Read the text below and highlight its key ideas on marriage.

ON MARRIAGE

Marriage is different from love. It is a good institution but I must add that a lot depends on the person you are married to.

There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband – there is only a good wife to Mr. A or a good husband to Mrs. B. If a credulous woman marries a pathological liar, they may live together happily to the end of their days – one telling lies, the other believing them. A man who cannot live without constant admiration should marry a “God, you are wonderful!” type of woman. If he is unable to make up his mind, he is right in wedding a dictator. One dictator may prosper in marriage: two are too many.

The way to matrimonial happiness is barred to no one. It is all a matter of choice. One shouldn’t look for perfection; one should look for complimentary half of a very imperfect other half.

If someone buys a refrigerator, it never occurs to him that it is a bad refrigerator because it cannot play gramophone records on it; nor does he blame his hat for not being suitable for use as a flower vase. But many people who are very fond of their stomach marry their cook – and then blame her for being less radiantly intelligent and witty than George Sand. Or a man may be anxious to show off his wife’s beauty and elegance, marry a mannequin and be surprised to discover in six months that she has no balanced views on the international affairs. Another marries a girl only and exclusively because she is seventeen and is much surprised 15 years later to find that she is not 17 any more. Or again if you marry a female book-worm who knows all about the gold standard, the laws of planetary motions, you must not blame her for being somewhat less beautiful and temperamental that Marilyn Monroe. And if ladies marry a title or a bank account they must blame their husbands for not being romantic heroes.

You should know what you are buying. And as long as you do not play records on your refrigerator and not put bunches of chrysanthemums into your hat, you have a reasonable choice of so-called happiness.

2. Look back at the text and enumerate the pieces of advice that:

· seem true and reasonable

· seem inappropriate to you

· seem funny or witty

3. With a partner and then with the group discuss the following:

1. What is the general tone of the passage? How is it achieved?

2. What stylistic devices contribute to its achievement?

3. How can you account for the narrator’s references to George Sand and Marilyn Monroe? What were they famous/notorious for?

4. How would you formulate the message in a phrase?

5. Below are some quotations about love and marriage. Which of them might fit the message?

· Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it (Jerome K. Jerome).

· Family is a mixed blessing. You are glad to have one, but it’s also like receiving a life sentence for a crime you didn’t commit (Richard Pryor, US comedian and actor).

• Families ain't just born, you got to work at 'em, even when there ain't much to work with (Marsha Hunt U.S. singer, actor, and writer).
• A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband (Montaigne (1533-92), French essayist).

6. What characteristics of a husband/wife result from the message of story? Arrange them in the order of importance, if suitable: loving, tolerant, self-possessed, considerate, faithful, affectionate to the spouse/children, tidy, hardworking, home-loving, good-looking, pretty, handsome, rich, well-to-do, rich, thrifty, quiet, obedient, eager to please, well-educated.

² Listening comprehension

Family life is multifaceted and varies from person to person. But still there are some things that many families have in common. The report you are going to listen to may serve as an example of this similarity.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16