Unit 5 You are my rescuer
Vocabulary Task
Script and Answers
1. A: Jenny looks in good humor today!
B: She is engaged to John, don’t you know?
A: John? Is he a golden boy?
B: Yeah, and he not only has a bright future, but also is ready to go through hell and high water to help his friends.
2. A: I just can’t understand why people think Nick is the greatest thing since sliced bread?
B: I think that is mainly because he is the person who will grasp the thistle.
A: What do you mean?
B: Well, he always attacks difficult situations with bold determination.
3. A: Oh, poor lamb, he has failed for three times!
B: But I believe he will try for the fourth time.
A: Why do you think so?
B: I know him well. He has got guts. He won’t stop until he succeeds.
4. A: John is in high feather today.
B: You see, he has overcome so many difficulties and finally accomplishes it.
A: He is indeed a strong-minded person.
B: I couldn’t agree with you more. Once he knows where the shoe pinches, he will leave no stone unturned to solve it.
5. A: Did you watch the debate contest yesterday?
B: No, but I heard Peter won the first prize.
A: Yes, he is so intelligent that his answering speech always left his opponent without a leg to stand on.
B: He is so hot on it.


Listening Task

2. Listening Activity
1) First Listening
Answers
1. My parents couldn’t believe the bizarre specimens of boyhood that I regularly dragged home.
2. It is bad enough bringing home a complete loser, but when you date someone twice your age it is guaranteed to push family relations to the limit.
3. In my case, my parents wisely switched to a more wily way of attempting to get rid of boyfriends whom they felt were inappropriate.

2) Second Listening
Answers
1. One of my first “romances” was with greasy-haired David, whose drug problem did not go down too well with my family members. So why did David seem so attractive to me? Simple, my parents strongly disapproved of him.
2. The parents of Mary Russell encountered this when their 16-year-old daughter entered into a relationship with her 32-year-old teacher. Mary’s parents failed to dissuade their daughter from dating her older teacher and, following a bitter court case, the lovesick couple are now back in each other’s arms.
3. Indeed, by the time I’d reached 17 and had my first serious boyfriend, there were no more arguments. Nor were there any obvious signs of dislike. They tried an approach that they thought would be far more effective than verbal condemnation 行 they invited him to a boring family get-together.

Script

Blind love
You can hardly blame my parents for being so disapproving of my teenage boyfriends. During my adolescent years I was strangely attracted to losers and oddballs. My parents couldn’t believe the bizarre specimens of boyhood that I regularly dragged home.
One of my first “romances” was with greasy-haired David, whose drug problem did not go down too well with my family members. So why did David seem so attractive to me? Simple, my parents strongly disapproved of him.
There is nothing new, of course, in parental disapproval of teenage love interests. Nor is there anything new in teenagers falling in love with the biggest losers around. Adolescent girls with eccentric boyfriends are essentially screaming out to their parents, “if you can’t accept that I’m old enough to make my own decisions, I’ll just have to prove it to you in a way that you are sure to notice? So why do parents fail to realize that the more they oppose unsuitable boyfriends, the more their daughters will pick them out? After all, did my mother really think that in my heart of hearts I truly fancied the losers? Had she simply smiled and said sweetly, “What a darling boy. Let’s invite him round for Sunday lunch”, he would have been given the boot in no time.
It is bad enough bringing home a complete loser, but when you date someone twice your age it is guaranteed to push family relations to the limit. The parents of Mary Russell encountered this when their 16-year-old daughter entered into a relationship with her 32-year-old teacher. “There were a lot of arguments between her and me and her dad about it not being right,” said Mrs. Russell. Surprisingly, despite all the fights, Mary’s parents failed to dissuade their daughter from dating her older teacher and, following a bitter court case, the lovesick couple are now back in each other’s arms.
In my case, my parents wisely switched to a more wily way of attempting to get rid of boyfriends whom they felt were inappropriate. Indeed, by the time I’d reached 17 and had my first serious boyfriend, there were no more arguments. Nor were there any obvious signs of dislike. They tried an approach that they thought would be far more effective than verbal condemnation 行 they invited him to a boring family get-together.
Now I realize my mother’s initial disapproval of my teenage romances is a universal feeling. Parents want children to fulfill their own dreams. Their hopes were fairly normal: they wanted to witness my wedding vows; they wanted to see their daughter settled down in a well-established family; they wanted me to get married and have kids.

