《英语中级口语》（文本+MP3）

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http://bs.szu.edu.cn/yy/cj/02.mp3
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http://bs.szu.edu.cn/yy/cj/35.mp3

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Lesson 1

                          Too Clever

                            Text A
  A farmer who lived in a small village suffered from a severe pain in the chest. This never seemed to get any better. The farmer eventually decided that he would consult a doctor in the nearest town. But as he was a miserly person he thought he would find out what he would have to pay this doctor. He was told that a patient had to pay three pounds for the first visit and one pound for the second' visit. The farmer thought about this for a long time, and then he decided to go and consult the doctor in the town.


  As he came into the doctor's consulting room, he said causally,´ Good morning, doctor. Here I am again.' The doctor was a little surprised. He asked him a few questions, examined his chest and then took the pound which the farmer insisted on giving him. Then the doctor said with a smile , Well , sir. There's nothing new. Please continue to take the same medicine I gave you the first time you came to see me.'


                            Text B
  A man went to see his doctor one day because he was suffering from pains in his stomach. After the doctor had examined him carefully, he said to him, `Well, there's nothing really
wrong with you, I'm glad to say. Your only trouble is that you worry too much.

Do you know, I had a man with the same trouble as you in here a few weeks ago, and I gave him the same advice as I'm going to give you. He was worried because he couldn't pay his tailor's bills. I told him not to worry his head about the bills any more. He followed my advice, and when he came to see me again two days ago, he told me that he now feels quite all right again. '
  `Yes, I know all about that,' answered the patient sadly.`You see , I'm that man's tailor.'

　


                            Additional Information


Doctor:   Good morning. How are you?
Patient:   I'm very worried; doctor.
Doctor:   Oh? What are you worried about?
Patient:   I'm afraid that I'm very ill.
Doctor:   I'm sorry to hear that. Why do you think so?
Patient:   Because I feel tired all the time, even when I wake up in the morning. I find
  it very difficult to do any work. 1 have no appetite. My wife cooks me
  delicious meals but I can only eat a little.
Doctor:   How do you sleep?  
Patient:   Very badly, doctor.
Doctor:   Do you find it difficult to get to sleep, or do you wake up early?
Fatient:   Both, doctor. I never get to sleep until 2 o'clock and I always wake at 5.
Doctor:   Are you worried about anything?
Patient:   Well , yes , I am. I'm worried about my work. I've just taken a new job.
  I earn a lot of money but it's difficult work. I'm always afraid of making
  a mistake.
Doctor:   I see. Please take off your shirt and lie down on the couch.
Patient:   Yes , doctor.(The Doctor examines the patient )
Doctor:   Well , there's nothing very much wrong with you , I'm glad to say. You're
  working too hard and worrying too much. Do you take much exercise?
Patient:   No, doctor. I never have enough time for exercise. I start work very early in
  the morning and finish late in the evening. Then I can't get to sleep.Can
  you give me some medicine to help me to sleep?
Doctor:   I can, but I'm not going to. You don't need medicine. You need advice.
  Don't work so hard. Too much work is bad. for you. Don't worry about your
  work. It's silly to worry. Take regular exercise.
Patient:   But I may lose my job , doctor ! It's hard to get a job like mine.
Doctor:   Then get an easier one , even if you earn less money.
  Which would you rather have, health or wealth?
Patient:   You' re right , doctor. It's more important to be healthy than wealthy. I'll
  change my job. I'm grateful for your advice.
Doctor:   Come and see me again in a month's time. I think you'll be a different man !
[此贴被竹影无风在2004-04-27 20:33重新编辑]

Lesson 2

                            Au Pair Girl

                              Text A

  Gretel comes from Austria. She is eighteen years old. She is going to stay with the Clark family for a year. Gretel has come to England because she wants to improve her English. She works as an au pair girl. She helps Mrs Clark in the house and attends English classes regularly in her spare time.

  Gretel hasn' t been in England long and everything is strange to her. She often compares life in London with life in Vienna. Some things are nicer in London; other things are not so nice. For instance, the shops are bigger in London than in Vienna and there is greater variety. But it's more expensive to enjoy yourself in London. It's expensive to have a meal at a restaurant or to go to a theatre.


  Gretel has got used to many things already, but she can't get used to breakfast in England. "You English eat so much in the morning," she often says. "Fruit juice, porridge, bacon and egg, tea, toast and marmalade! How can you face all that food so early in the day?"


