选择练习模式

每种模式都会打开全屏练习室。

75 句

如果句子过短或过长，请点击 Edit 进行调整。

Welcome back to Mike's English Podcast.

Real English, real conversations for every level.

Here's something strange.

You get a raise at work, more money every single month, and somehow you still feel broke.

Sound familiar?

Today I want to talk about why that happens, and by the end of this episode,

you'll understand something about your own brain that most people never actually figure out.

I'll be honest with you this happened to me I got a raise a

while back more money coming in every month

and six months later I somehow had less in savings than before made no sense to me at the time

so let's break it down together and

while we do you'll pick up some really natural English expressions people use

when talking about money way beyond just I don't have enough so let's start with the basic idea.

Psychologists call this lifestyle inflation when your spending increases at the same speed as your income.

You earn more so you upgrade everything.

A bigger apartment, a nicer car, more expensive restaurants.

And here's the tricky part.

It happens so gradually you don't even notice it happening.

In a few minutes I'll tell you about a specific trick your brain plays on you

that makes this almost impossible to avoid without a plan.

It actually has a name, and once you hear it, you'll recognize it instantly in your own life.

One really useful phrase here is to live beyond your means.

It means spending more money than you actually earn.

For example, after his promotion, he started living beyond his means.

Quick tip, you'll hear beyond your means a lot in financial conversations.

You can also flip it around.

Living within your means means spending less than or equal to what you earn.

Keep both of those in your pocket.

Now, here's that trick I promised you.

It's called hedonic adaptation, a strange psychological name for a pretty simple idea.

Humans quickly get used to good things, and then those things just stop making them happy.

Think about it.

The first time you eat at a fancy restaurant, it feels amazing.

The tenth time, it just feels normal.

Your brain resets its idea of normal every single time your situation improves.

And that's exactly why more money doesn't automatically mean more happiness or more savings.

So when people say money can't buy happiness, this is actually part of why.

Not because money is bad, but because we adapt to it so fast that the happiness just quietly disappears.

Here's a useful expression for this.

The thrill wears off.

It means the excitement fades over time.

For example, the thrill of the new car wore off after just a few weeks.

Now, there's a social side to this too, and honestly, it's a bit uncomfortable to talk about.

It's called social comparison, comparing your lifestyle to the people around you.

This one is huge.

When your friends upgrade their lifestyle, you unconsciously feel pressure to match it, even if nobody says a single word about it directly.

And in a moment, I'll give you the exact phrase people use in English when they're trying to impress others with money.

It's more common than you'd think.

The phrase is, peeping up with the Joneses.

It means trying to match the lifestyle of your neighbors or friends, especially by spending money you don't really need to spend.

It actually comes from an old comic strip, but people still use it constantly today.

For example, they bought a bigger house just to keep up with the Joneses.

It's a great phrase, honestly, because it captures something everyone secretly understands.

So, if this happens to almost everyone naturally, is there actually a way to avoid it?

because I definitely wish someone had told me this a year before it happened to me.

There is a way, and it's simpler than you'd think.

Stick with me for one more minute, because this is honestly the most useful part of the whole episode.

The trick financial experts recommend is called paying yourself first.

Before you spend anything from your new income, you automatically move a percentage of it straight into savings as if it doesn't exist.

Your lifestyle simply adjusts to the income you see, not the income you actually have.

It's such a simple shift in thinking when you really sit with it.

You're not fighting your brain's natural behavior, you're just working around it.

You can't stop lifestyle inflation completely, and honestly, you probably shouldn't.

Enjoying more of your money is a...

Okay, let's do a quick scenario before we wrap up.

Imagine your salary just increased by 20%.

What would you actually do?

And more importantly, how would you say it in English?

Would you say, I'm going to treat myself, meaning buying something nice for yourself as a reward?

Or would you say, I'm going to pay myself first, meaning saving before spending anything?

Both are completely normal, natural English expressions, but now you understand exactly what's happening in your brain behind each choice.

Try it right now.

Say one sentence out loud describing what you would actually do with extra money using at least one expression from today's episode.

Thanks so much for listening today.

If this episode changed how you think, even a little, follow the podcast, and I'll see you in the next one.

