adjustable-kotoko
L5 Unit 1-1 Listening
Jessica was 35 years old. She graduated
from middle school 20 years ago. This year her
middle
school
class
had
its
20th
year
class
for
reunion
.
All
of
her
classmates
and
teachers were invited to attend. It’s
to going to be
held at the hotel, near
where their
school used to be. Like
many other buildings, the school had been torn
down. It had
been replaced by some of
the apartment buildings.
At
first,
she
wasn’t
sure
if
she
could
go
to
the
reunion.
One
reason
was
that
there
wasn’t anyone in
particular that she wanted to see. Another reason
was that she was
very busy. She was a
working mother, with a boy 8 years old and her
husband who was
rarely at home. Going
to the reunion meant that she would have to
arrange someone to
tak
e care
of things while she was away. That wouldn’t be
easy. She didn’t want to
take her boy
with her and her husband wouldn’t
take
time off from work
.
Then she got a message from Sharon, one
of her classmates. Sharon was
contacting
people from their
class and
urging
everyone to
come. In the school days, she was class
monitor,
and
now
she
was
helping
to
organize
the
reunion.
They
exchanged
the
messages and Jessica said she couldn’t
make it
. Then Sharon gave
her a call and they
talked for almost
an hour. Sharon really wanted her to come and so
did
a couple of
Jessica’s old friends. They were all
wondering how she was doing. None of them have
seen
or
heard
from
her
since
graduation.
They
were
especially
curious
since
she
hadn’t gone to
their first
reunion 10 years before.
Jessica decided to arrange things so
that she could go. Her husband finally agreed to
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take
care
of
things
while
she
was
away.
He
agreed
to
do
it
because
her
mother
had
offered to come and stay for a while so
Jessica could attend the reunion. Since he and
her mother didn’t get along, he decided
to change his schedule and work from home
for a few days.
He really
didn’t want her mother to come though he didn’t
say so.
When she got to the
reunion, she was shocked. Everyone had aged so
much and many
of them were
out of shape
. Some who used
to be good-looking had lost their looks
completely
and
others
look
much
better
and
before.
It
was
strange
how
time
had
changed people in such
different ways. Anyway, she decided that since she
was there,
she would try to enjoy it.
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L5 Unit 1-1
vocabulary
To replace something means
to put something else in its ways. When something
gets
old and begins to break down, it
may need to be replaced.
To
tear something down means break it apart. To tear
a person down
means to hurt
them by saying negative things about
them.
To
construct
somethings
means
to
build
it
or
put
it
together.
Large
construction
projects include buildings, bridges and
organizations. The opposite of constructive is
destructive
.
To organize something means to arrange
things in elderly logical way. An organization
is something that has a logical
structure such as a well-managed company.
To
support
something
such
an
idea
is
to
help
or
add
strength
to
it.
The
opposite
of
support is to
undermine
(
逐渐削弱
)or weaken.
Public information is
available to anyone who wants to know it. if a
store is open to the
public, it means
anyone can come in.
Private
information is not open to everyone but it’s only
available to trusted friend to
family.
Information about
one’s secret hopes or
dreams is usually private.
Confidential
information
is
secret
information.
Confidential
is
not
supposed
to
be
shared with
others.
Gossip is
information that is often be exchanged because of
its exciting and fun, even
though it
maybe not be true. Offering gossip is often
entertaining but it can often be
damaging.
Opinions
are
what
people
think
and
feel
about
something
as
it
supposed
to
factual
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information. Factual
information is based on facts or evidence, but
opinions are what
people think or feel.
They are too
disorganized to get anything done on time.
To replace something means
to out something else in its place.
The
opposite of construct is tear down.
Opinions often differ, and when they do
people may argue.
Gossip is
information that is often made up or
exaggerated
.
The password to your bank account
information is private information.
Many people make money by
investing in public
companies
.
Revealing confidential information may
be illegal.
Gossip may hurt
or embarrass the person
being gossiped
about
.
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L5 Unit 1-1
dialogue
Is this the Ace service
center?
Yes, it is, Sir. May I help
you?
Yes, I’m calling to complaining
about your service.
Certainly, sir. I’m sorry to hear that.
Let me see if that’s something I can do to help
you. Please tell me what happened.
I order a new washing
machine at new website. It was more than a week
ago.
Before you go on, may
I have your order number please?
Sure,
it’s abc1005.
And may I
have the last 4
digits
of
your social security number?
I don’t
have a social security number. I’m
an
illegal alien
.
Very funny, sir. Ok, then. What’s your
first pet’s name?
Mr. Kidi.
OK, I see your all
information. Now, what’s your problem?
