Learn the Second Conditional

Intro

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

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• handle
• bond
• integrate
• used to

• threatening
• get along
• stepfamily
• divorce

• complicated
• siblings

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

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It’s hard enough to get along with your own family at times. Imagine having a stepfamily. When a parent remarries after a divorce, it can be complicated, especially if the new stepmother or stepfather has kids, too.

The idea of an evil stepmother or mean stepsiblings is so common, a lot of movies have been made about it. Just think of the famous Disney cartoon Cinderella, in which an evil stepmother makes her stepdaughter work as a servant in her house! But when you are able to bond with a stepparent or stepsiblings, having a whole new family can be a lot of fun.

Amy has a stepmother and three stepsiblings. Hear her tell Devan about what it’s like to have a step family.

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.

Amy

Devan

Amy:  Do you have any stepsiblings, Devan?

Devan:  I don’t. Do you?

Amy:  Yeah, my dad remarried. You know, my parents got divorced and then my dad remarried a few years ago, and so I ended up having this whole other family that I had never had before. And it’s been kinda weird. I have two brothers and a sister now. It’s been interesting kind of trying to integrate the families. But we’re gonna try and spend a couple weeks together, actually, and do a big family vacation.

Devan:  So how about you and your stepmother, do you guys get along?

Amy:  Yeah, she’s definitely not like an evil stepmother or anything. But I still kinda haven’t gotten used to seeing her with my dad. You know, I guess I still kind of think of my mom as being the woman in his life. So it’s a little weird.

Devan:  Yeah. Is that threatening to your own mom? Is she afraid that she’s gonna be replaced by your stepmother or anything like that?

Amy:  Maybe if I were younger, she would worry about that. But because I was already an adult when my dad remarried, it’s not really a problem.

Devan:  Yeah, I can definitely see how that would be hard to get used to, having a whole brand new family come in. But it’s good to hear that you’re making the effort to make it work.

Amy:  Do you think you could ever handle being a stepmother to somebody else’s kids?

Devan:  No way. No. Absolutely not.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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