Practice One Ideal Weight Words You Need to Know
ideal file petition divorce
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
The sweet Helen has been married for six months.
Her mother visits her for the first time.
When Harold, Helen's husband, has gone to the office to work, Helen's mother says, "Now tell me, how are you in your marriage?"
Helen cries, "Terrible, Harold is terrible. He criticizes me from the early morning till the late evening.
He quarrels with me all the time.
I've already lost ten kilograms in weight."
"Oh, you poor girl. You must file a petition for divorce!"
"I will, Mum, I will, but not before three months."
"Why in three months and not at once?" Her mother asked in surprise.
"Because I haven't reached yet my ideal weight of fifty-two kilograms." (117 words)
1)Helen got married six months ago.
2)After her husband had gone to work, Helen's mother came to visit her daughter.
3)Helen didn't want to divorce because she lost 10 kilograms in weight.
4)Three months later, Helen would file a petition for divorce.
5)Helen wanted to lose fifty-two kilograms in weight.
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
1)Where is Helen's husband when Helen talks about her marriage with her mother?
2)Why does Helen think her husband is terrible?
3)What is her mother's suggestion?
4)Why is Helen unwilling to divorce her husband at once?
5)What probably is Helen's weight now?
Exercise 3:Directions:Retell the story in the first person of Helen's mother with the following words to remind you.
Practice Two A Puzzling Tradition
Words You Need to Know
reluctance symbolize represent
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and answer the following questions briefly.
The Chinese people, I found out, hold onto many traditions that are both interesting and puzzling.
For instance, women customarily walk behind their husbands, and often three of four generations live together in the same house.
None of these customs troubled me, however, until the day I found out that my wedding dress was to be red.
This is America, I thought,not China,and I am not going to make myself look silly by wearing that dress.
What would my friends and family think?
My future mother-in-law soon caught wind of my reluctance to wear the dress and came to visit me.
"I know it is difficult for you to accept wearing a red wedding dress," she said.
"I would like to help you understand our marriage customs.
All Chinese women marry in a red dress because this color symbolizes great happiness, good luck, and a bright future.
To marry in a white dress would bring very bad luck, for white represents mourning and deep sorrow."
Hearing this, I felt there was no way that I could refuse to wear that dress on my wedding day.
Then she smiled and said, "You must promise to pass on this particular tradition to your own daughter one day. Old ways should never be forgotten."
Now so many years have passed since that day, but some things never change.
And one of them is the attitude of people growing up in a new generation.
When I told my own daughter the history of the red dress, she replied, "I'm not wearing that dress!" (262 words)
1)Why was she unwilling to wear the red wedding dress
2)Why does a Chinese bride wear a red dress in her wedding ceremony?
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
1)The American girl thought that none of the Chinese customs troubled her.
2)Her future mother-in-law cam to visit her because she wanted to help her prepare for the wedding ceremony.
3)The American girl didn't like to marry in a red dress because it symbolized bad luck and deep sorrow.
4)On her wedding day, she didn't wear that red dress.
5)Her mother-in-law thought that people should always hold onto the old ways.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage for the third time and decide which choice is the best answer to each of the questions.
1)Which of the following Chinese customs is NOT mentioned in the passage?
2)What's the passage mainly about?
3)What can you infer from the passage?
4)Which of the following expressions best explains the meaning of "caught wind"?
Practice Three Wedding Customs
Words You Need to Know
license elaborate status registrar
institution make much ado Brazil Denmark
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the conversation and answer the following questions briefly.
The follwoing is a conversation between three people,
Usha, Hanne and Lea, on various wedding customs.
Usha:Most of the Indian marriages work out very well I think, although they are arranged.
Hanne:How was yours? A nice big wedding?
Usha:Yes. Most Indian marriages are elaborate marriages.
My marriage went on for three days and we had a lot of guests as well.
Hanne:How many people were there?
Usha:Well, in my marriage, we had about two thousand guests.
Hanne:Oh!
Usha:The interesting thing about it is in Indian marriages even the very poor man has about a hundred guests.
And it depends on his status in the society.
Hanne:How was your... are you married?
Lea:No, I'm divorced.
Hanne:So people can get a divorce in Brazil?
Lea:Oh, yes. We can. Well, since 1980. Er, before it was not allowed. But even so, we can get married just twice in Brazil, you know. A third time is not allowed.
Hanne:Oh!
Usha:How about marriages in Denmark?
Hanne:Well, people don't make much ado about it. Most people er, just move in together,
they don't even bother to get a license. This especially happened some years ago.
That has caused lots of legal confusion. And so now they get married again.
They tend to get married more often. But it's just a simple church wedding or a visit to the registrar's office.
How about your country?
Lea:Well, it's still a strong institution in our society, you know.
But it depends. It concerns the upper and middle classed,
because among the poor people they don't get married at all.
They just live together and separate and that's all. (257 words)
1)Where do the three people come from?
2)What is each of the speakers talking about?
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the conversation again and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
1)Most Indian marriages are carefully prepared.
