Rich and Poor

Rich and Poor

by | Jul 9, 2019 | Learn more words

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Rich and Poor
Learn more words

THE BLUE TREE

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CEF B1

CEFR B1

Intermediate

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warm up

Answer the question below.

  • What’s your attitude to money?
  • Are you good with money? Can you manage your money well?
  • How would your life change if you were filthy rich?
Rich and poor
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STUDY SECTION

Study the words and expressions for talking about wealth and poverty. 

WORDS MEANING RICH
  • wealthy
    She comes from a wealthy family, who own houses in London and Paris.
  • prosperous
    After the war, Germany became one of Europe’s most prosperous countries.
  • well-to-do
    He wants to find a husband from a well-to-do background for his daughter.
  • comfortably off
    When the children were small we never had much money, but now we seem to be comfortably off.
  • affluent
    As people become more affluent, so their standard and style of living improves.
EXTREMELY RICH
  • be loaded
    Did you know Peter has three houses? He must be loaded.
  • be rolling in it
    Don’t worry about him. He’s rolling in it. Clearly, he can afford to pay for it.
  • stinking rich
    This gorgeous woman walked in, beautifully dressed and obviously stinking rich.
  • filthy rich
    Gregory is filthy rich but he never gives a penny to charity.
  • be worth a fortune
    The Chief Executive started her career as a secretary, and now she’s worth millions.
  • have money to burn
    Every time I see her she’s wearing something new. She must have money to burn.
PERSON WHO IS RICH
  • fat cat
    A very rich and powerful person, usually in business or politics
    Why should those fat cats get rich at our expense?
  • new money
    People who have recently become rich
    He’s not quite sure who the Joyces are, because they are new money.
  • tycoon
    A rich and powerful person who is involved in business or industry
    Tapie, business tycoon and football club owner, was appointed Minister for Cities.
  • be born with a silver spoon in the mouth
    To be rich because you come from a rich family
    You can hardly know what it means to be poor as you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. 
  • to live in the lap of luxury
    To live in very comfortable and expensive conditions
    After winning the reward for the best salesperson, we spent two weeks in the hotel living in the lap of luxury.
TO BECOME RICH
  • make good
    He’s a local boy made good.
  • marry into money
    Sue married into money when she found the Sheik. 
  • go from rags to riches
    America is full of stories of people who went from rags to riches. 
  • be set up for life
    After winning the lottery, Rob is set up for life. Provided, he manages his money well. 
  • to strike it rich
    Jack has struck it rich when he launched the social media site. 
OTHER MEANINGS OF RICH
  • large amount
    Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C.
  • full of interest
    The area has a very rich history.
  • food that has a lot of taste
    The sauce was very rich.
  • colours that are bright and vivid
    A rich dark brown colour.
HAVING LITTLE MONEY
  • poor
    She was born in a poor district of Chicago in 1925.
  • badly off
    She was quite badly off for a while after her husband died.
  • impoverished
    His family became so impoverished they were forced to sell the farm.
  • destitute
    The rest of her family all died in a smallpox epidemic, leaving her destitute.
NOT HAVE MONEY AT THE MOMENT
  • hard up
    I’m a little hard up just now – can I pay you back next week?
  • broke
    We’re always broke at the end of the month.
  • skint
    I’m really skint – you couldn’t lend me a few quid could you?
  • be down-on-your-luck
    In the film, Williams plays a down-on-his-luck salesman whose wife has left him.
FEWER LIFE OPPORTUNITIES
  • disadvantaged
    Quinn argued that an increase in the minimum wage would help the most disadvantaged Americans.
  • deprived
    Children growing up in deprived areas are far more likely to turn to crime and drug abuse.
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PRACTICE

Complete the flashcard exercise below. Decide if the word on the card describes somebody who is rich or poor. Flip the card to see an example sentence. 

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TEST

Let’s see how well you remember these words and expressions for rich and poor. Complete these sentences with the words from the example you read and listened to.

Score more than 80% and get a beautiful certificate!

UPS! Ta sekcja jest dostępna tylko dla moich uczniów. Zapraszam na wyjątkowe lekcje angielskiego online lub na Mokotowie w Warszawie. Napisz do mnie na hi@thebluetree i umów się na darmową lekcję próbną.
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DISCUSSION

Answer the question below. Try using vocabulary from the lesson.

  • Are there more pros or cons in being prosperous?
  • Should well-off people pay more taxes?
  • If you had money to burn, what would you spend it on?
  • Does money change people? What happens to people when they become rich in a relatively short time?
  • Is it possible to be happy on little money?
  • Have you ever heard anybody who was rich but lost their fortune? What happened?
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LESSON GLOSSARY

Rich or Poor

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COMMENTS

Build some sentences to illustrate the meanings of words which were new from this lesson.