Oral Workshop Discussion Lesson 6-9 ;
Lesson 6 ;
How It Feels When Parents Divorce Text A ;
Ari,age fourteen When my parents were married, ;
I hardly ever saw my Dad because he was always busy working. ;
Now that they're divorced, ;
I've gotten to know him more because I'm with him every weekend. ;
And I really look forward to the weekends ;
because it's kind of like a break-- ;
it's like going to Disneyland because there's no set schedule, ;
no "Be home by five-thirty" kind of stuff.It's open. It's free. ;
And my father is always buying me presents. ;
My Mom got remarried and divorced again, so I've gone through two divorces so far. ;
And my father's also gotten remarried ;
--to someone I don't get along with all that well. ;
It's all made me feel that people shouldn't get married-- ;
they should just live together and make their own agreement. ;
Then,if things get bad, ;
they don't have to get divorced and hire lawyers and sue each other. ;
And,even more important,they don't have to end up hating each other. ;
I'd say that the worst part of the divorce is the money problem. ;
It's been hard on my Mom because lots of times she can't pay her bills, ;
and it makes her angry when I stay with my father and he buys me things. ;
She gets mad and says things like ;
"If he can buy you things like this, then he should be able to pay me." ;
And I feel caught in the middle for two reasons: ;
first,I can't really enjoy whatever my Dad does get for me, ;
and second,I don't know who to believe. ;
My Dad's saying,"I don't really owe her any money," and my Mom's saying he does. ;
Sometimes I fight for my Mom and sometimes I fight for my Dad, ;
but I wish they'd leave me out of it completely. ;
In a lot of ways I wish my Mom would get remarried, ;
because then she wouldn't have to worry so much about finances. ;
But I'm sorry that my Dad got remarried, ;
because I feel left out a lot of times. ;
And one thing I really worry about is that I think they want to have a baby, ;
and I know that if they do,it will be just like a replacement for me. ;
That's because I only see my Dad on weekends, ;
and since he would see the baby more than he'd see me, ;
he'd probably grow to like it more than he likes me. ;
It could be a lot like what happened with my dog Spunkur. ;
I've had him for about six years ;
and I've always said I'll never love any dog as much as I love him. ;
Well,a year ago I picked up a little black Labrador puppy from the pound, ;
and now I find I'm not as friendly with Spunkur as I used to be. ;
And I think Spunkur feels jealous, ;
just like I would if my Dad and my stepmother had a baby. ;
My Dad said it wouldn't be that way, ;
that we'll he a whole family and I'd have a little brother or sister, ;
which would be a lot of fun,but I told him, ;
"Look,by the time the kid is old enough to talk,I'll be out of college. ;
I'm not going to have anything to do with a baby. ;
You know that it's just a replacement for me!" ;
If I lived full-time with my Dad, ;
it would probably be easier for me to accept a baby ;
because we'd be on an equal footing, but I'd rather stay with my Mom, ;
where life is normal--where we live like most people live, ;
with breakfast at breakfast time and dinner at dinner time. ;
I do my homework, play with my friends --it's all the way life should be. ;
If I lived with my Dad,it might be more fun at times,but I would go crazy. ;
I wouldn't want to be brought up that way. ;
Text B ;
Sara,age twelve I guess the main reason I was mad at Daddy was ;
because it all made my mother so unhappy, ;
and I ended up feeling sorry for both of them-- ;
my mother because she was struggling to make ends meet, ;
and my Dad because he couldn't really do much about it. ;
Even though my parents separated more than three years ago, ;
it's still very vivid in my mind ;
and I doubt if I'll ever forget the way I felt at the time. ;
Yes,as awful as it was,I never hoped they'd yet back together. ;
And now I think I'd die if they did, because it would be so awkward for me. ;
I think they're both much happier now, ;
and it's obvious to me that they both lead totally different lives. ;
Since the breakup I've been able to see my parents' true colors ;
especially my mother's.I've seen a side of her that I never saw before. ;
When she was married,she and Daddy were the perfect couple, ;
always quiet, talking about dignified things, ;
and they would never laugh or anything. ;
Nowadays my mother is always happy and gay. ;
Another way she's changed is that she always used to hide her problems from me ;
but now she's more apt to discuss things. ;
I think she's more relaxed--and so's my Dad. ;
Both of my parents started dating other people right away, ;
and I think they'll both get remarried eventually,which is fine with me. ;
They don't discuss their love lives with me all that much, ;
but of course I'm not blind. ;
For example,one night I had a sleep-over at a friend's house ;
and the next morning I came home earlier than I'd planned to. ;