2)In India, the size of the wedding depends on how many friends and relatives you hae.
3)In Brazil, people can get a divorce whenever they can't maintain their marriage.
4)In Denmark, some people get married without a license.
5)Now marriage is becoming more popular in Denmark.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the conversation for the third time and complete the table with the information you get from the recording
Happy Minute
Read the following new words, then enjoy the joke with the following questions in mind.
fiance study theology employment
1.How will the young man provide a nice home for his fiancee?
2.How will the young man afford to raise children?
3.Was the father happy with his future son-in-law?
A young woman brought her fiance home to meet her parents.
After dinner her father asked the young man into his study for a chat.
"So, what are your plans?" he began.
"I'm a theology student," the young man replied.
"Admirable," the father said, "but what will you do to provide a nice home for my daughter?"
"I will study and God will provide," he explained.
"And how will you afford to raise children?"
"God will provide."
The men left the study and the mother asked her husband, "How'd it go?"
"He has no money or employment plans," the father said.
"But on the other hand, he thinks I'm God."
Lesson Two Life Experience
Practice One The Elderly:Past and Present Words You Need to Know
negative adventurous contrast thrill accustom
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and complete the table with the different lives led by the elderly in the past and today.
"The elderly" is a phrase that used to bring out many negative feelings.
Many older people felt that they were finished with the best part of their lives.
They just stayed at home and counted the days.
For them, the days of excitement and adventure were over.
The elderly today, in contrast, are often very healthy and adventurous.
Some are still enthusiastic about their work,
and many are excited about their interests.
Retirement is not boring or frightening for them.
Helen is a perfect example. For forty-three years, she had been accustomed to the traditional life of a housewife and mother.
During that time,she had brought up six children.
She had ten grandchildren,and they were rapidly growing up.
When her last child finally moved out, she was not sad about it.
On the contrary, she was thrilled about the opportunity for adventure.
Helen began to make her preparations for the adventure of a lifetime. "And then,"
she says simply, "I took off." (164 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and fill in each blank with the information you get from the recording.
Practice Two Good Old Days
Words You Need to Know
pastime deliver dairy products
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and answer the following question briefly.
Life was very different in the USA in the 1950s than it is today. Divorce was not common.
Husbands went out to work to support the whole family.
Most women with children depended on their husbands' incomes and didn't work.
Children didn't come home after school to an empty house as many do today.
Families did more things together. One of the favorite family pastimes was a drive in the country.
Gas was cheap. People had big cars, and the whole family could ride comfortably.
Before TV and home computer games became popular, people talked to each other more.
Children didn't have as many toys, and they played more games together.
On Saturday the neighborhood theaters had special movies for the children.
The shows cost only 25 cents.
People stayed at one job for most of their lives.
They didn't change jobs every year like they do today
They also lived in the same house for a long time.
They didn't move as much.
Services were better in the 1950s. Doctors often came to a sick person's house,
especially if you were "sick in bed". Milkmen delivered fresh dairy products daily to homes.
There were no self-service gas stations,and attendants used to wash your car windows and check your oil free of charge. (210 words)
What are the three main topics in the passage?
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F)according to the passage.
1)Many children today don't come home after school to an empty house.
2)Children have more toys today than in the past.
3)In the 1950s there were special films for children with low prices.
4)People stuck to one job all their lives.
5)There were no self-service gas stations in the 1950s.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage for the third time and answer the following questions briefly.
1)Why can we say that family relationships in the 1950s were better than today?
2)Could you give an example to illustrate how families spent their spare time?
3)Why do people talk less to each other now?
4)What would one do when he was sick in bed in the 1950s?
5)What did gas station attendants use to do free of charge in the 1950s?
Practice Three Royal Life
Words You Need to Know
aristocratic dimension privileged engagement
autograph pull the wool over one's eyes
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and decide which choice is the best one to complete the following statement.
From the moment the world set eyes on Diana, she was the focus of international attention.
Her beauty, her aristocratic background and her role as the future Queen of England gave the Royal Family a new dimension.
Her father described her as "the girl who has everything".
Yet, in becoming one of the most privileged people in the world, Diana gave up many everyday rights.
Although legally she could still vote, she probably didn't.
In public she could not express her real feelings and her private life was often interrupted by the press.
In other words, she had very little "freedom".
The Princess's engagements were decided six months in advance.
A day's programme could begin at 9:30am and finish at 3pm.
Sometimes she went with Prince Charles, sometimes alone.
When she sat down at her desk she might well find hundreds of requests for autographed pictures or requests to have hospitals named after her.
The popularity of the Royals was increased by the fact that they were seen to be busy, but couldn't this have been a case of "pulling the Royal wool over our eyes"?
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and fill in each blank with the information you get from the recording.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage for the third time and answer the following questions briefly.
1)What made Diana become the focus of international attention apart from her aristocratic background?
2)What did Diana's father describe her as?
3)How long did her day's program last?
4)What did people request from her?
5)What is the writer's attitude toward the Royal family