                              Text B

  Maria had decided that as soon as she had finished school she would become an au pair girl in London. Two of her friends had already spent a year with a family in Kensington, and told her they had had an interesting time and had managed to learn a lot of English. She was advised by her Head Teacher to get her parents' consent and to make all the necessary arrangements prior to her departure: have enough money for her return fare, know exactly what kind of a family she was going to live with and what they expected of her.


  Shortly after her eighteenth birthday Maria received a letter from Mrs Hutchinson, the wife of an advertising executive, stating the terms on which she would be employed. The Hutchinsons lived in a house in Chelsea. They had three children; two boys, aged fourteen and ten, both at boarding schools, the elder at a Public School in the Midlands and the younger at a Preparatory School in Surrey;

the youngest child was a girl aged eight, and she went to the French Lycee in South Kensington. During term time Maria would have to take the girl to school in the morning and fetch her in the afternoon. She would have to help Mrs Hutchinson in the house - washing up, making the beds, laying the table, dusting the rooms, answering the door, taking telephone messages, shopping and running errands.

　

She would be guaranteed three evenings a week free and could attend English classes either from eleven till one in the morning or from half past one till four in the afternoon. She would receive 3 a week pocket money. Maria was delighted with the conditions and thought that they were fair. She also liked the look of the family, as Mrs Hutchinson had thoughtfully enclosed a photograph with her letter.


                    Additional Information

  It was nothing for a girl t.o be sent away to service when she was eleven years old. That meant leaving the family as she had never been parted from for a day in her life before, and going to some place miles away to be treated like a dog. I've got nothing against girls going into good service.

In my opinion, good service in a properly run big house was a wonderful training for a lot of girls who never would have seen anything different all the days of their lives if they hadn't gone. It was better than working on the land, then, and if it still existed now, I reckon I'd rather see any of my daughters be a goodhousemaid or a well-trained parlour maid than a dolled-up shop-assistant or a factory worker.

But folks are too proud to work for other folks, now. even if it's to their own advantage, though as far as I can see you are still working for other folks , whatever you're doing. Big houses didn't want little
girls of eleven, even as kitchen maids, so the first few ycars had to be put in somewhere else, before you got even that amount of promotion.

　

Big houses expected good service, but you got good treatment in return. It . wasn't like that at the sort of place my friends had to go. Mostly they went to the farmers' houses within ten or twenty miles from where they'd been born. These farmers were a jumped Up, proud lot who didn't know how to treat the people who worked for them. They took advantage of the poor people's need to get their girls off their hands to get little slaves for nearly nothing. The conditions were terrible.

Lesson 3

                                              Who Took the Money?
                       
                                                        Text A

  Mr Smith gave his wife ten pounds for her birthday-ten pretty pound notes. So the day after her birthday, Mrs Smith went shopping. She queued for a bus, got on and sat down next to an old lady. After a while, she noticed that the old lady's handbag was open. Inside it, she saw a wad of pound notes exactly like the one her husband had given her. So she quickly looked into her own bag- the notes had gone!
　

Mrs Smith was sure that the old lady who was sitting next to her had stolen them. She thought she would have to call the police; but, as she disliked making a fuss and getting people into trouble, she decided to take back the money from the old lady's handbag and say nothing more about it. She looked round the bus to make sure nobody was watching, then she carefully put her hand into the old lady's bag , took the notes and put them in her own bag.
  When she got home that evening, she showed her husband the beautiful hat she had bought.
  ´How did you pay for it?' he asked.
  ´With the money you gave me for my birthday, of course,' she replied.
  ´Oh? What's that, then?' he asked, as he pointed to a wad of ten pound notes on the table.


                              Text B

  'Goodbye, darling,' said Mr Mackin. 'I'll be late tonight.' Poor George, she thought. He was always in a hurry in the morning, and it wasn't unusual for him to come home late at night. He worked for a shoe company in Lceds. and therc was such a lot of work that he normally staycd in the office till seven or cight.


  When George had left the house Mrs Mackin sat down. in an armchair and turned on the radio. It was a few minutes past eight , and she heard the last words of the news :'...wman who escaped from I.ceds prison yesterday is still free. The police warn you not to open your door to strangers. '


  She turned off the radio. The housework was waiting for her. Shc made the beds and washed the dishes. There wasn't auy shopping to do. and so she thought for a moment of all the Work in the garden.
  The Mackins lived in a house with a large garden in a suburb of Leeds. Behind the garden there were some trees. and then the cpen fields.


