Step by Step 3000. Book 2.

Unit 1. Happy family life.

Part 1. Warming up.

A. Keywords. family, name, age.

Vocabulary. architect, Wales.

Supply the missing information about the Porter family according to what you hear.

Mr William Porter is very old, he is 87, and Mrs Catherine Porter is 80.

Mr Porter is from Wales.

John Porter and Mary are brother and sister.

John Porter is 53, and his is a lawyer, his wife Susan is 48, and she is an architect.

James Porter and Joan Lee are cousins.

Jams Porter is 24, and Joan Lee is 17.

B. Keywords. dates, specific, protect, talk, understand, respect.

Vocabulary. fatigue, foxhole, distracted, abuse.

You are going to hear some ideas that may help make a marriage work.

Listen carefully, complete the following seven tips, and decide whether you agree or disagree with the speaker.

Check the appropriate box.

Here are a few general ideas I believe help make a marriage work.

1. Go on dates with each other.

Renew romantic feelings by spending special time together.

2. Be as specific as you can when you complain, make a request or offer praise.

3. When stressed by fatigue or your own insecurities, imagine you and your partner in a foxhole, surrounded by danger.

Instead of striking out at your partner, find a way to protect the partnership.

4. When you feel distant, talk about it with your partner.

5. Be assured that partners in all marriages sometimes get tired, irritable or distracted.

Work together to understand each other.

6. Respect each other.

Leave if danger exists, find professional help if physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse occurs.

7. Fight to understand, not to win.

C. Keywords. losing, "lose-lose" solutions, control.

Vocabulary. attest, excel, reside in, configuration, spouse.

Here's a passage about how to excel in the art of domestic argument.

Supply the missing words while listening.

Having been married for more than 40 years, I can attest to the truth of the following statement :

To excel in the art of domestic argument, one must master the art of losing.

Modern psychologists are taking with the "win-win" solution.

But in marriage, success resides more in "lose-lose" solutions.

Out of these, both parties can win.

For in the love configuration losing gives a gift that always returns.

The issues that people argue over most in marriage such as how to spend money often are not the real ones.

The key issue is who is going to be in control?

When I was younger, my need to control arose out of fear a lack of trust, insecurity.

The day I finally realized I didn't need to control my wife, that indeed I ought not to control her, that I couldn't control her, and that if I tried to, I would destroy our marriage was the day our marriage began.

What is it we want most from a marriage?

To love and be loved. To be happy and secure. To grow to discover.

A love relationship is the garden in which we plant, cultivate and harvest the most precious of crops, our own self, and in which our spouse is provide the same rich soil in which to bloom.

We cannot obtain what we want unless our parter also gets what he or she wants.

So remember, if you want to feel loved and respected, give up control.