Well.I just stormed into my mother's bedroom,and there was this guy in her bed-- ;
she was somewhere else,in another room. ;
I started crying and everything, ;
and my mother tried to convince me she had slept on the couch. ;
Now that I look back, it was pretty hilarious, ;
and of course I don't care--I mean, ;
I understand about those kind of arrangements. ;
In the beginning, when my father had a girlfriend sleep over, ;
he didn't know how to tell me--he just sort of said, ;
"Oh,you're sleeping on the couch tonight," ;
because at that point I didn't have my own room at his house and shared the bedroom. ;
It's still hard for my Dad to level with me about this part of his life, ;
but he's getting better. ;
Anyhow,neither of them should worry about my getting upset, ;
because I'm old enough to understand that grown-ups are allowed to have ;
private lives,which includes other people. ;
But if someone's going to spend the night, ;
I think it's better and less awkward if I know about it beforehand, ;
so I'm not taken by surprise.I still want to get married and have kids, ;
but I have a lot of friends who don't want to. ;
I was discussing marriage with one boy I know,and he said, ;
"I'm never ever getting married." He took his parents' divorce really badly ;
because his mother and father weren't friends afterwards-- ;
they were enemies, screaming on the phone to each other. ;
I'm glad my parents are good friends, having lunch together and stuff. ;
I think it's so much easier for the child if the parents are friendly. ;
If they aren't,it's really difficult because there's always a right side ;
and a wrong side and the kids are just caught in the middle. ;
I think I've grown up a little faster because of my parents' divorce. ;
It's made me realize more about the problems of life ;
and helped me to understand my parents-- ;
and appreciate them as individuals. ;
It's just too bad they couldn't have been as happy and productive as a couple ;
as they've been since they've been on their own. ;
And I also wish that the next time my mother ;
has tickets for a Rolling Stones concert, ;
she takes me instead of her boyfriend, which is what she did the last time! ;
Additional Information Heather,age eleven ;
So we have to switch back and forth. ;
doing it on a weekly basis seems to work the best. ;
I'll try to make one room my real room ;
and have the other one like camping out.I can't buy two of everything. ;
so I might as well have one good room that's really mine. ;
Another aspect of joint custody that's difficult ;
is that my parents have very different rules and philosophies about life. ;
For example,my Dad's attitude is that he lets us learn by our mistakes, ;
and my mother does exactly the opposite- ;
she tells us how to act before we make the mistake. ;
And my Dad says we can watch TV for a while after school, ;
and my Mom says we can't ;
that we have to select our programs very carefully. ;
At my Dad's house Matthew has to do his homework right away, ;
but he gets to stay up until nine and watch The A Team ;
because that's his favorite show. ;
Mom doesn't want him to when we're at her house ;
but she feels she has to give in because Matthew says, ;
"Well,Daddy lets me do that at his house." ;
He's learning to play them against each other at a very early age. ;
I don't do that,but I have to admit ;
there are times when I secretly wish I was at whichever house I'm not at. ;
It would be nice if there could be a special house for divorced families. ;
It would be like two houses. ;
Side by side,with a place in the middle where the kids could live. ;
Then when parents had arguments they could each go to their own place ;
and get away from each other and think things out by themselves. ;
That way,they could realize how ;
dumb they were behaving and get back together again. ;
I know it's too late for that kind of arrangement with my parents- ;
and as I look back I see that they're both happier being apart. ;
My father's become a different person, you know,and it's unbelievable. ;
I like the person he is now because he doesn't get angry as fast as he used to. ;
And my mother's much happier ;
because she doesn't have to worry about getting Daddy mad. ;
Another good thing that's happened ;
is that my father's turned into a terrific cook, ;
and it makes me feel proud to be one of the only people in my class ;
whose father cooks and does things like taking me to hockey practice and to sewing ;
And it's great to see how my Mom doesn't have to rely on Daddy to ;
pay the bills and throw out the garbage. ;
She's working now and that's helped her feel important. ;
Neither of them has to rely on the other one in dumb ways, ;
the way they used to,and I think they are both much better off as a result. ;
I know that neither of them will ever be able to forget all the anger. ;
but I think that as time goes on ;
they'll sort of come to their senses and be pretty good friends. ;
That's what I hope for more than anything in the world! ;
Lesson 7 Going Shopping ;
Text A ;
Gretel and Mrs Clark went shopping in the centre of London yesterday. ;
