Английский оригинал текста:
78 Read the first part of Mike's story. Then in pairs discuss what will happen next.
It's 4 p.m. The sound of a slamming door indicates my father’s home from work. Within 30 minutes the remaining four members of my family come home and the sound of that door becomes a wailing siren warning me of their approach. What conflicts will happen this afternoon? What can my parents and I possibly find to fight about tonight? I walk into my room and shut the door, hoping to find serenity there.
The silence is replaced with the sounds of multiple televi¬sions, the noise from a radio in my sisters room next door and the continuous yells of my youngest sister. Is it too much to ask for a moment of peace? Would it be entirely too difficult for everyone to calm down once in a while? Apparently so.
Within a few minutes, I hear the first knock on my door. Actually, "knock" is not the correct word. The "bangs" on my door are mini-explosions that make the window rattle and my shelves shake. And so the torture begins; from this point on, I am met with critical comments about my room, requests for full attention from my sisters and non-stop demands to do this, that and the other. Could everyone just leave me alone?
Each demand increases the tension that has, in recent years, become a permanent part of my relationship with my parents. I try to calm down. I try to relax and ignore the irritation. I try, but fail miserably. So we quarrel until
dinner, and then...
(From Teenlnk magazine)
It's 4 p.m. The sound of a slamming door indicates my father’s home from work. Within 30 minutes the remaining four members of my family come home and the sound of that door becomes a wailing siren warning me of their approach. What conflicts will happen this afternoon? What can my parents and I possibly find to fight about tonight? I walk into my room and shut the door, hoping to find serenity there.
The silence is replaced with the sounds of multiple televi¬sions, the noise from a radio in my sisters room next door and the continuous yells of my youngest sister. Is it too much to ask for a moment of peace? Would it be entirely too difficult for everyone to calm down once in a while? Apparently so.
Within a few minutes, I hear the first knock on my door. Actually, "knock" is not the correct word. The "bangs" on my door are mini-explosions that make the window rattle and my shelves shake. And so the torture begins; from this point on, I am met with critical comments about my room, requests for full attention from my sisters and non-stop demands to do this, that and the other. Could everyone just leave me alone?
Each demand increases the tension that has, in recent years, become a permanent part of my relationship with my parents. I try to calm down. I try to relax and ignore the irritation. I try, but fail miserably. So we quarrel until
dinner, and then...
(From Teenlnk magazine)