  Suddenly Mrs Mackin remembered the news. She laughed uneasily. That prison is only 15 miles away, she thought. She didn't work in the garden, she mended her husband 's shirts instead And she care.fully lockcd the front door and closed all the windows.


  It was getting dark. She turned on the lights in the livingroom.Thcn she noticed that she had turned on the lights in most of the roonss in the house.
  'How silly I am!' she said nervously and went into the other rooms and turned the leghts on.
  The person at the door said something loudly. but she was so frightened that she dien't understand a word.



                      Additional Information

  Do you believe in ghosts? I don't, eitlter-or at least I didn't until I heard a strange story the other day from Mr Mike Paton, of 19 Marlborough llill.
  It all began on November 28, whcn Mr Paton's eight-ycar-old son, Bob , was playing in the big back garden of his parents' house. He met an old man with a long white beard. The old man told Bob he was builcling the underground railway there, but Bob didn't believe him. Bob told me afterwards that he knew the underground ran under Marlborough Hill itself. The old man said there had been an accident the day before.   Then he went away.


  At first the Patons didn't believe Bob's story. Mrs Paton told me that Bob often made up stories about ghosts and monsters, like other children of his age. But Mr Paton was curious and decided that he would go to the library to check up on the facts.


  He found that the railway compapy had started to build the line to the west of Marlborough Hill in 1881. but they had run into an underground river. Ten workmen had died in an accident and the Company had changed the direction of the line and built the present tunnel under Marlborough Hill. At first I didn't believe Mr Paton's storv either, so I did some research myself.


  Inspector Bright of the Metropolitan Police said it was natural to find tramps in the district in winter, but no one had reported one answering the description I had given him since last August.


  Mr Joseph Griffiths of London Transport checked the files on the accident for me. He told me that the accident had apparently taken place on or very near the junction of Marlborough Hill and Woodstock Avenue on 27 November 1881. Mr Paton's house stands on the corner!
  The source of this extraordinary story was not affected by the news. 'I told Mummy it was true,' young Bob Paton told me yesterday. When I left the house he was playing happily with his toy cars-in the garden!

Lesson4

                        Musical Half-Notes

                            Text A
  A musician who played Pop Music in a CLub lived in boardinghouse in the centre of london. He always used to get back to his room very late at night and sometimes inthe carly hours of
the morning. He was so tired when he got back that he would si ton the edge of his bed ,take off his shoes and throw them on the floor and say. 'Thank goodness. another day is over.' He would thcn get into hcd and fall fast aslecp.

  But thepoor lodger who had the room under the musician's was wokcn up cach night, or carly?in the morning. by the two thuds that the two shoes made as thcy landcd On his ceiling.Finally, he could not stand it any more and went and complained to thc musician.


  Naturally the musician was very upset and promiscd that, in future, aftcr taking off his shoes, he would put them down as quictly as possible on the carpct.
The ncxt day, he got back from his club at about one o'clock in the morning. went up to his room, sat on the edge of his bed, took off one shoe and threw it on the floor.

He was just about to do the same with the other when suddenly remcmbered the promise he had made the day before. So with grcat care he put the second shoe down silently on the carpet. Then he got into bed and fell fast aslecp. An hour later, he was woken up by a violent knocking on his door. It was thc lodger who slept in the room just under his.
  'Plcase, plcase, please,' the Iodger plcaded, 'drop the other shoe. I have been waiting for a whole hour for you to drop it. As soon as you do I can go to sleep. '


                              Text B

  Of all the men who ever liked fresh air, not one liked it more than James Wilson. He took long walks in the fresh air. He ran long distances in the fresh air. He played football and other games in the fresh air. He liked to climb mountains and breathe the fresh air at the top. He used to go to sit by the sea and watch the great waves in the fresh air. He always slept with his windows wide open. He had an open car with no roof, and he drove it madly through the fresh air.


  If Wilson entered a room where the windows were shut, he immediately opened them. He did this even when snow was falling outside. If someone else shut the windows again, he walked out of the room in a manner which showed his opinions without any doubt. When he travelled by sea, he could usually be found in a place on board where the wild wind was blowing through his hair.


