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Break Up in the House

Break Up in the House

Date: Aug 26 2008

Themes: Pop Culture, Romance

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

When you fall in love, you want to spend every moment with your new partner. You’re always over at each other’s houses anyway, so you figure, “Why not move in together?” It’ll save money and you’ll get to be together even more.

But what if the relationship doesn’t work out? When you break up, usually the last person you want to see for a while is your ex. But unless you happen to break up on exactly the day that your lease is up, you’re stuck living with the person who just broke your heart for a while.

One of Marni’s friends is living with her ex-boyfriend, and as she begins to tell Devan about it, she discovers that Devan has done that twice. What a headache!

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Devan

Devan

Marni:  I was just hanging out with my good friend Sarah, and she broke up with her boyfriend about two months ago and they’re still living together.

Devan:  Yeah, I’ve done that a couple of times actually. It’s horrible.

Marni:  It’s the worst!

Devan:  The first time I did that was because I felt…I broke up with him and felt guilty.

Marni:  OK, so the guilt like…you let him stay there?

Devan:  Yeah, he was like, “Can you live with me till I find another place to live…?” and I just felt guilty.

Marni:  Oh gosh.

Devan:  But how awkward is that, still living with someone you’re not with anymore?

Marni:  Well, OK, so how big was your place? Like she’s in a one-bedroom apartment.

Devan:  That’s what that was.

Marni:  Oh my God. So they’re, like, taking shifts on the couch, somebody’s sleeping in the room. It’s not good.

Devan:  It’s not good. It just prolongs the breakup and makes it a lot harder to do. Relationships are like a Band-Aid. You should just rip it off.

Marni:  Exactly, and you need a clean break. You need some space and distance, and when you’re still in the same tiny space and you’re constantly dealing with that person even though you’re trying to move on, it just doesn’t work.

Devan:  Have you ever known anyone that met someone else while they were still living with their ex-boyfriend?

Marni:  Yes, and that doesn’t work either because then there’s a lot of “that person’s not allowed in the house,” there’s some jealousy, some resentment.

Devan:  It’s kind of weird to think about because you don’t want to plan in advance to break up with somebody because that’s kind of messed up, but at the same time, if you just break up but then you still have to live together for a while, it’s not good. That’s why you shouldn’t really live with someone until you’re ready.

 

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Discussion

Marni’s friend Sarah just broke up with her boyfriend, but they are still living together. Devan has had to live with someone she just broke up with twice and agrees with Marni that it’s not good. You need to be away from your ex for a while after you break up if you’re ever going to be friends. Devan compares breaking up to removing a Band-Aid, which hurts more if you do it slowly.

Like Marni’s friend, Devan lived with her ex-boyfriend in a one-bedroom apartment. An apartment that size suddenly seems really small when you don’t want to sleep next to the other person who lives there! It sounds like Devan will be more careful before she moves in with a boyfriend again.

Have you ever lived with a boyfriend or girlfriend? How did it go?

 

Comments

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195854255

195854255

United States

Breaking up is not a big deal. Just cuz two people arent fit each other any more.  There is no need to throw a lift or be disappointed for a long long time.  

05:37 AM Aug 26 2008 |

angI

Moldova, Republic Of

       Truly speaking when you fall in love you can 

 think only about sunny days and happy moments,it,s hard to believe that everything changes in this life.We meet over peole ,we read other books and watche other movies so little by little we start to behave differentely.Gradually we loose touch with our lovers. It's nothing to be done about it. That is life.

05:01 AM Aug 26 2008 |

magic1015

magic1015

China

  "Feminist"  without men we can survive happyly  as well !!

04:23 AM Aug 26 2008 |

QM

China

it`s hard to say which option is better!That depends on the reason they broke,and what relation they would be after the break!For instance,someone may be not local person ,so atfter the break ,they could not find a suitabale place to live !Different things and different states should be treated in different ways!We couldn`t rush to conclude!

04:19 AM Aug 26 2008 |

QM

China

Well ,it`s

04:13 AM Aug 26 2008 |

QM

China

Well ,

04:13 AM Aug 26 2008 |

yunxia_d

yunxia_d

China

“Why not move in together?”
now i think it’s too bad.

02:49 AM Aug 26 2008 |

yunxia_d

yunxia_d

China

“Why not move in together?”
now i think it’s too bad.

02:49 AM Aug 26 2008 |

yunxia_d

yunxia_d

China

“Why not move in together?”
now i think it’s too bad.

02:49 AM Aug 26 2008 |

yunxia_d

yunxia_d

China

“Why not move in together?”
now i think it’s too bad.

02:49 AM Aug 26 2008 |

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