I ordered a new washing machine and
paid for it. Then I chose the delivery date for
a
set of
choices. It was supposed to be
delivered today, but it’s still not here.
Did anyone contact you?
No, I haven’t received messages.
I’m sorry to hear that sir.
I see here that the washing
machine you ordered hasn
’t
arrived in our warehouse(
仓库
)
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yet. It can be delivered until next
week.
You do
n’t
even have it yet? Why haven’t
I been
notified
. I
took
time off from work
to be at home
today
.
You
should have been notified by phone or email.
I wasn’t. I haven’t
received any
notification
.
This is very upsetting.
I
understand, sir. I’m really sorry for this.
Being sorry isn’t enough.
I’m really upset. This is no way to do business.
Yes, sir, I understand.
I can send you a 50-dollar
gift coupon as a way to express our appreciation
for your
patience.
I don’t care about the money. I don’t
blame you of course but I want you to know
how disappointed that I am with Ace. I
expected much better service.
I’m reall
y sorry, sir. Is
that anything else that I can do for you?
Yes, that is. I’d like to cancel the
order and get
a refund.
I’m sorry to hear that, sir.
But I understand.
I’ll see
to it that
you get your refund.
How long will it take
before I get the refund
?
You
should see the credit on
your next month’s credit card billing statement.
Thanks for your help.
You are welcome sir and
once again, please accept my apologies.
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L5 Unit 1-2
Listening
Jessica
’s
20
-year
class
reunion
was
held
at
a
fancy
hotel.
When
she
arrived,
she
wasn’t sure she was in the right place.
At first, she didn’t recognize anyone. She felt a
bit awkward and out of place.
But it wasn’t before a strange man came
up to her
.
He was already
losing his hear and he was wearing
thick glasses
(
深度眼
镜
)
. Don’t you
remember
me?
He
asked.
When
he
said
who
he
was,
she
barely
remembered
him,
especially he has changed so much. Then
he told her that he had always
had
crush on
her
. He said she
looked beautiful and he immediately took a
selfie
of them, with his
arm
tight around her
waist
. This made her felt a bit
strange. She smiled at him and
pretended to be happy to see him. But
in fact, she was sure how to react, thought he
seemed
nice.
She
finally
excused
herself
and
went
to
the
ladies’
room.
She
was
beginning to regret to having come to
the reunion. She had always been shy and she
still was. When she returned to the
party, Sharon invited her to sit at her table.
Dinner
was going to be served soon and
some of the classmates were going to give
speeches.
Sharon next was also got to
say a few words too because people were curious.
This was
a
surprise.
Jessica
had
never
been
very
popular
and
she
didn’t
think
anyone
had
noticed her. She had always felt like
an outsider, with only a couple of close friends.
Still,
she had been one of the best
students and people remembered her.
As
the evening
wore
on
,
Jessica
began
to
really
enjoy
herself.
She
told
to
her
old
friends
and
was
amazed by
how some others had changed.
For
example,
Tom
used
to
be
good
looking
and
athletic.
He
was
one
of
the
most
popular students, and
star basketball player. His one problem was math.
He had had
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hard time in math especially in
geometric
.
This
is because he wasn’t a logical thinker.
Except for ba
sketball, he
didn’t want to do anything, unless it was
easy
. Tom was
no longer good
looking. His nose
which had
always been large, had grown even larger.
He had also
gained a lot of
weight
. His wife had left him so for
the first time and ever,
he was lone.
He looked lonely and depressed, not at all like he
used to be.
Steve was a
nobody in middle school. People hardly noticed
him. He was small, quiet
and a bit ugly
with
crooked teeth
. What he
was good at was English. His English was
even better than their
teachers. After graduating, he went to
low rent university and
eventually
dropped out. For a while, he worked as a tour
guide. Then, 10 years ago, he
and some
friends started a little company which is now a
great success. In fact, he had
become a
rich, gen
erous man. He had a nice warm
smile and his success hadn’t
gone
to his
head
(
冲昏头脑
). It
was a pleasure to be around him.
Betty used to be the most beautiful
girl in school.
She wasn’t very smart
but she was a
great singer. She made a
video of her singing and
it went
viral
. She became famous
overnight but it only lasted for about
2 years. After that, her fans lost
interested in
her.
She tried to become an actress, but she
failed. She has been too stiff and nervous in
front of the camera. Betty has a nice
husband who seems to
adopt
her. The one tragedy
in her life
happened about 5 years ago when she lost her
daughter
to
a rare
form of
cancer
.
Because of that, her hair had begun to turn grey.
Jessica
couldn’
t
help but
feel sorry for her
.