  One winter Wilson went to Finland on business. Good hotels in Finland are heated during the cold winter, and this winter was even colder than usual. When Wilson reached his room in the hotel. he found that the windows were closed to keep the icy air out. He did his best to open one , but failed. It was absolutely impossible to open it : the manager had very wisely arranged that.


  Wilson undressed and got into bed. He was a very angry man.
  The bedroom was very pleasant. Two or three pictures on the walls showed views of some beautiful parts of Finland. There was no noise at all. The bed was really excellent; but Wilson could not sleep. He could not forget the closed window. No fresh air! It was terrible to think of!


  He got out of bed and tried once more to open the window; but it was useless, and he sadly got back into bed.
At about one o'clock in the morning he was still awake, worrying about the air in the bedroom. He had turned over in bed two hundred and thirty-six times. He was very hot. As he turned over for the two hundred and thirty-seventh time, one arm came out of the bedclothes and hung down beside the bed. His hand touched the floor. It also touched something on the floor. This thing was a shoe.


  An idea came into his worried mind. Angry men act quickly,
and the shoe was in his hand in less than a second. Where was the window? He could see something that looked like glass over there. He threw the shoe through the darkness with all the force of his strong right arm.


  The shoe flew straight through the air and hit the glass in the middle. A terrible sound of breaking glass filled the bedroom,
but to Wilson's sad heart it seemed like the sound of sweet and beautiful music.
  "Now I have some fresh air in the room," he thought. "NOW I need not die. "
  Five minutes later he was peacefully asleep. He did not move for many hours.


  When daylight came gently through the window, he awoke and lay with his eyes closed. Where was he? Oh, yes! He was in Fioland; but what the matter? Was auytlting wrong'? There was something to worry about What was it? Oh. the broken windmv! Yes, indeed. He would have to pas?for that.How much.? Was it a big piece of glass? He could not remember. He Opened his eyes to look.


  Slowly he tnrned them towards the window. and then he sat up suddenly in bed. He was very surprised: the window was not broken at all. The glass was all in one piece. just as good as it had been the might before. No fresh air was etitering the room through that window.
  What,then,had happened when he threw the shoe?
  He turned his eyes to the side and saw a broken picture hanging on the wall.There was a shoe on the floor below it. He could see a lot of broken glass round the shoe . and there was more inside it.



                      Additional Information

  Here is what happened to Adrian Fox on the train one day:
  Adrian Fox lives in Devon and he is travelling home from London by train. He decides to have a cup of tea. and goes to the train buffet. While he is drinking his t.ea, an attractive girl comes and sits at the same table. They begin talking and the girl tells Adrian she is going to Devon on holiday. They are soon very friendly. Adrian finds out that the girl hasn't yet found a hotel to stay in. Adrian's mother has a spare room in her house, and Aclrian invites the girl to stay there. He knows his mother won't mind. The girl accepts.


  A few minutes later a man comes and sits beside the girl. who introduces
hint to Adrian. He is her husband. Adrian didn't know the giri was married, and he is a little angry. His mother won't like to have two people staying in her house. Then three children arrive. Two of them are carrying cats. and one has a small dog. They are the girl'a children. They are all very happy, the girl says, to be staying in Adrian's mother's house. Eut Adrian isn't so happy. When he reaches the station he phones his mother. . .

Lesson 5

                      Is He a Hero?

                            Text A

  "Fire! Fire! " What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house-the sort that burns beautifully---and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped out into the passage. It was full of thick smoke.

  I began to run, but as I was still only balf-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in thc opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see flames all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an opcn door and ran into a room to get to the window.

But bcfore I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes , and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor . gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.


  I saw a flaming doorway in front . put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terribly, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry. I nearly dropped it in my surprisel? Then I saw a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man's coat screamed" as she saw me and came running madly.


  "My baby ! My baby! " she cried. The crowd chcered wildly as she took the smoke-blackened bundle out of my arms. I had some difficulty in recognizing her. She was the Mayor's wife, and I had saved her baby. I was a hero!


                              Text B

  Teresa went up to Mrs Webster's room, two stairs at a time. She was nearly at the top when she stopped and sniffed. A strong smell of gas was coming from that direction. Teresa ran up the remaining stairs and threw open the door. She put her hands over her mouth to stop a scream. Mrs Webster was lying on the floor near the sink. Her skin and lips had a pinkish colour and she appeared to be unconscious. The room was full of gas.



