Uint3
II. Basic Listening Practice
1.Script
M: Amy, sit down, we need to talk. Your mother and I are going to separate.
W: What! Are you crazy? You can’t do that! What will my friends say? I just want to have a normal family.
Q: What is the girl saying?
2.Script
M: Good evening, Mrs. Jones. The manager sent you these roses and his best wishes to you both for a happy anniversary.
W: Thank you. We like the room and the service here, and we especially appreciate the manager’s consideration/
Q: What can we learn from the conversation?
3. Script
W: While I’m scrambling the eggs, could you put the flour into the bowl?
M: You bet, darling. I’ll also turn the oven on so that it gets warmed up.
Q: Where does this conversation probable take place?
4. Script
W: I have a very important meeting tonight, and I’m afraid I can’t miss it.
M: But this evening is the parent s’meeting at school, and I was expecting you’d come to it. OK, I’ll phone Dad, maybe he and his girlfriend will come.
Q: What can be inferred from the conversation?
5. Script
W1: So you’re still single? If you’d listen to me and used the Internet, you’d have a husband by now.
W2: I did use the Internet. I posted an ad that read “Husband Wanted”. There were dozens of e-mail responses. But they all said pretty much the same thing: You can have mine.
Q: What can we infer from the conversation?
Keys: 1.C 2.A3.B 4.C 5.D
III. Listening In
Task1: Reasons for a Divorce
Script
W: I’m divorcing my husband.
M: How long have you been married?
W: Thirteen years.
M: Do you have children?
W:Yes, and I have to protect them from any more harm from my husband’s irresponsibility
M: So, what are your grounds for divorce?
W: Well, first of all, he keeps changing jobs. We’ve had moved four times in thirteen years!
M: And, you believe that will be good grounds for divorce?
W: I do have a right to stability for my children and myself, don’t I?
M: Aren’t they his children, too?
W: But my husband isn’t fulfilling his duties!
M: Is he paying the bills?
W: Well, yes, but we just live around the poverty line. Our kids are being teased by other kids at school because we can’t dress them in good clothes! We have to live in a small department and drive an old car!
M: Does the car run?
W: Yes, but it looks OLD!
M: Do you yell at him and call him names?
W: Well, he yells at me!
M: So, those are the reasons to not honor your husband. Are you going to give him joint custody in this divorce?
W: No, just visitation rights.
M: Why?
W: Because the law permits me to.
M: And, what about the financial demands of this divorce?
W: I’m demanding half of all we have, which isn’t much, and large support payments. After thirteen years marriage, the woman wants to divorce her husband, claiming he is irresponsible. When asked for the specific grounds for divorce, she gives these reasons: First, he keeps changing jobs, and the family has had to move four times in thirteen years, but she wants stability for her children and herself. Second, although he is paying the bills, they just live around the poverty line. Her children ar
e being teased by other children for not dressing good clothes. Also, they had to live in a small apartment and drive an old car, though it still runs. Worse still, the husband yells at
her, though she admits she also yell at him and calls him names. As for the divorce arrangements, the woman will give the husband only visitation rights instead of joint custody. Moreover, the woman will demand half of all they have and large support payments.
Task 2: What four-letter words?
Script
Dorothy was the only child of her family, born when her parents were mid-aged. They spoiled her badly. At the age of 33 she still lived at home. Her mother and father treat her like a princess. She seemed perfectly content with that situation, so her friends were surprised when she announced she would soon get married. People who knew her well said the marriage wouldn’t last long. But for the present, she and her new husband approached happy.
As soon as the newly couple returned from their honeymoon, the bride called her mother.
“How does everything go?” her mother asked.
“Oh, Mom,”she began, “the honeymoon was lovely! So romantic! We had a wonderful time. But on our back, Bob started using terrible language. Stuff I’d never heard before. Really awful four-letter words. You’ve got to come get me and take me home. Please, Mom!” the new bride sobbed over the telephone.
“But, honey,” the mother asked, “What four-letter words?”
“I can’t tell you, Mom. They’re too awful! Come get me, please!”
“Darling, you must tell me what has upset you so much. Tell me what four-letter words he used.”
