ЕГЭ – диалог (интервью) 46 с вопросами и выбором ответов

1. Jean was surprised to find out that
1) people spend more than they earn.
2) poor people waste so much money.
3) poor people can become wealthy in ten years’ time.

2. Jean believes that to be more financially secure, a person should
1) buy expensive things.
2) get an honest feedback from a mentor.
3) be ready for all possible changes in life.

3. To increase your optimism, Jean advises
1) to keep track of positive things.
2) to get a new job.
3) to save for tomorrow.

4. According to Jean Chatzky, if you want to get rich, you should
1) stimulate the growth of your brain.
2) play role games.
3) train your mind.

5. Jean considers her exercises important because
1) they come from conversations with academics.
2) they help people to concentrate on their aims.
3) they involve challenging questions.

6. Jean believes that thinking about yourself in the third person
1) helps to understand people’s attitude to us.
2) makes you feel very self-conscious.
3) helps to find out your negative attributes.

7. Jean Chatzky emphasizes that in the present economy everyone needs
1) to put up the sign saying ‘Breathe’.
2) to be thankful for what they have.
3) to remember that they have to make a difference.

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I believe that even people who are deeply in debt can become wealthy in ten years or less. The first step is taking control of spending. The single fastest way to fall from financial security is spending more than you earn. So start living on less than you make. Track your spending—every cent—for a month. Then review your notes to see where you can make cuts. It shocked me how much financially unstable people are spending on entertainment, which I see as an unnecessary expense. Another way is to locate a mentor, someone who can offer advice and honest feedback. The simple act of taking this initiative is a motivating force.

The next step is looking towards tomorrow. Even people happy in their jobs today understand that things are changing in every profession and that they might not be secure tomorrow. They’re looking for jobs now—and not just on the Internet. Jobs are still acquired through people, someone who knows someone who knows someone. And just to be clear: There are lots of jobs in health care, energy, the government, and elsewhere. Lastly, these people are saving like crazy. Now is not the time to buy that 42-inch flat-screen TV if you can’t afford it.

A poor person should really learn to be as optimistic as a millionaire.

Try this simple exercise. For the next three days, notice and write down five good things happening in your world. After three days, you’ll see that good things are part of a pattern in your life. This will make you more optimistic, and optimism is a wealth magnet. Study after study shows that people with faith in themselves and in the future get more jobs and keep more jobs. They save for tomorrow rather than spend for today because they’re convinced there will be a tomorrow.

Playing Sudoku is also very useful if you want to be wealthy. It keeps your brain agile. Word puzzles, number games, brainteasers—they all help stimulate nerve cells, which makes your mind sharper over time. Having more mental clarity makes you a more flexible thinker, and that’s essential for wealth.

I’ve designed a set of special exercises to help people overcome financial difficulties. Most of them come from conversations I’ve had with academics who spend their days dissecting risk taking, gratitude, and resilience, qualities that the wealthy seem to have. The exercises are valuable because they help make changes real and they give you a goal and focus. Most involve keeping a journal or asking yourself challenging questions. One that’s really valuable is writing about yourself in the third person. New research shows that when you write about yourself as ‘he’ or ‘she,’ it takes away some of the self-consciousness. You can see if you’re emphasizing positive or negative attributes and understand how others see you. From there, you can start to make changes.

The research being done by psychologist Bob Emmons on gratitude made a difference. His idea is that grateful individuals lead happier, more successful lives. I’m a pretty optimistic person, but being in and around New York City, I sometimes get cranky. Bob got me to appreciate the everyday more — to stop comparing, to do things for others, to use visual cues to trigger me, like the sign I put up in my house that says ‘Breathe.’ In this economy, it’s something everyone needs to remember.