                      Additional Information

  Who doesn't love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter's night? Who doesn't love to watch flames curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man's greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes,though, a fire can start on its own. Wet hay can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to.rot and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That's why farmers cut and store their hay when it's dry.


  Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the l7th century, a small fire which began in a baker's shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A. D. Nero fiddled while Rome burned! Even today, in spite of modern fire-fighting methods. fire causes millions of pounds' worth of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside. It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master.

Lesson 6

                  How It Feels When Parents Divorce

                            Text A

Ari, age fourteen
  When my parents were married, I hardly ever saw my Dad
becausc he was always busy working. Now that they're divorced , I've gotten to know him more because I'm with him everu weckend. And I really look forward to the weekends because it's kind of like a break-it's like going to Disncyland because thcre'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 remarricd-to someone I don't get along with all that well. It's all rnade me fcel that people shouldn't get married-they should just livc 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 mv Mom because lots of times she can't pay her bills, and it makes her angry when I stay with my fatherand 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'd be 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 ehougli 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 haby 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 d;nner 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 unhapp.y, 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. Yet, as awful as it was, I never hoped they'd get back together. And now I think I'd die if they did, because it would be so awkward for rne.

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 ggy. 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 stufi. I think it's so much easier for the child if the parents are friendly. If they aren't, it's really difficuit 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 rny 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 Stonesl8 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 otherone Iike camping out. I can't buy two of everytlring, so I might as well have one good room that's really mine.


  Another aspect of josnt 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'tthat we have to sel'ect our programs verv 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 I'eam 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 thinkthey're 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 gdes 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 reflectde 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 th'ss 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 informed her daughter.



                    Additional Information

                              (1)


JOAN:   Yes, madam? Can I help you?
MRS S:   Oh yes, please, but you're just closing. aren't you?
JOAN:   Well , yes , we are , madam. The shop shuts in five minutes.
MRS S:   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?
MRS S:   Oh, they were lovely! Sort of imitation wood. dark brown colour.  
  country-style you know, and the lids, 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?
MRS S:   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 eyeswhen I saw them.
JOAN:   I'm afraid the sales are over now, madam, and I know we sold out of all
  the saucepans.
MRS S:   I don't think you did, you know. At least, my neighbour, Mrs Cliffe,
  told me she saw some here only yesterday.
JOZN:   Well, it's all new stock in the window now.
MRS S:   May I just have a iook, to see if there's asything else?
JOAN:   Er, well, madam, as you know. we were just closing.
MRS S:   Yes , yes , I'm sorry I won't keep you. It must get on your nerves when
  l customers come in right on closing-time. But they were such beautifu
  saucepans! I'd have bought them then if only I'd made up my mind on  
  the stop.
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  
MRS S:   Oh look! That one there! That's the sort of thing I was looking for!
  price.Butit'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.
MRS S:   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 Thursday and/or Friday-some large food shops stay open until about 8. 00 p. 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 almest 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 works 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, he 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 rcalizes 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 he 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.



                      Additional lnformation

                  Marny Suicides Reported on Respect For Aged Day

  Tragic suicides by aged persons were reported from across the country 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 tuberculosis and the hardening of the arteries in addition to,the loss of 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 sice 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 anothei 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. latet.
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 vacancv.Not convenicnt 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 mployees.


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.



                    Additional Information

                            I Want a Wife

  I belong to that classification of people known as wives, I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally. I am a mother.
  Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is obviously looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, Would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?


  I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me. want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children's doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean.

I want a wife who will wash the children's clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the`park, the zoo, etc.

I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot , miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife's income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while she is working.


  I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be , and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook.

I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene.


  I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.


  I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are inv'sted out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like and want to enterta.in, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about the things that interest me and my friends.

I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel cornfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that t.hey are passed the hors d'oeuvres, that they are offered a second helping of thc food, that their wine glasses are replenished ?vhen Iiecessary, that their coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself.


  I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not waat more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually fait.hful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible.


  If , by chance , I find anothe: person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.
  When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife's duties.
  My God, who wouldn't want a wife?

Lesson 10

                      How to Describe Yourself

                            Text A

                          All about me
  I'm twelve years old. I'm large for my age and have big feet which I am self-conscious about. I look like both my mum and my dad but in different ways. I have fair hair and blue eyes like my dad, and a mouth an'd expression like my mum. My nose is like my mother's and definitely nothing like my father's ( 'thank oodness'). I am very like my mum in temperament, though I don't have her very hot temper.

  I'm rather a tomboy but I'm not violent. I hate fighting and arguments. I hate being laughed at and some teasing hurts me more than I show. I tend to sulk when I am annoyed and I tend to be a bit oversensitive. Friendship is important to me with people of all ages. My home is very important to me and I would hate to be sent to a boarding school. On the whole I'm a fairly tidy persorl.


  I am quite creative with my hands. I like making models , pendants and candles as well as other things. I like acting and music, I play the French horn and can play the trumpet. I am not a very keen reader because I like to be outside most of the time. I ride my bike a lot and have been youth hosteling with it. My father lives abroad and I enjoy travelling to see him. I enjoy my food (especially my French grandmother as she is an excellent cook! ) and I have a sweet tooth but I hate the dentist. I don't like my hair being brushed by someone else and I hate it long.
  Finally, the one thing I really find boring is homework as I would far rather be outside or make something.

                       
                              Text B
           
                            My thoughts

  I sometimes wonder what my mind is like inside, often I fancy that it is like this. I feel as if my mind goes round and round like the earth and if my lessons make me think hard it begins to spin. In my other class it was getting all stodgy and still and lumpy and rusty. I feel as if there is a ball in my mind and it is divided into pieces -each piece stands for a different mood.

The ball turns every now and then and that's what makes me change moods. I have my learning mood, my goodlooks mood, my happy mood, my loose-end mood and my grumpy mood, my miserable mood, my thoughtful mood and my planning mood. At the moment I am writing this I am in my thoughtful mood.When I am in my thoughtful mood I think out my maths and plan stories and poems. When my kitten is in her thoughtful mood she thinks shall I pounce or not, and shall I go to sleep or not. This sort of thing goes on in my own mind, too. It is very hard for me to put my thoughts into words.



                    Additional Information

                              (1)

  He's the sort of chap who loves to make entrances and exits. He'll arrive ten minutes before everybody else and he'll leave ten minutes before everybody else. He'll come dashing in with a bunch of flowers, screaming hellos. He likes to be noticed. He loves telling jokes. He's a well-informed chap and keeps up to date with all the current affairs. He likes to talk and give his view on life .

He's very successful. When he sets himself a goal, he works hard to attain that and to achieve it. He knows what he wants and he'll set out to get it. As a result, he's successful. When you're talking to Roger, sometimes you're left way, way behind. His mind is whizzing over so fast that you're talking about something, and he's off at a tangent,talking about something completely different. He can't sit down. He's not. He can't relax. He's always jumping up and doing things and finds it hard to concentrate at times.

                                (2)

  She gazes at.herself in wonder. Vanished are her healthy pink cheeks, her slightly red winter nose, her mole, her little freckles and blemishes; she is smooth, new made. She dabs a little powder on top, and stands back to admire the effect. It is pleasing, she decides. She wonders what it will look like by midnight. Will she be transformed imo an uneven, red-faced, patchy, blotchy clown? An ugly sister?

                                (3)

  When she was twenty-three years old, she met, at a Christmas party, a young man from the Erewash Valley. Morel was then twenty-seven years old. He was well set-up, erect, and very smart. He had wavy black hair that shone again, and a vigorous black beard that had never been shaved. His cheeks were ruddy, and his red, moist mouth was noticeable because he laughed so often and so heartily.

He had that rare thing, a rich, ringing laugh. Gertrude Coppard had watched him, fascinated. He was so full of colour and animation, his voice ran so easily into comic grotesque, he was so ready and so pleasant with everybody. Her own father had a rich fund of humour,but it was satiric. This man's was different: soft, non-intellectual, warm, a kind of gambolling.


  She herself was opposite. She had a curious, receptive mind which' found much pleasure and amusement in listening to other folk. She was clever in leading folk to talk. She loved ideas, and was considered very intellectual. What she liked most of all was an argument on religion or philosophy or politics with some educated man. This she did not often enjoy. So she always had people tell her about themselves, finding her pleasure so.


  In her person she was rather small and delicate, with a large brow, and dropping bunches of brown silk curls. Her blue eyes were very straight, honest,and searching. She had the beautiful hands of the Coppards. Her dress was always subdued. She wore dark blue silk, with a peculiar silver chain of silver scallops. This, and a heavy brooch of twisted gold, was her only ornament. She was still perfectly intact, deeply religious, and full of beautiful candour.