"I'd like to know which store you like best in London,Mrs Clark," Gretel said. ;
"Now that's a difficult question," Mrs Clark replied. ;
"I just haven't any idea which store I like best. ;
There are so many huge stores in London. ;
I suppose Selfridges must be the biggest. There's so much variety there. ;
I can usually find what I'm looking for. ;
Then there's Liberty's.It's such a lovely building. ;
Harrods is very famous,too.It's such a smart store, ;
I love all the big stores in London ;
because you can walk round and nobody bothers you. ;
Nobody tries to sell you anything--unless you want to buy something. ;
Sometimes I go window-shopping, ;
or just wander round a store and look at the things on display. ;
The big stores are one of the sights of London.I went to the sales in January. ;
That was one of the sights of London, too!My goodness! The crowds! ;
But it was worth it. I bought some lovely things very cheaply. ;
It was good fun,but very exhausting." ;
Text B ;
As she walked round the huge department store, ;
Edith reflected how ;
difficult it was to choose a suitable Christmas present for her father. ;
She wished that he was as easy to please as her mother, ;
who was always delighted with perfume.Besides, ;
shopping at this time of the year was a most disagreeable experience: ;
people trod on your toes,poked you with their elbows and almost knocked ;
you over in their haste to get to a bargain ahead of you. ;
Partly to have a rest,Edith paused in front of a counter ;
where some attractive ties were on display. ;
"They are real silk" the assistant assured her,trying to tempt her. ;
"Worth double the price," But Edith knew from past experience ;
that her choice of ties hardly ever pleased her father. ;
She moved on reluctantly and then,quite by chance, ;
stopped where a small crowd of men had gathered round a counter. ;
She found some good quality pipes on sale-- ;
and the prices were very reasonable. Edith did not hesitate for long: ;
although her father only smoked a pipe occasionally, ;
she knew that this was a present which was bound to please him. ;
When she got home, ;
with her small but well-chosen present concealed in her handbag, ;
her parents were already at table having supper. ;
Her mother was in especially cheerful mood. ;
"Your father has at last decided to stop smoking," she infor- med her daughter. ;
Additional Information (1) ;
JOAn:Yes,madam? Can I help you? ;
MRSS:Oh yes,please, but you're just closing,aren't you? ;
JOAN:Well,yes,we are,madam.The shop shuts in five minutes. ;
MRSS:I shan't keep you long then. ;
It was about some saucepans you had in your window last week. ;
JOAN:Last week, madam? ;
I really can't remember which ones you mean.What were they like? ;
MRSS:Oh,they were lovely!Sort of imitation wood, ;
dark brown colour, country-style you know, ;
and the lips,if I remember rightly, ;
had a sort of leaf pattern,or was it flowers? ;
JOAN:That's strange. ;
I don't recognise any of the ones we had from that description. ;
Are you sure they were in this shop? ;
MRSS:Oh,you must know the ones I mean. ;
They were in a sale.A real bargain. ;
Reduced to a quarter of the original price. ;
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them. ;
JOAN:I'm afraid the sales are over now, madam, ;
and I know we sold out of all the saucepans. ;
MRSS:I don't think you did,you know. ;
At least,my neighbour,Mrs Cliffe, ;
told me she saw some here only yesterday. ;
JOAN:Well,it's all new stock in the window now. ;
MRSS:May I just have a look,to see if there's anything else? ;
JOAN:Er,well,madam, as you know,we were just closing. ;
MRSS:Yes,yes,I'm sorry I won't keep you. ;
It must get on your nerves when customers come in right on closing-time. ;
But they were such beautiful saucepans! ;
I'd have bought them then if only I'd made up my mind on the spot. ;
JOAN:Perhaps,madam, if you came back tomorrow, ;
I could show you all we have in our range of kitchen ware. ;
And there are still one or two things at sale price. ;
MRSS:Oh look! That one there! ;
That's the sort of thing I was looking for! ;
But it's not quite the right colour. ;
JOAN:That might be the artificial lighting,madam. ;
of course,if you came back in daylight, ;
you might find it's exactly what you're looking for. ;
MRSS:There it is! That's the pattern! The set behind you! ;
Thank goodness they haven't been sold! ;
And thank you so much for being so patient with me. ;
Yes,those are the ones! ;
(2)Shops ;
Most shops in Britain open at 9.00 a.m.and close at 5.00 or 5.30 in the evening. ;
Small shops usually close for an hour at lunchtime. ;
On one or two days a week-usually Thursdayand and/or Friday ;
-some large food shops stay open until about 8.00p.m.for late night shopping. ;
Many shops are closed in the afternoon on one day a week. ;
The day is usually Wednesday or Thursday ;
and it is a different day in different towns. ;
Nearly all shops are closed on Sundays. ;
Newspaper shops are open in the morning and sell sweets and cigarettes as well. ;