Real World Listening
1. Predict
Answer
□ Yes. Because Shrek looks like an ugly ogre.

2. Get the Main Ideas
Answers
Question 1:
□ The princess regards him as a brave knight and the donkey as his noble steed.
□ The princess thinks that Shrek is her true love.
□ Princess Fiona was expecting that Shrek was Prince Charming.
Question 2:
□ Princess Fiona is very disappointed when she finds that Shrek is as ugly as an ogre.
□ The princess thinks that everything is wrong.
□ At first the donkey is nothing more than a pet in her mind.

Script and Answers to Self-study

First kiss from an ogre?
Lord Farquaad wants to be a king, but the premise is that he must marry a princess. Shrek, an ugly-looking man, regarded as an ogre by most of the people, wants to lead a peaceful life in his own swamp. The two make a deal. Shrek is sent to rescue Princess Fiona, who has a curse upon her of a fearful sort which could only be broken by love’s first kiss. The princess is locked away in a castle guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. She waits in the dragon’s keep for her true love and true love’s first kiss. In order to get his swamp back, Shrek takes adventures to rescue Princess Fiona. The following conversation occurs among the princess and Shrek, and Shrek’s chatterbox companion, a donkey.

(Shrek manages to rescue Princess Fiona.)
Princess: You did it. You rescued me! You are amazing. You’re ... You’re wonderful. You’re ... a little (1) unorthodox I’ll admit. But your deed is great, and your heart is pure. I am eternally (2) in your debt.
(Donkey clears throat)
Princess: And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?
Donkey: I hope you heard that. She called me a (3) noble steed. She thinks I’m a steed.
Princess: The battle is won. You may (3) remove your helmet, good Sir Knight.
Shrek: Uh, no.
Princess: Why not?
Shrek: I, I have helmet hair.
Princess: Please. I would like to (4) look upon the face of my rescuer.
Shrek: No, no. You wouldn’t.
Princess: But how will you kiss me with your helmet on?
Shrek: What! That wasn’t in the (5) job description.
Donkey: Maybe it’s a perk.
Princess: No, it’s destiny. Oh, you must know (6) how it goes. A princess locked in a tower and beset by a fire-breathing dragon is rescued by a brave knight, and then they (7) share love’s first kiss.
Donkey: Hmm? With Shrek? You think ... Wait, wait. You think that Shrek is your true love?
Princess: Well, yes.
(Laughing)
Donkey: You think Shrek is your true love!
Princess: What is so funny?
Shrek: Let’s just say I’m (8) not your type, Okay?
Princess: Of course, you are. You are my rescuer. Now ... Now remove your helmet.
Shrek: Look. I really don’t think this is a good idea.
Princess: Just (9) take off the helmet.
Shrek: I am not going to.
Princess: Take it off.
Shrek: No.
Princess: Now!
Shrek: Okay! Easy. (10) As you command, Your Highness.
(Shrek takes off his helmet. Princess Fiona is shocked at his appearance.)
Princess: You ... You’re a ... an ogre.
Shrek: Oh, you were expecting (11) Prince Charming.
Princess: Well, yes, actually. Oh, no. This is all wrong. You are not (12) supposed to be an ogre.
Shrek: (Sighs) Princess, I was sent to rescue you by Lord Farquaad, Ok? He is the one who wants to marry you.
Princess: Then why didn’t he come to rescue me?
Shrek: Good question. You should ask him that when we get there.
Princess: But I (13) have to be rescued by my true love, not by some ogre and ... and his pet.
Donkey: So much for a noble steed.
Shrek: Princess, you are not (14) making my job easier.
Princess: I’m sorry, but your job is not (15) my problem?


Real World Speaking

Answers for Reference
On the one hand, parents are the first teachers of their own child. They shoulder a great part of the responsibility for the growth of the child. In terms of law, parents are the legitimate guardians of their child. They have the right to give their child proper guidance. The young cannot tell right from wrong. It will be harmful if parents let things drift. On the other hand, if parents are too deeply involved into their child’s personal business, it will worsen the parent-child relationship. Inappropriate ways of interference in a child’s life may ruin the harmonious family life.
Parents and children need patient communication, instead of cold war, to close the generation gap. Since many factors may contribute to that phenomenon, the two sides should make joint efforts to overcome it.