owner urged Mr. Stewart to open the letter and see what it contained. The letter was from a bank. When he opened it, two words immediately met his eye -- 'For education'. It was a bank statement of an amount his father-in-law had put in years ago for his grandchildren's education needs. With the interest it had earned over the years, the standing value of the amount came to a little over $15,000, just enough money to cover the tuition of Andrew's first year at a medical college!
Another thing that is worth mentioning is about the postman. The original postman, who had worked in this neighborhood, called in sick that day. So the postman, who was new to the area, came to deliver mail in his place. Had it been the old postman, the letter would undoubtedly be returned to the sender as he knew full well that no person bearing that name lived in that house any longer.
The miracle was a blessing for Andrew. With the money given to him by his grandfather he was able to study medicine. Now he is a doctor in Illinois.
Exercise 1: 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. F
Statements:
1. Several coincidences happened in the story.
2. The coincidences made it possible for the owner to sell his house at a good price. 3. No one actually benefited from the coincidences.
4. It can be inferred that Mr. Stewart did not have to seek extra work from then on. 5. With the extra money Mr. Stewart had earned, Andrew's dream finally came true.
Exercise 2:
1. He was intrigued. 2. A bank statement.
3. his father-in-law had put an amount of money in the bank for his grandchildren's education.
4. A little over $15,000.
5. He could use the money to cover the tuition of his first year at a medical college. 6. He is a doctor in Illinois.
Part C
Dad Stops for Gas, Finds Lost Son
Nueng Garcia was the son of an American serviceman stationed in Thailand in 1969. But his father went back to the States when Nueng was only three months old. When he grew up Nueng immigrated to the United States and worked as a gas station clerk in Pueblo, Colorado. His dream was to find his father John Garcia. Year after year, he tried in vain to search for information about the whereabouts of his father. It was a fine day in Pueblo. There was not a cloud in the blue sky. But for him, it was just another day on the job. Suddenly he noticed the name of one customer who
paid with a check. The man, who was in his fifties, had the same surname as his own. Nueng raised his head from the check and looked at the man. Could this be his father? \ \
\ \
\
\that to do with you?\answered the man, who became suspicious by then.
\ \
\
At this truth dawned on the man. They stared at each other and realized at the same moment that they were father and son who were separated 27 years ago and half a world away.
John Garcia hadn't seen his son since 1969. He lost touch with Nueng's mother when she started seeing another man. He moved to Pueblo nine years ago. He said he never went to that gas station, wasn't even low on gas that day and hardly ever paid with a check.
Exercise: 1. F 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. T 6. T 7. F 8. T Statements:
1. Nueng's parents divorced when he was only 3 months old.
2. After moving to the U.S.A., Nueng worked at a gas station in Colorado.
3. Nueng never gave up his efforts to find his father, but John Garcia had never looked for his son.
4. One day while at work Nueng's eyes fell on the photo of a customer's driver's license, and the man in the photo looked like his father.
5. John Garcia was once in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Thailand. 6. John Garcia and his son didn't meet each other again until 1996.
7. Nueng's father said he often went to that gas station but never paid with a check. 8. It was by coincidence that John Garcia and his son were reunited after many years of separation.
Part D
Unexplained Parallels
One of the best-known collections of parallels is between the careers of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both were shot on a Friday, in the presence of their wives; both were succeeded by a Southerner named Johnson; both their killers were themselves killed before they could be brought to justice. Lincoln had a secretary called Kennedy; Kennedy a secretary called Lincoln. Lincoln was killed in the Ford
Theater; Kennedy met his death while riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company -- and so on.
Similar coincidences often occur between twins. A news story from Finland reported of two 70-year-old twin brothers dying two hours apart in separate accidents, with both being hit by trucks while crossing the same road on bicycles. According to the police, the second victim could not have known about his brother's death, as officers had only managed to identify the first victim minutes before the second accident.
Connections are also found between identical twins who have been separated at birth. Dorothy Lowe and Bridget Harrison were separated in 1945, and did not meet until 1979, when they were flown over from Britain for an investigation by a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. They found that when they met they were both wearing seven rings on their hands, two bracelets on one wrist, a watch and a bracelet on the other. They married on the same day, had worn identical wedding dresses and carried the same flowers. Dorothy had named her son Richard Andrew and her daughter Catherine Louise; Bridget had named her son Andrew Richard and her daughter Karen Louise. In fact, she had wanted to call her Catherine. Both had a cat called Tiger. They also had a string of similar mannerisms when they were nervous.