But there are legal restrictions on selling many things on Sundays. ;
In general, ;
overseas visitors don't have much difficulty knowing where to buy things. ;
Most shops sell the things that you would expect them to. ;
One problem is stamps. ;
In Britain you can only buy these at post-offices. ;
Many large food shops(supermarkets) are self-service. ;
When you go into one of these shops you take a basket ;
and you put the things you wish to buy into this. ;
You queue up at the cash-desk and pay for everything just before you leave. ;
If anyone tries to take things from a shop without paying ;
they are almost certain to be caught. ;
Most shops have store detectives ;
who have the job of catching shoplifters. ;
Shoplifting is considered a serious crime by the police and the courts. ;
When you are waiting to be served in a shop it is important to wait your turn. ;
It is important not to try to be served before people who arrived before you. ;
Many people from overseas are ;
astonished at the British habit of queueing. ;
Lesson 8 ;
What to Do about Grandma Text A ;
Hal Bohlman,his wife Judy,and their three children live in a small apartment. ;
Hal work in the income tax division of the government ;
where he is a public information officer. ;
Their children are now 12,10 and 5 years old. ;
Their plan is for Judy to return to work ;
after their youngest child starts elementary school next year. ;
They hope to save up enough money to buy a house, ;
since they feel their present two bedroom apartment is much too crowded. ;
Last week,however, Judy's father died suddenly of a heart attack. ;
They now have to decide what to do about Judy's mother, ;
since Judy is the only child. ;
Judy's father was the manager of a store in a large supermarket chain, ;
so her mother will receive a modest but sufficient pension from the company. ;
In addition,she will receive the money from her husband's life insurance ;
and will continue to receive social welfare benefits from the government. ;
In order to avoid inheritance taxes, ;
her husband in his will left his estate to Judy ;
with the provision that his wife would have use of it as long as she lived. ;
Judy realizes that it would probably be dangerous for her mother to live alone. ;
Although her health is basically good for someone her age, 73, ;
she has bad days when her heart or arthritis acts up. ;
Judy is afraid she might have trouble taking care of herself now that she is alone. ;
She is living in the house that she and her husband owned, ;
a three bedroom house in the suburbs of the same city where Hal and Judy live. ;
Hal and Judy's mother never got along well in the past, ;
but Hal realizes that Judy is worried about her mother. ;
Text B ;
The huge population of China is indeed a very serious problem. ;
The government has made great efforts to control the birth rate in recent years ;
But the work has encountered strong resistance, ;
especially in rural areas, ;
where both economy and culture are still very backward, ;
resulting in the birthrate rising again. ;
Many people blame this on the feudal tradition ;
that it was good to have more children to have more working hands. ;
However,this is only half the story. ;
In the countryside there are no pensions ;
and no free medical care for the aged. ;
Many young couples are afraid that once they are old, ;
there will be nobody to care for them. ;
So they want a son who can tend them all their lives. ;
If we raise more funds for the elderly in rural areas ;
and build more sanatoriums and other institutions for them, ;
the farmers can put their minds at rest. ;
The majority of young couples nowadays are well educated ;
even in the poverty-stricken areas. ;
Although the feudal influence is strong, ;
they can understand the importance of family planning. ;
What worries them most is their own old age. ;
Lesson 8 Additional Information ;
Many Suicides Reported on Respect For Aged Day ;
Tragic suicides by aged persons ;
were reported from across the country on Monday ;
when the nation celebrated Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday. ;
In the city of... ,a 76-year-old woman was ;
found to have hanged herself in her room at about 2 a.m., ;
her grandson reported to police. The woman,..., ;
had been suffering from tuberculisis and the hardening of the arteries ;
in addition to the loss eyesight,the grandson told police. ;
In the city of ...,a neighbor visited a 78-year-old man's home ;
at 9.a.m.to find that he had gassed himself. ;
The man,...,had lived alone on pension since 1961 when his wife died. ;
In...,a farmer reported to police that his 68-year-old wife ;
hanged herself in a shed Monday afternoon. ;
The woman,Mrs...,was worried about her frail health and ;
had often talked of loneliness in old age,according to the husband. ;
A person fishing in the sea off the city of... ;
found the body of an aged woman drifting at 10.20. a.m.Monday. ;
Police later identified the body as that of...,92,of ..., ;
who had been missing since Friday. ;
