Unit Three Marriage Across The Nations

Understanding Statements 

Listening Task 1

 1. She found that compromise was always the best policy when she got involved in arguing with her husband.

 2. I didn't like him and I was sure the feeling was mutual.

 3. The former actor was continually in expectation of returning to the stage again.

 4. We'll overlook your behavior this time, but don't do it again.

 5. There is a lot of resistance to the news that she plans to marry a black basketball player.

 6. The manager's tolerance of contrary points of view is limited.

 7. Susan accepted her sister's new husband with reservation.

 8. No one knows who killed her, but the police suspect her husband.

 9. They thought that the punishment was rather harsh for such a little mistake.

10. She has to be realistic about her future.

Key: I. (A) 2. (A) 3. (A)  4. (A) 5. (B)  6. (B)  7. (A)  8. (B)  9. (B) 10. (A)

Listening Task 2

1. He has experienced tile ups and downs of a political career.

 2. Their marriage just didn't work out.

 3. The young man became all the more charming because of the effect of the wine.

 4. Instead of congratulating us upon our success, our professor counseled us to be modest.

 5. They joked about the budding relationship between the two youngsters.

 6. We harbored suspicions about his intentions.

 7. Their color bad nothing to do with their divorce.

 8. The Smiths will have to pay at least $350,000 for their new house.

 9. If we have any doubts about the project, we should not hesitate to cancel it.

10. The couple went over their personality conflicts and the hardships they had faced over the past five years.

Key: 1.(B) 2.(C) 3.(B)  4.(B) 5.(D)  6.(A)  7.(C)  8.(B)  9.(C) 10.(A)

UNDERSTANDING SHORT CONVERSATIONS

1. M: Gall, during our two years together, we've confronted the weaknesses and strengths of our characters, don't you think?

   W: I'1l say!

   Question: What is probably the relationship between the man and the woman?

2. M: Do you think mixed couples have a higher divorce rate?

   W: It depends.

   Question: What does the woman mean?

3. W: My nephew Xiao Ming is getting married next month in Shenzhen, and 1 can't decide whether to go.

   M: It's a long way, but 1 think you'll have a good time.

   Question: What does the man mean?

4. W: Is it wrong for me to marry a foreigner, Dad?

    M: No. But if you do marry a foreigner, people will look at you differently mid You’ll sense prejudices here and there...

    Question: What is the man's attitude toward the woman's marriage?

5. M: Did you see the diamond ring Harry gave to his girl friend?

    W: Yes. It must’ve cost him a fortune.

    Question: What does the woman imply about the ring?

 6. W: Good morning. Your passport, please. Why do you want to extend your stay here?

    M: First, 1 want to further my studies and, second, to get official status for marriage.

    Question: With whom is the man speaking?

 7. W: Hello, this is Ms. Black calling. Is this Mr. White?

    M: No. This is Mr. Kaffir, Mr. White's son-in-law.

     Question: Who answers the phone?

 8. M: Gail, did you get your MA before your marriage?

     W: I sure did.

     Question: What does the woman mean?

 9. W: How are we going to get home? Where is the bus stop?

     M: Be realistic, Mary. It’s so late that the buses have all stopped running. It seems that we've no alternative but to walk home.

     Question: How will the couple get home?

10. W: Mark has problems with the Citizenship department. I'm wondering what will happen to him.

     M: Don't worry. He's always taken care of problems himself.

     Question: Who has problems with the Citizenship department?

11. W: This suit is my husband's favorite. Please be careful with it.

     M: We are careful about everything we do here, Mrs. Black.

     Question: Where does the conversation probably take place?

12. M: Why didn't Gail show up today?

     W: She would have come if she hadn't had to take her father-in-law to hospital.

     Question: Who is ill?

13. W: I can't stand the way he treats his wife.

     M: Me neither.

     Question: What does the man mean?

14. W: Hi! Mark. Nice to see you again. How is everything?

     M: Great! I didn't expect to see you again. What a small world!

     Question: What do we know about the speakers?

15. M: Hello. This is Allen John. I'd like to make an appointment with Professor Smith.

     W: I'm sorry. You rang the wrong number.

     Question:  Whom did the man speak to?

16. M: What do you think of the film on Channel 5 last night? It was about how a couple went through the hardships in their life.

     W: I wish I'd stayed awake long enough to see the whole thing.

     Question: What does the woman mean?

17. M: I've been waiting for at least half an hour. But no one has come to take my order.

     W: I'm sorry. Are you ready to order now?

     Question; Where does this conversation probably take place?

18. W: Mark and Susan were the last couple I expected would break up.

     M: I guess their problems started when Mark was promoted to marketing manager.

