How Economic Inequality Harms Societies (Listening)

 The questions are based on the first 6 minutes of the lecture.

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The effect of income divisions on the global economy.
B) The degradation of wealth distribution systems in several countries.
C) The underdevelopment of social services in the United States.
D) The social damage done by poor wealth distribution.


2) At 1:48 in the lecture, the professor says, "The explanation of that paradox is that, within our societies, we're looking at relative income or social position, social status -- where we are in relation to each other and the size of the gaps between us. And as soon as you've got that idea, you should immediately wonder: what happens if we widen the differences, or compress them, make the income differences bigger or smaller?  And that's what I'm going to show you"

Why does he say, "what happens if we widen the differences, or compress them, make the income differences bigger or smaller?"

A) He is making a suggestion to governments with developed economies.
B) He is introducing the main point of the lecture.
C) He is asking the audience to come up with an answer.
D) He is introducing plans developed by the British government.


3) Which of the following would you expect from increased income inequality in a society? (Mark Yes/No for each choice)

A) Decreased social mobility.
B) Increased drug and alcohol addiction.
C) Improved children's math and literacy scores.
D) Increased life expectancy.
E) Increased infant mortality.


4) Why does the professor mention the UNICEF index of child well-being?

A) He wanted to use an independent set of criteria to strengthen his argument.
B) He believes that child well-being is the best indicator of the health of a society.
C) He believes his study is more convincing than the UNICEF one.
D) He is attempting to present a counter-argument to his research.


5) What is the relationship between trust and income inequality in a society?

A) Increased income inequality leads to higher levels of trust.
B) Lower levels of trust lead to increased income inequality
C) Higher levels of trust lead to decreased income inequality.
D) Decreased income inequality leads to higher levels of trust.