Her family members believed that she was overwhelmed by pessimism ;
because she was unable to receive pension from the city office ;
due to some flaw in her papers on Wednesday. ;
A 66-year-old woman hanged herself in a room in her house in... ;
while her daughter- in-law was in another room.The daughter -in-law,Mrs..., ;
told police that her mother-in-law, ;
...,had been almost bed-ridden since 1973. ;
Lesson 9 ;
Why Is the World So Tough to Her? Text A ;
David:What's the matter? ;
Sue:Oh,I don't know. David:Oh,come on... it's something. What is it? ;
Sue:It's just life...it's so boring. ;
David:Oh,it's not so bad...you've got Daniel! ;
Sue:But he's only a baby!It's all right for you. ;
You'll leave the house in five minutes.I'll be here all day. ;
When'll you come home?You won't come home till seven! ;
David:One of us must go to work,dear. ;
Sue:Yes,but your day'll be interesting. ;
My day'll be the same as every day. David:My work isn't always interesting. ;
Sue:I know,but you travel around, ;
you meet different people and you do different things. ;
Who'll I meet today? What'll I do? Eh? I'll wash up,feed the baby, ;
do the washing,clean the house,bath the baby,take the dog for a walk... ;
David:But...but... dear. ;
Sue:Then I'll go to the supermarket, prepare dinner, ;
meet you at the station,have dinner, wash up again. ;
David:But...but... dear. ;
Sue:Then I'll feed the baby again, put the baby to bed...What a life! ;
Today,tomorrow,this week,next week, ;
this month,next month,next year... for ever! ;
David:It's just Monday dear...you'll be O.K.later. Sue:Will I? ;
Text B ;
Today my cousin paid us a visit. ;
She is a technician working in an electronics factory. ;
She has been very unhappy recently because of a quarrel with her boss. ;
It all started when she was denied a chance to go abroad for a training course. ;
By qualification she was the ideal choice--a college degree, ;
a working knowledge of English ;
and generally acknowledged as very good in her field. ;
But the final choice fell on a young man inferior to her in every respect. ;
Naturally she was very upset and wanted to know why. ;
Her boss who in fact quite liked her told her quite candidly. ;
"We did think of sending you but decided against it because you are a girl ;
The answer infuriated her all the more and she accused him of sex discrimination. ;
The best explanation she could get out of him ;
was that it would not be "convenient" ;
for a girl to be on her own in a foreign country as there was only one vacancy. ;
Not convenient for whom? For herself? She didn't mind.For her fellow trainees? ;
That's sheer nonsense. For her boss? How and in what way? ;
Poor girl.I quite sympathize with her, ;
but that women are at a disadvantage is a reality she'll have to face. ;
I told her that our form master was telling us only the other day ;
that girls shouldn't aim too high in choosing their future speciality ;
or choosing a university. ;
Certain subjects and certain departments are almost closed to them. ;
They'll have to have 10 or more marks than the boys in order to be accepted. ;
"And it's not only the colleges and universities," ;
Mum explained with anger. ;
"All organizations and work units are equally bad in sex discrimination ;
when taking in new employees. ;
One's sex is more important than one's other qualities,it seems. ;
Some departments take in women just as if they are ;
forced to buy some inferior goods. ;
The bargaining that goes on just makes me sick. ;
You want to buy a carton of high-grade cigarettes? ;
Very well,you must buy three packs of the cheap brand as well. ;
So if you want to assign one girl to our department, ;
you must give us two boys as well.It's really disgusting!" ;
"I don't blame them really," said Dad, ;
"However good a girl is,when she marries, trouble begins. ;
First there is this long maternity leave. ;
Then there'll be constant leaves ;
because there will always be this or that wrong with her darling baby. ;
Even when she works she will be constantly thinking of her darling child ;
or knitting for him or her.And she becomes petty too, ;
breaking into tears at the slightest provocation ;
and quarrelling with others over trifles". ;
This naturally brought a barrage of protests and condemnations ;
from the two women in the room who almost tore him to pieces. ;
In the end it was Granny who came to his rescue. ;
"Well,a woman's place is at home, as I always say. ;
And what do you want to go abroad for,child? Think of all the dangers! ;
How can girls cope with them? ;
I think your leaders were quite right in not letting you go." ;
"Oh,Granny,you don't know anything at all! ;
You are still living in the old world. ;
It seems our future lies in the future generation," ;
my cousin said pointedly to Dad, referring to me. ;
Actually she is only ten years older than me. ;
Equality of the sexes is certainly a very complicated problem. ;
Just having equal rights to vote and equal pay for equal work ;
have not solved the problem,not by a long shot. ;