Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation
Transcript
The first item in the news today is the recent elections that took place across the country. This was a crucial vote, which may see a dramatic change in how the country develops over the coming years. Overall, a 54.5 per cent voter turnout was registered. This represents an increase of 11 per cent over the previous election and six per cent above the average for the past 50 years. There has also been a slight change in demographics, with an increase in youth turnout in the 18- to 24- and 24- to 29-year-old brackets. Despite this increase, young people are still less likely to vote than older people; 84 per cent of voters in the 70 plus age group came to the polling stations.
Moving on, the global digital powerhouse ONK today posted quarterly results which were above forecast. Back in March, Tim Bolling, CEO, issued a profit warning over fears that there would be losses following the recall of their leading product, the 40d device. In fact, the company posted quarterly revenue of US$14.8 billion which represents an increase of 11 per cent from the same quarter a year ago. They also announced that they had sold 21 million 40d devices over the quarter. The company has provided the information that with this level of revenue, there will be a gross margin of 34 to 35 per cent, ultimately leading to a US$1.20 per share cash dividend awarded to shareholders.
And in our final news item we ask, will we soon be saying goodbye to coins and notes forever? The nationwide trend of using cashless payment options is increasing. There are a number of reasons for this development. A key reason for this is a growing interest in reducing the number of items people need to leave their homes with. As almost everyone carries a smartphone with them, and many people also have smartwatches, the ability to pay for things using one of these two technologies is particularly appealing. More and more retailers are accepting cashless payments and in some cases they've stopped accepting cash altogether.
After my analysis, young people do not like voting in politics, and also people who use cash payment instead of using headphones as a payment method.
From Pontianak, Indonesia
I think cashless payment is really good, because it is very easy for people, especially if we forget to bring cash, then we can pay using smartphone. But, I want to ask, is this trend effective enough for all ages? especially for the elderly who have difficulty in using smartphones?
- From Pontianak, Indonesia
For a beginner like me, this level is a bit difficult, but after I translated it into my language, this adds to my insight.
From Pontianak, Indonesia.
With love
For me, using cashless payment is more simple than the cash payment. But for some people cashless payment is quite difficult to use. For the audio file today is quite difficult for me.
From Pontianak, Indonesia
It is related to me, the cashless payments are increased. Almost 80 percent of my friends are using cashless payments at the University of Tanjungpura, Indonesia. As a student, sometimes in a hurry, I forgot my wallet at home. Unfortunately, I can't use cashless payments at the canteen because the owner of the canteen is an old woman. I think she didn't know how to use the cashless payments application. I hope I can use cashless payments everywhere because it is easier than bringing cash and you got chance lost your money when bring cash.
Pontianak, Indonesia.
From Pontianak, Indonesia.
I find the audio file to be quite intriguing. Personally, I believe people should learn about politics even if they aren't too interested in it since it'll govern the way that they live their lives in the future. I extend a gesture of gratitude to the British Council for providing a well-made listening material regarding the matter.
-From Pontianak, with love.
S. B.
well, in the last few years I have noticed a new trend appeared in the country where I live, actually, I am talking about VAT(value added taxes) I have no idea if everybody knows about it or not, but it is something very annoying as it has an increasing rate, for example, VAT was only 5% at 2019-2022 and suddenly at 2021, it jumps to reach 15%. The government has promised to reduce that rate in the few coming months, as they noticed alot of complaints from both consumers and producers.
I can see and touch the changes that occur in our country and city. also I follow the news about changes but I don't remember the numbers and statistics.
I rarely use cash to pay something. I prefer to use my credit card for payment or I use my phone for transfering money
Well, related to the increasing use of bicycles in my country as a mean of transport, there was an increase of 15% in their use over the las 2 years according to the statistics given by the capital government, that is part due to the new infrastructure built in the city and because of the pandemic, which cause a decrease in the use of the public transport like the buses or taxis, lots of people changed the bus as a mean of transport for the bicycle or electric bicycles, but there is a lack of good cultural driving practices in the drivers of cars and other motor vehicles to respect the bicycles in general in the traffic, I hope these to change with time and more drivers take the bicycle as an other vehicle as well as the cars.
Thanks for the lesson.
Great site!