How can we explain the above similarities?
Exercise:
1) Shot, Friday, wives 2) Succeeded, Johnson 3) killers, brought, justice 4) secretaries
5) Ford theater, Lincoln 6) Died, accidents 7) trucks, same road
8) met, 34, seven rings, wrist, watch
9) Married, wedding dresses, same flowers 10) similar, children 11) cat, Tiger
Statements:
1. Both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were killed by a Southerner. 2. John F. Kennedy's secretary was named after Abraham Lincoln.
3. The news story told about the traffic accidents that killed two twin brothers.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that more parallel phenomena are studied in the United States than in any other country.
5. Coincidences occurring in three nations are described in the passage.
6. Some psychologists' interest is the research on coincidences between twins.
7. According to the speaker, coincidences occur much more often between twins than between people who are not related.
8. The speaker does not mention his/her own opinion on whether these parallels can be explained.
Unit 3
Part B Text 1
A Marriage Agreement (Part One)
(Tom and Linda have signed a marriage agreement. Both agree not to break the rules outlined in the agreement. John, a reporter, is talking to them about the agreement.) John: Tom, Linda, first I'd like to ask you why you decided to write this unusual agreement.
Tom: We found that many problems are caused when a person has different expectations from his or her spouse. We wanted to talk about everything openly and honestly before we started living together.
Linda: Also we both know how important it is to respect each other's pet peeves. Like, I can get very annoyed if others leave stuff -- clothing, papers, everything! -- lying around on the floor. It really bugged me, so we put that in the agreement.
John: This is mentioned in Article 1: Cleaning Up, isn't it? It says, \left on the floor overnight. Everything must be cleaned up and put away before going to bed.\
Tom: Then I'll know clearly what Linda's expectations are.
John: I see. What about Article 2: Sleeping? It says, \get up at 6:30 a.m. except on weekends.\that this agreement isn't very romantic.
Tom: Well, we disagree. We think it's very romantic. This agreement shows that we sat down and talked, and really tried to understand the other person. A lot of problems occur in a marriage when people don't talk about what they want.
Linda: That's right. When we disagreed about something, we worked out a solution that was good for both of us. I would much rather have Tom really listen to me and understand my needs than give me a bunch of flowers or a box of candy.
Exercise 1: 1. b 2. c 3.a
Questions:
1. Which statement best summarizes the marriage agreement between Tom and Linda?
2. According to Tom, what will give rise to problems in a marriage? 3. What can be inferred about Linda from the conversation?
Exercise 2:
1. Because she wanted to understand each other's expectations so that potential problems could be avoided and they could live happily together.
2. Cleaning up. Everything must be cleaned up and put away before going to bed. 3. Sleeping. Time for bed: 11pm; time to get up: 6:30am except on weekends.
Text 2
A Marriage Agreement (Part Two)
John: Linda, do you spend a lot of time checking to see if the other person is following the rules? Arguing? Linda: No, not at all.
Tom: A lot of couples argue because they don't understand each other's expectations. I think we spend less time arguing than most couples because we both know what the other person expects.
John: What happens if one of you breaks a rule? Tom: Well, that's in Article 13 of our agreement.
John: Is it? Oh yes, Article 13: Breaking Rules. \you break a rule, you must apologize and do something nice for the other person to make it up.\Linda: Yeah, like last time Tom broke the rule of driving. John: What's the rule?
Linda: The rule is we must ask for directions if we are driving and get lost for more than five minutes. John: What happened?
Tom: We were driving to a friend's wedding, and we got lost. Linda wanted to stop at a gas station to ask for directions, but I thought I could figure it out.
Linda: Then we drove forty miles in the wrong direction and ended up being late for the wedding.
Tom: So I took her out to dinner. I knew what I should do to apologize.
John: That's very important, I think, knowing how to apologize. By the way, do you plan to update your agreement at all? What if things change in your life and a rule doesn't work anymore?
Linda: We've thought about that too. Article 14 states that we must review this agreement once a year and make necessary changes.
John: Well, it was really nice talking to you both. Thank you very much for your time. Tom & Linda: Thank you.
Exercise 1: 1. F 2.F 3.T 4.T Statements:
1. Tom and Linda never argue because they both know what the other person expects.