附教学材料:
北师大版《英语》选择性必修第一册Unit 2 Success Lesson 1 Money vs Success
Angela Johnson Interviews Ex-millionaire Jason Harley
For a lot of people, becoming a millionaire is a symbol of success and they set this as their ultimate goal. They spend half of their time dreaming up ways of getting rich and achieving the success they expect, and the rest of their time thinking about all the things they will do once they become rich. But do all millionaires get the sense of success they were looking for after they achieve their goals? Some continue to worry about money when they become millionaires—they worked hard to become wealthy, but then they need to continue making money so they don't lose the sense of success they have achieved. However, there are people who have turned their backs on their millions and found other forms of success in their lives. Jason Harley is one example.
Sixteen years ago, Jason was a college professor with a huge six-bedroom house and a fortune of two million dollars. Today he lives in a small dormitory room with only second-hand furniture. There are certainly no signs that Jason is a rich and successful man! There is a small garden outside with a few fruit trees, which Jason enjoys taking care of. He also grows some vegetables and a few flowers. He gets his clothes and a lot of other things from charity shops.
But Jason appreciates this change. He is pleased to give up the lifestyle of a rich man. He was tired of being regarded as living a successful life, as a person who had everything while many people had nothing. He made the choice to give all his money away. And this, he said, brought him happiness and a sense of success in life.
“I don't need a lot of money. I don't want to buy more things. I have enough,” said Jason. “What I want is to live simply and be helpful to others. A few years ago, I was a millionaire, but I knew millions of people died of hunger every year, and there were places with no schools and no teachers. So many people could never go to school. They didn't have the chance to learn and get on in life. This worried me a lot and I felt very guilty being a rich man without doing anything.”
Therefore he gave away all his money to charities. Whenever he had more than two thousand dollars, he would give away small bank notes to homeless people in the streets of local areas. “It was a kind of satisfaction and a real sense of success that I had never felt before,” said Jason. “Sure, many people think that ‘success' means having millions in the bank or a well-paid job. But I think my sense of achievement comes from helping others and finding true meaning in life.”
Most people believe when they are living comfortably and earning enough money, they will have no worries. However, most people never feel they have earned enough. Jason Harley decided to drop out of this kind of lifestyle, and he discovered that having only a little money made him free. Are there any things he misses from his past? “No, I'm much happier now, because I am living according to my values. Success is not measured by how much money you have but by how you understand the true meaning of life.”
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