     Question: What are they talking about?

19. W: I can't find my lunch box. I'm sure I put it on the table when I came here,

     M: It doesn't matter. How about having lunch together? Just on me.

     Question: What does the man mean?

20. W: Hi, Jim! I thought you were going to that meeting in New York.

     M: It was called off just as I was about to leave for the airport.

     Question: What happened to Jim?

Key: 1. (D)   2. (C)    3. (B)    4. (B)    5. (C)  6. (B)   7. (C)    8. (C)    9. (A)   10. (A)

11. (A)   12. (D)    13. (B)   14. (B)   15. (C)  16. (C)   17. (B)    18. (A)   19. (C)   20. (D)

UNDERSTANDING LONG CONVERSATIONS

 Conversation 1

  M: What do you think of Mark and Gail's marriage plan, Susan?

  W: I don't know. It seems the situation is quite difficult.

  M: What do you mean?

  W: Well, to begin with, Gail's parents have many reservations about their marriage.

  M: How do you know?

  W: For instance, Gail's father is concerned about both Mark's citizenship status and how their children will be treated.

  M: These are both real concerns because people do get married just to acquire citizenship and children from mixed marriages do often receive bad treatment from other children.

  W: Yes, and yet Gall thinks that racial and culture differences can often be a gift in a relationship, even though people often feel full of doubt about a mixed marriage.

   M: So who's fight?

  W: Maybe there is no fight answer. The situation is really difficult.

   M: I see.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

1. Who is the man talking with?

2. What are they talking about?

3. What do Gail's parents seem most concerned about?

4. What is Gail's father concerned about?

5. What will Mark and Gall probably do?

Key: 1. (C)     2. (A)     3. (A)     4. (B)      5. (D)

Conversation 2

M: Do you have a boyfriend, Sally?

W: No, my boyfriend and I just broke up.

M: Why? What happened?

W: We just found that we don't have enough in common.

M: So that's how you decide whether or not you want to date a boy?

W: Not exactly. But that's part of it. I mean, Steve agreed with me. We just didn't have anything to talk about.

M: But didn't you two care very much about each other.

W: Yes, of course we did. But we both knew that it wouldn't work out.

M: Relationships are difficult in the modem world.

W: They definitely are. In addition to being concerned with the opinion of your parents and racial and cultural differences, jobs and wealth, you want to have love as well, something that no one can describe exactly.

M: Yes, and even a hundred years ago, marrying someone of a different race was completely unheard of.

W: Things are much more different today than they were in the past.

M: Do you mean that you would rather be living in the past?

W: Of course not. I'm glad that I have the freedom to choose my own husband.

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

 6. What happened to Sally recently?

 7. What are the speakers talking about?

 8. According to the woman, what caused the break-up?

 9. Why are relationships difficult in the modem world?

10. What will the woman be happy to do?

Key: 6. (D)     7. (C)     8. (B)      9. (D)    10. (C)

UNDERSTANDING PASSAGES

Passage 1

    Last weekend, we celebrated my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. This morning, they left on a long anticipated trip to Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon.

     When my parents married, they had only enough money for a three-day trip fifty miles from home. They made an agreement that each time they made love, they would put a dollar in a special metal box and save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii for their fiftieth anniversary.

     Dad was a policeman, and Mom was a school teacher. They live in a modest house and did all their own repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and sometimes money was short, but no matter what emergency came up, Dad would not let Mom take any money out of the "Hawaii account". As the account grew, they put it in a savings account and then bought CDs.

     My parents were always very much in love. I can remember Dad coming home and telling Mom, "I have a dollar in my pocket," and she would smile at him and say, "I know how to spend it."

     When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small metal box and told us their secret, which we found charming. All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoon. Mom and Dad never told us how much money they had managed to save, but it must have been considerable because when they cashed in those CDs they had enough for the flights to Hawaii and a hotel room for ten days and plenty of spending money.

     As they told us goodbye before leaving, Dad winked and said, "Tonight we are starting an account for Cancun. That should only take twenty-five years."

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage you have just heard.

 1. What did they celebrate last weekend?

 2. What agreement did the speaker's parents make when they got married?

 3. What kind of job did the speaker's mother do then?

 4. According to the story, what did CD mean?

 5. Which article was not included in their expenses?

Key: 1. (C)     2. (B)     3. (A)     4. (B)     5. (D)

Passage 2

     One evening I found myself at a business meeting in Washington, D. C. and as fate would have it, Bucky Fuller happened to be making a presentation that evening at another business meeting in the very same hotel. I got to the ballroom in time to hear the end of Bucky's lecture. I looked in wonder at this little man in his eighties, with his clear mind, deep wise thoughts and endless energy. At the end of the talk, we walked together through the underground parking lot leading to his airport.

     "I've got to go to New York City tonight for another presentation," he said, looking at me with an anxiousness that I had rarely seen in Bucky.

     "You know, Annie's not doing so well. I'm very concerned about her."

     We embraced.

     Bucky Fuller had once shared in secret with me that he had promised his wife Annie to die before she did, so that he could be there to welcome her when it was her turn. I took the comment as a hope, not a commitment.

     Soon after Bucky's presentation in New York, he learned that Annie had fallen into a coma in a hospital in Los Angeles. Doctors felt that there was a good chance she would not regain consciousness. Bucky took the first flight he could get. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, he went immediately to Annie's bedside. Sitting beside her, he closed his eyes and quietly died.

     The power to choose life fully was something that Bucky exemplified. So much so that he had the power to choose death when it was time, peacefully, with arms wide open to the universe that he served. It was simply another courageous step forward.

     Hours later, Annie peacefully joined him in death. He had kept his promise. He was waiting for her.

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the passage you have just heard.

 6. What did the speaker think about his meeting with Bucky Fuller?

 7. What did Bucky Fuller look like?

 8. Why did Bucky look so anxious?

 9. What did Bucky once share in secret with the speaker?

10. What do we learn from the story?

Key: 6. (B)     7. (B)     8. (A)     9. (D)    10. (D)

Passage 3

     Thomas Wheeler, a chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. Wheeler got offthe highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the only worker to fill the tank and check the oil, and then went for a little walk around the station to exercise his legs.

     As he was returning to the car, he noticed that the worker and his wife were engaged in a lively conversation. The conversation stopped as he paid the worker. But as he was getting back into the car, he saw the worker wave to his wife and heard him say, "It was great talking to you."

     As they drove out of the station, Wheeler asked his wife if she knew the man. She readily admitted she did. They had gone to high school together and had dated steadily for about a year.

     "Boy, were you lucky that I came along," boasted Wheeler. "If you had married him, you'd be the wife of a gas station worker instead of the wife of a chief executive officer."

     "My dear," replied his wife, "if I had married him, he'd be the chief executive officer and you'd be the gas station worker."

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

] I. What caused Thomas Wheeler to stop at a gas station?

12. Which of the following did Wheeler not do after he stopped his car?

13. What did Wheeler notice when he returned to his car?

14. Who did the worker mm out to be?

15. What was the reply given by his wife when Wheeler boasted about himself?.

Key: 11. (C)    12. (C)    13. (D)    14. (A)    15. (B)

 Passage 4

      Many lovers promise to be together forever, in life and in death, but I don't believe I've heard of anyone whose faithful support and devotion matched that of Mrs. Isidor Straus.

     The year was 1912. Mrs. Straus and her husband were passengers on the Titanic during its fateful voyage. Not many women went down with the ship, but Mrs. Straus was one of the few women who did not survive for one simple reason: She could not bear to leave her husband.

     This is how Mable Bird, Mrs. Straus's servant, who survived the disaster, told the story after she was saved.

     "When the Titanic began to sink, frightened women and children were the first ones loaded into lifeboats. Mr. and Mrs. Straus were calm and comforting to the passengers, and helped many of them into the boats.

     "If it had not been for them," Mable stated, "I would have drowned. I was in the fourth or fifth lifeboat. Mrs. Straus made me get into the boat."

     Then, Mr. Straus begged his wife to get into the lifeboat with her servant and others. Mrs. Straus started to get in. She had one foot on the edge, but then suddenly, she changed her mind,

turned away and stepped back onto the sinking ship."

     "Please, dear, get into the boat!" her husband urged.

     Mrs. Straus looked deep into the eyes of the man with whom she'd spent most of her life, the man who had been her best friend, her heart's tree companion and always a comfort to her soul. She grabbed his arm and drew his trembling body close to hers.

     "No," Mrs. Straus is said to have replied with resistance. "I will not get into the boat. We have been together through a great many years. We are old now. I will not leave you. Where you go, I will go."

     And that is where they were last seen, standing arm in arm on the deck, this devoted wife clinging courageously to her husband, this loving husband clinging protectively to his wife, as the ship sank. Together forever...

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. When did the story take place?

17. Who told the story of Mr. and Mrs. Straus?

18. What did Mrs. Straus refuse to do?

19. In Mrs. Straus's eyes, what kind of man was her husband?

20. Why didn't Mrs. Straus survive?

Key: 16. (C)    17. (B)   18. (A)    19. (D)    20. (B)