Dialogue:

retail therapy

dialogue 1

Jingjing: Mark, have you got anything ______?

Mark: I haveto ______ this week, like any other, even though______. What about you?

Jingjing: You know, it's a good time to______. I'll consider someadditions for my winter wardrobe. But I don't need much ______.

Mark: Samehere. Socks and Legos are the only thing______.

Jingjing: Your wife told me about ______, and how she needs to ______.

Mark: Oh,OK. Do you ever go to______?

Jingjing: Ofcourse! My dance studio is in a shopping mall. And my gym is verynear a different one. It's so hard to ______ that I doubt______ anytime soon.

Mark: Yeah,and ______ are getting filled up with restaurants and ______.

Jingjing: Which is another reason______—even on the way to thesubway!

Mark: Iknow, right. Do you go shopping ______?

Jingjing: Iused to, especially back when I was______ and made a daily run ______.

Mark: Lotsof people do that. When you've spent 28 yuan ______, then 128 fora shirt sounds like______.

Jingjing: Don't I know it. And then______ or more andhave to think about how to ______ for the rest of the week.

Mark: Do youthink a lot of people______ as a result of their ______?

Jingjing: Ijust read something about that. It seems to be ______.

Mark: Howso? ______.

Jingjing: Well, according to the article I saw, 68 percent of millennials said______, while only 53% of Gen-X'ers and 26 percent of Baby Boomers______.

Mark: That______ for Baby Boomers. Their parents ______. As a Gen-X'er myself, I'd say those people who talked to researchersmight only have been talking about things they did recently.

Jingjing: When you______ as a young adult, you'd buy lots of stuff to______?

Mark: Sure. And I knew______.

Jingjing: Everyone should______ when they're young, I guess. I just hopeit doesn't ______.

Mark: ______. Tell me more about the article when I come back.

dialogue 2

Jingjing: Mark, now that you have your______, are you ready to hear abouthow many people have ______?

Mark: Youdon't want to wait for my coffee to cool______? OK then,how many?

Jingjing: ______ percent of respondents to the survey______ I read.

Mark: Thatsounds like what I've been hearing in the news. It might______—say, if someone ______.

Jingjing: Iwouldn't know. Those respondents only said they ______.

Mark: Thenagain, I heard that a huge number of people ______.

Jingjing: What now?

Mark: Revolving their debt: they______ from one credit card to payoff another one. With three banks, one person can manage their debt thatway, as long as they ______.

Jingjing: ______. But yeah, if someone just graduated and startedworking in the city, it might be what they have to do for a year or two untilthey______.

Mark: That'swhat too many people tell themselves: ______—when I get promoted orsomething, this debt ______.

Jingjing: Don't tell me you're one of t______ that thinks any debt youcan't ______ shouldn't be borrowed.

Mark: OK, Iwon't tell you that. Back to ______, though. It sounds like it______, rather than ______.

Jingjing: Ifpeople get themselves into ______, it can be. But there'splenty of evidence that______.

Mark: Idefinitely feel ______.

Jingjing: Does it______ whether or not______?

Mark: Itdefinitely does. I ______where everything was too expensiveor ______.

Jingjing: Same here. That article said that shopping ______,many times over. People had ______. They were three timesless likely to feel sad after buying something.

Mark: Thatsounds about right. Hopefully ______.

Jingjing: 82% of people reported______ about what they had bought. So,it looks like shopping can ______.

Mark: Well,I'm glad shopping malls are ______, ______.

Jingjing: Right, we can always go there to have coffee or milk tea at least,______.

Mark: Ha ha. That's twenty-first century______!

new words andphrases

in thatdepartment:

keep<someone> on a tight leash:

<be> out<a certain amount of money>:

impulse purchase:

stress spending:

<be> on thesame page <with someone>:

max out a creditcard:

revolving debt:

a debt cycle:

retail therapy: