Hurt by Overheard Word

Dear Ann Landers,

I'm a 17-year-old guy who needs to know what to do. Right now I'm hurt, mad, insulted, and mixed up. This is the story.

I just phoned a girl I like a lot. We've dated some – not much, but I thought she liked me. When I asked her if I could come over after supper, she said, "Wait a minute". She thought she had the mouthpiece of the phone covered but I heard her say, "How can I get rid of this creep? He wants to come over and I don't want him to. "Then she came back on and said, "I'm sorry but I have to go someplace with my parents".

I can't avoid this chick because we are in several classes together and we have the same friends. How should I act? Should I let her know that I heard what she said?

Double Ears

Factual questions

1. Why did the boy telephone the girl? What did he ask her?

2. What did the girl say to him?

3. What did he accidentally overhear her say?

4. Why is he "hurt, mad, insulted, and mixed up?"

5. What questions does he ask Ann Landers?

Language use

The girl does not want the boy to visit her, but she doesn't want to be impolite and say this directly. She makes up a "white lie." This is a kind of lie that is considered harmless because it is told for the sake of being polite. What is a white lie called in your language? Is it considered socially acceptable?

Vocabulary

to overhear

a guy

mixed up

to date

to come over

to get rid of

a creep

to come back on

to avoid

a chick

Double Ears

Discussion

1. If you were the boy, how would you feel?

2. If you were the girl, what would you do?

3. Has this kind of situation ever happened to you? What did you do?

4. Why didn't the girl make up an excuse immediately? Why do you suppose she needed to ask for help?

5. What do you think she might have said if the boy had asked if he could visit her the next night, or if he had asked for a date on the weekend?

6. What do you think Ann Landers will tell Double Ears to do?

Writing

Write a letter to Double Ears, as if were Ann Landers, and answer his questions.

From the desk ofAnn Landers

Discussion

1. Do you agree with Ann Landers' advice?

2. Ann Landers advises Double Ears to "act natural." What does she mean? How should he act the next time he sees the girl?

SITUATION 13.

TV or not TV?

Dear Ann Landers,

Ron, is 21 and I am 19. We're newlyweds, and our problem is the TV in the bedroom. Ron likes to lie in bed and watch TV until midnight every night and some nights he watches until 1 AM.

I want to turn off the TV at 11 PM because I have to get up at seven for work, and if I don't get eight hours sleep I am very crabby the next morning. Ron gets up at seven too, but he says he doesn't need as much sleep as I do. Anyway, I can't fall asleep while the TV is on, and Ron refuses to turn it off at 11 PM;

How can this problem be solved? Don't suggest ear plugs because they hurt my ears.

Crabby

Factual questions

1. What does Ron like to do every night?

2. What does his wife want to do?

3. How many hours of sleep does his wife need?

4. What happens if she doesn't get this much sleep?

5. Does Ron need as much sleep as his wife?

6. Why can't his wife wear ear plugs?

Discussion

1. What does the writer want Ann Landers to tell her to do?

2. What kind of relationship do you think the writer and her husband have?

3. Is Ron willing to compromise? Is Crabby?

4. How do you think this problem can be solved?

Vocabulary

newlyweds

crabby

From the desk ofAnn Landers

Discussion

1. Do you think that Ron will agree to such a compromise? What will happen if there are TV programs which he wants to watch on two consecutive nights?

2. Explain what Ann Landers means when she says, "although a compromise makes a good umbrella, it's a poor roof."

Language in life

Who has a problem? Ron? Crabby? Both of them? Talk with a partner about what you think Ron and Crabby should do to solve their problem.

Assume that Ron and Crabby can't agree on a 50-50 compromise. Crabby decides to sleep in another room. Choose a partner and prepare and present a brief dialogue which dramatizes Crabby's decision and Ron's response.

Writing

1. Does a member of your family have a habit that annoys you or makes you crabby? Write about it. What have you tried to do about it?

2. Be honest: Do you think you have a habit that annoys someone in your family? What is it? How does the other family member behave when you do it?

SITUATION 14.

Calling Collect; Lack of Respect?

Dear Ann Landers,

My boyfriend, who is 19 years old, moved to another city. I am 17, work part-time and do baby-sitting, so I have money of my own. (I get no allowance.) Lately I've been having terrific hassles with my parents. When Jed calls me collect, they refuse to accept the call, even though I am sitting right there. They just say, "Marianne isn't at home." I don't mind paying for his calls, and as long as it's my money I don't think they have the right to do this.

My mother says in her day no respectable boy called a girl collect, and no decent girl would accept such a call. Jed has a job but he's just getting by and the only way we can talk is if I pay on my end.

We'd like your opinion on this.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 818