下载应用

流利口语所需的一切

AI 发音评分逐句打分

音标练习掌握每个音

词汇学习建立你的词库

词汇游戏边玩边学

扫码

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

FOR YOU

本课的词汇与口语要点

这节 B2 级别的口语课以视频“More Money, Same Problems — Here's Why”为素材。视频中反复出现的词有：lifestyle, English, spending, phrase, expression。这段视频共有 75 个句子、899 个单词可供跟读。讲话部分时长为 6:20。说话人语速平稳，每分钟约 142 个词，很适合跟读。 86% 的单词属于英语最常用的 3,000 词，其余的词建议在练习前先学一下。

视频中的重点词汇

视频中最难的 15 个单词，附发音和释义：

单词	发音	释义
inflation 名词	/ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/	通貨膨脹 /通货膨胀, 通脹 /通胀
podcast 名词	/ˈpɑdˌkæst/	播客
psychologist 名词	/ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/	心理學家 /心理学家
reset 动词	/ɹiːˈsɛt/	重置
fade 动词	/feɪd/	衰落, 枯萎
tenth 形容词	/tɛnθ/	第十
tricky 形容词	/ˈtɹɪk.i/	麻烦
adapt 动词	/əˈdæpt/	適應 /适应
secretly 副词	/ˈsiː.kɹɪt.li/	偷偷
adjust 动词	/əˈd͡ʒʌst/	調整 /调整
importantly 副词	/ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/	重要的是...
disappear 动词	/dɪsəˈpɪɹ/	消失
quietly 副词	/ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/	悄悄地, 安靜地 /安静地
uncomfortable 形容词	/ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/	不舒服
scenario 名词	/sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/	腳本 /脚本, 場景 /场景

视频中出现的短语动词

单词	释义
figure out 动词	弄清楚
pick up 动词	拾取, 撿 /捡

视频中的语法

说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：

结构	视频中的用法
比较级 -er than / more … than — 比较两个事物	more money than · more common than · simpler than
动词 + -ing enjoy、keep、stop… + -ing — 后接 -ing 形式的动词	started living · stop making
“will” 表将来 will + 动词 — 决定、承诺或预测	you'll understand · I'll be · you'll pick
现在进行时 am/is/are + -ing — 此刻或近期正在发生的事	they're trying · You're not fighting

需要注意的发音

说话人用了 23 次缩略和弱读形式，例如 I'll, you'll, don't。请按听到的简短形式来说。

“th” 音: thrill /θɹɪl/, tenth /tɛnθ/
“sh” 和 “zh” 音: inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/, unconsciously /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəsli/, adaptation /ˌæd.æpˈteɪ.ʃən/
长单词——注意重音位置: unconsciously /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəsli/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, adaptation /ˌæd.æpˈteɪ.ʃən/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/

中文母语者容易读错的音：

词尾辅音 — 要读清楚，后面不要加元音: podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/, hedonic /ˈhiːdənɪk/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, reset /ɹiːˈsɛt/, fade /feɪd/
/r/ 和 /l/ 的区别: thrill /θɹɪl/, secretly /ˈsiː.kɹɪt.li/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/
/æ/ — 嘴张大，不要读成 /e/: podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/, adapt /əˈdæpt/, adaptation /ˌæd.æpˈteɪ.ʃən/, wrap /ɹæp/

如何用这段视频练习

先完整听一遍视频，不要开口，记下不认识的单词。
用正常速度逐句跟读，每句重复到你的节奏与说话人一致为止。
录下自己的声音并与原声对比，特别注意 inflation, podcast, psychologist 这类单词。

什么是跟读法？

跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。

影子跟读法: 阅读完整分步指南 →

跟读练习: More Money, Same Problems — Here's Why | Easy English Conversation | Mike's Podcast - 通过视频学习英语口语

选择练习模式

下载应用

推荐视频

The Things Money Can't Buy 🌱 ｜ Real English Conversation

Why Earning More Still Doesn't Feel Like Enough

[B1] How to Save Money and Spend Smart | English Listening & Speaking Practice

Why You Should Stop Comparing Your English | English Speaking Practice

07.b Wealth Steps MS - Effortless Business English

B1 English Listening Practice - Midlife Crisis

Learn the English Phrases "that kind of money" and "rolling in it"

#108 Talking about the cost of living | SBS Learn English

Understand Native Speakers With One Funny Story | ENGLISH PODCAST

Money Is Easier to Spend When the Payment Feels Invisible | B1 English Shadowing

Do This EVERY Time You Get Paid (Paycheck Routine)

Choose yourself first | Easy English Podcast Conversation in Daily Life | Learn English Fast