Betty had had such
high hope
in
tremendous
energy as a girl, but
things didn’t
work out.
And then there
was John. John used to be the school
bully
. He had been big,
strong
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and mean. He hadn’t been nice to
anybody. It seemed that he was always angry and
ready to hit someone. After graduating,
he joined the army and went overseas to fight
to a war. His saw many people died and
he grew to hate fighting of any
kind
. Then
one day, he was
nearly killed when
a helicopter he was
in
was shut down. He survived
the crash(
事故
) but
he lost a leg and was
hospitalized
for nearly a
year. Now he had
completely changed. He
had
gentle
, kind eyes and
beautiful smile. He was
working
for
an organization that
provides support to elderly people. From Jessica’s
point of view,
john
had
turned out to be
a wonderful surprise.
In the end, Jessica was
glad
she went
to her reunion. It was
interesting to see how people had changed through
these years.
Still, she was happy to
get home and appreciate everything that she had.
go viral
像病毒一样传播开来
be
prepare for
为…作准备
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L5 Unit 1-2 vocabulary
A broken heart is what happens when a
love relationship is
broken
off
. Someone with
the broken
heart is usually depressed which means they feel
awful and don’t enjoy
life.
To fall in love with someone can be a
wonderful experience, with powerful emotions.
People in love often share their
deepest feelings and emotions, which is
intimacy
(n.
亲
密
;
亲近
;
亲昵的言行
;
性行为
).
To
find
someone
attractive
usually
means
there
is
a
physical
desire
to
be
with
him.
Physical attraction may
sometimes lead to love, But in many cases, it may
only lead to a
short term sexual
relationship.
To
flirt
(
< br>调情
)
with
someone
means
to
let
him
or
her
know
that
you
want
to
be
approached.
Some people use their eyes or smile to flirt.
Jealousy
is what
often happens when two people
compete
for
the love of the same
person. The one who loses may be very
jealous of the other and tries to break things
up.
Rivals insult
辱骂
Feelings of jealousy may last for a
long time and can destroy friendship.
Some people can remain calm
even when everyone else is confused and upset.
When
you are calm, you can think
clearly and make good decisions.
People react to disappointing news in
different ways. Sometimes they get discouraged
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and lose their confidence. Sometimes
they get depressed and began to cry or even get
drunk.
People
are
furious
when they are in
extremely
angry. People who
are furious at
each
other maybe end up fighting or trying
to hurt each other.
To
be
excited
is
usually
a
good
thing.
People
can
become
excited
while
watching
a
soccer
match
and
seeing
their
team
score
a
goal.
The
opposite
of
exciting
is
doll
or
boring.
Someone is terrified if they are
extremely afraid and shaking with fear. Terrified
people
will often scream and
run away from whatever is threatening
them
.
Being in love can
blind you
from seeing things
as they really are.
The emotions of love have
inspired poets throughout history.
When you are in love with someone you
can hardily think of anything else.
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L5 Unit 1-2 dialogue
What
are you so exciting about?
Have you heard? John and Sylvia are
getting a divorce.
No, I
haven’t. But I’m not surprised. To be honest, I
never expected their marriage to
last
for very long. She is so aggressive and
bossy(
专横的
) .
Well, I think John has an affair. He
met someone on the business trip.
Really, how did you find that out.
Sherry told me a few
minutes ago.
Oh, Sherry.
She is such a gossip. I wouldn’t
believe anything she says.
No, really. This time I think we can
trust her.
I don’t think she’s making
it up
.
Wow, this is news. What about their
baby?
I don’t know. I haven’t heard
anything about that.
Well,
that’s
too
bad.
Even
though
I
don’t
like
either
one
of
them
,
I
feel
sorry
for
them. It’s so bad when
this happens especially for the child.
Yeah,
right.
It’s
easy
to
fall
for
the
gossip
and
forget
to
think
about
the
serious
consequences.
Still,
I can’t sense
surprised. Can you imagine
living
with someone like
that?
No, I can’t. She is so
self
-center.
And
what about him?
I don’t know him well
but he seems nice.
I think
so too.
I’m not sure how he ever felt
for her.
Are you
kidding? Hormones(
荷尔蒙
),You
had to admit that she is physically attractive.
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He
probably
co
uldn’t
help
himself.
And
now
he
seems
to
have
fell
in
love
with
someone
else.
I
guess he
can’t control himself. I’ve
heard he
had a drinking problem too.
Oh,
I wasn’t aware of
that.
Well, what’s new,
right? Something’s never changed.
That’s for sure. He
y, what
about lunch?
No, thanks. I’d better to
get back to work.
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