Still sobbing, the bride said, “Mom, words like dust, wash, iron, and cook.”
Keys: FTFFT
Task3: A Woman Who Chose Not to Remarry
Script
After 17 years of marriage, my husband left me for my best friend, Monica. What I had feared most b
ecame reality: I became the single parent of two young children. My daughter grew increasingly unhappy. Seven-year-old Joanna had anxiety attacks when ever she was left alone for more than a few minutes. Five-year-old Sophie would vomit every meal. Under the psychological pressure, I thought about remarriage. My
friends arranged dinner with single men and invited me to parties to meet the latest “someone special”.
But later I changed my mind. A colleague of mine said, “Second marriages usually end in divorce, and children are destroyed by it.” There is some truth in his words. Research published in 2004 showed that children in blended families were no more emotionally healthy than those in single-parent families.
Not long ago, my now-teenage daughter and I went to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. While eating, we talked about a friend of ours who was divorcing her second husband. We were worried about how the break would harm her three children, two of whom were struggling to get free of drugs. Joanna put down her fork and looked at me. “Mom, I’m glad you didn’t remarry,”she said. “If you had divorced again, I might have tried drugs or even consider suicide.” At that moment, I realized, once again, that singleness was right choice for me.
1.What was the speaker most afraid of?
2.Which of the following is NOT true?
3.What did the speaker’s colleague say?
4.Which of the following is true?
5.If the speaker had divorced again, what might her daughter, Joanna, have done? Kes: 1C 2.A3. B 4.B 5.B
IV. Speaking Out
MODEL 1 Is youth wasted on the young?
Amy: I’d like to talk to you, so stop what you’re doing for a minute.
Bill:What is it, Amy? I’m having a hectic time working on this report for tomorrow’s meeting.
Amy: Well, you’re always pretty busy, and it’s been more five years, almost six, since we were married.
Bill:Yes, time has gone so fast, but they’ve been good years.
Amy: I know, but I want to have a baby—I want us to have a baby.
Bill:I know you do. But remember, we said we’d wait until we could afford it. Amy: But five years is a long time to wait. Anyway, it’s long enough.
Bill:I’m this close to getting a promotion.
Amy:What has that got to do with it? We could wait forever if we wait for the “perfect” moment. Soon we’ll be too old to enjoying having a baby.
Bill:You know,you have a good point. This report can wait. I’ll do it tomorrow morning. Let’s open a bottle of wine and enjoy ourselves.
Now Y our Turn
SAMPLE DIALOG
A: I’ve got something important to tell you: I’m pregnant.
B: What? You’re pregnant? Wow, I’d love to have a baby.
A: Well, I understand you want to be a father. It’s been more than three years, almost four, since we were married.
B: Yes, time has passed so quickly, but we still didn’t have a baby.
A: I know, but we can’t afford to have one now. If I leave my job for more than two weeks, I’ll lose it forever.
B: I know you will. But remember, if we don’t have one now, it’ll be too late. We’ll be busier in future.
A: There is something in what you said. Four years is a long time to wait. But I really like my job. What’s more, I’m very close to getting promotion.
B: But a baby borne by a woman in her 30s may be physically and intellectually less healthy. If we wanted to hold onto your job, we would wait forever. Soon we’ll be too old to enjoy a baby.
A: You really have a point. I’ll choose the baby over the job.
B: Good, I’ll try harder to make both ends meet
MODEL2 So many people in the United States get divorced! Script
Kim: Hi Amy.
Amy: Hi! Look at this headline, Kim.
Kim: Wow! So many people in the United States get divorced!
Amy: But this is not uncommon in west. In some places, the divorce rate can be as high as 50 percent.
Kim: It seems strange to me that Westerners fall head heels in love quickly, if not at first sight; but they also leave each other quickly.
Amy:Is it the same in your country?
Kim: I don’t think so. In my country, some marriages break up, but most couples stay together.
Amy:Do people get married young?
Kim: Not really. Not many people get married before the age of 20.
Amy:Hmm. Do woman usually work after they get married?
Kim: No, a lot of women stay home to take care of their families. But more women work now.
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