A Basic Course four Unit one: Making Plans There’s a holiday next week and I can’t decide what to do. I have a lot of work to do at home, and this would be a good chance to do it. But I’d rather not spend the holiday that way. I can work at home all the rest of the year. Last year I went north to the mountains. Everything was beautiful, but it is too cold this time of year. And it’s really too far to go for a short holiday. I have decided that this is not a good time to go to the mountains. But I do want to go someplace. Perhaps this would be a good chance to go to the beach. I like to go for walks along the seashore in the sunshine and watch the water. It’s only about eight miles and I could get there in about two hours. After thinking it over, I’m sure that this is a better time for the seashore than the mountains. I guess I’ll plan to go to the beach next week. Oh, here’s a letter from Jim. He says he is going to this house in the mountains for the holiday, and he wants me to go with him. After giving it some more thought, I guess it wasn’t really too cold last year, and perhaps it might rain at the seashore and then I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. The mountains are only 300 miles away. I think I’ll write Jim right now and tell him I’ll go with him Unit two: Making Decisions It takes me a long time to make up my mind about something. I don’t decide things quickly. Some people think this is good and some people think it is bad. I don’t know. I know some people who make up their minds right away. It doesn’t matter how complicated the problem is. In two minutes they say that they have considered everything and that they are positive they have made a good decision. I’m surprised that they can be so confident. I can understand it if the problem isn’t difficult or complicated. But some issues are extremely hard to decide. Before I make a decision, I try to get all the facts I can. I read the newspapers, I talk to people, I read books, and I try to think of everything that might be important. Sometimes my friends try to influence me. I listen to their advice, but I make my own decisions. Sometimes it takes me a long time to make up my mind, but I don’t often have to change it. Other people I know are changing their minds all the time. They are afraid to make a decision about anything. Unit three: Going Abroad I’m taking my family abroad this year. My wife and I and our two children are all going. My older brother is a farmer. He’s never been overseas and he has decided to go with us. First he will go on horseback from his farm to the bus station. He’ll take a bus to our house. From here, we’ll all go together. We are going to go by train to New York, and then take a ship to Europe. When we arrive in Europe, we’re going to rent a car and drive wherever we want to go. Then we’ll return the car. We are planning to fly home. It took us a long time to decide where to go, but I think we have planned a very interesting trip. At first we wanted to fly because it would be faster and would give us more time for sight- seeing but my brother was very anxious to take a boat trip. The children will enjoy that, too. We don’t know how many suitcases to take. We can take as many suitcases as we wish on the train and the ship. But when we travel by car and come by plane, we will have a problem. We can only have forty four pounds for each person on the plane, and that isn’t very much. My wife will decide what we should take with us. She can get a lot of things into each suitcase. She puts all the heavy things in the suitcases first, and then puts the lighter things in. She puts all the square things in the corners and the round things in the middle. She packs very well. My brother has no problem. He just carries one small suitcase wherever he goes, and always has everything he needs. Unit four: Shopping for Clothes Bob and Don go to the same university. They both needed some new clothes for school and they decided to go shopping together in the new department store. First, the two friends went to the men’s department to see the suits that were on sale. The salesman helped them find the right size and they each tried on several suits. Bob found a light gray suit right away and he bought it. Don couldn’t make up his mind which one to buy, but he finally selected a blue suit. The boys also bought two pairs of pants because they were not too expensive. Next, they went to the shoe department. The clerk measured their feet and brought each of them several pairs of shoes to try on. It didn’t take them very long to get their shoes. They didn’t really need socks, but these were on sale, too, and they decided to buy several pairs. Don had to get some shirts and Bob wanted to get a sweater. While Don went to the shirt department, Bob went to buy his sweater. It only took Don a few minutes to select his shirts, and then he went to the sweater department to meet his friend. Bob tried on every sweater in his size, but none of them looked good on him. The salesman said that he would have some more sweaters in a few days, and Bob said he would come back then. The boys intended to go to the movies before going home. But after they paid for all their new clothes, they had only enough money to ride home on the bus. Unit five: Good Food My wife and I occasionally go to a nice restaurant to eat. My wife’s mother lives with us and she stays with the children. This makes it very easy for us to go out for the evening. Last week we went to the restaurant in a new hotel. We had a wonderful meal. First, we had soup and a salad. Then Helen, my wife, had lamb chops. With peas and carrots, and I had a medium rare steak with mashed potatoes and plenty of gravy. For dessert, I had some ice cream and Helen had fresh fruit. We had several cups of coffee after we finished eating. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and it wasn’t too expensive. Our children don’t like to eat in restaurants because they have to sit and be quiet for a long time. They would rather go to their grandmother’s farm. Their grandmother my mother prepares everything they like. She usually has fried chicken, corn, and hot biscuits with honey. She always serves plenty of chocolate ice cream and cake for dessert. I’m always surprised that my father doesn’t weigh a lot more when I see how much he eats. But he works hard on the farm from about 5 o’clock in the morning until it gets dark in the evening. When my parents visit us in the city, we usually take them to a restaurant. I know they enjoy it, but my father always eats something else after he gets home. The portions may be generous in the restaurant, but they are still not large enough for hungry farmer. Unit six: Going Out for the Evening My wife and I go to the theater whenever we can. But before we buy tickets, we like to know if the play is good or bad. When a new play opens, we usually read the review in our newspaper to get information about it. Last week a new comedy opened at the theater. The newspaper story said it was very amusing, so we decided to go on Saturday night. My wife took a long time to make up her mind what to wear and we left our house a little late. By the time we got to the theater, the first act had already begun. We were sorry we missed part of the play, because the rest of it was very funny. The review in the newspaper had been right. It was an extremely entertaining comedy. After the play was over, we met some friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. They wanted to go to a night club. It had been many years since my wife and I had gone dancing, but I finally agreed. By the time we got home, it was about two o’clock in the morning. I’m not accustomed to staying out so late and I was extremely tired. When I was younger, I didn’t have the money to go out for an evening like this. Now that I can afford it, I don’t have the energy to really enjoy it. Unit seven: Making Appointments Today was a very good day for me. I had been looking for a new job for quite a while. I listed my name at a few employment agencies and was given information about several positions, but I wasn’t interested in any of these jobs. Last week I filled out an application form for a new company in town and arranged for a personal interview. Several men were interviewed for this job, and I didn’t know if I would get it. This morning someone from the company called up and asked to see me at two o’clock. When I came into his office, he told me that I was hired. I’ll begin working on Monday. I know I’ll like this job. I’ll be paid very well and my work will be extremely interesting. I was feeling so happy, I decided to cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day, and I went right home to tell my wife the good news. But before I could say anything to her, she told me what a bad day she was having. None of the lights in the house were working. She had telephoned many electricians, but they all said they were too busy. Finally one agreed to come and she had been waiting for him almost all day. When I was able to get her to stop talking about her troubles and listen to me, I told her about the new job and we made plans to go out for dinner and then go to the movies and perhaps go somewhere else after that. We made up our minds to forget about the electrician and decided to celebrate until dawn. Then we wouldn’t need any lights, anyway. Unit eight: The Examination I was waiting for the doctor to finish his examination. I was worried and nervous. Would he have to operate? Would a blood transfusion be necessary? What would he have to say? Dr.Johnson was a heart specialist. He was an excellent doctor and his examinations were always complete. He listened to the patient’s heart, took his blood pressure and temperature, gave him an X-ray and examined his eyes and ears. The doctor finally completed his examination and spoke to me. He told me that heart trouble is never a minor illness, but this wasn’t a serious heart attack. He advised losing some weight, getting plenty of sleep and eating good meals. Smoking and drinking would be harmful, of course. Dr Johnson said it would be necessary to be careful for a while, but he was confident that there was nothing to worry about. I felt much better after I spoke to Dr.Johnson. I was certain that my uncle would be up and around again very soon. He’s seventy years old now, but he can still live for a long time if he takes good care of himself. Unit nine: The Wrong Number When I answered the telephone this morning, I knew right away the lady had the wrong number. But it took her a long time to find out. She said her name was Mrs. Mills and asked if I was Dr.Cooper’s secretary. I told her that she had and incorrect number, but I don’t think she listened to me. She told me she wanted to cancel her two o’clock appointment because her husband was sick and she had to take care of him. I told her I was very sorry to hear that, but she still had the wrong number. Then she wanted to know if she could make an appointment for next week. I told her I couldn’t arrange it: I wasn’t Dr. Cooper’s secretary. Finally she heard what I said. She wanted to know why I didn’t tell her right away that she had the wrong number. Before I could answer her, she hung up. At first I was a little upset about it, but later on in the morning I decided it was really funny. I wanted to call up my sister and tell her about it. I guess I dialed the wrong number and I happened to get Mrs. Mills. You can imagine how astonished I was. I tried to explain that I had made a mistake, but she wouldn’t listen. She just wanted to know how I got her telephone number. She said she couldn’t understand why I was bothering her. I tried to explain again, but she talked so much and so fast that I couldn’t interrupt her to say that I was sorry. I finally hung up the receiver. I still wanted to call my sister, but I was afraid I might get that lady’s number again. I didn’t use the telephone for the rest of the day. Unit ten: Getting a Letter I am a student at Washington University. I am very busy with my studies, but I always find time to write several letters every week. I like to receive mail, and you have to write letters if you want to hear from your friends. I was quite disappointed this morning. The postman delivered the mail and I received five letters, a package, and two postcards. But I didn’t get the letter I was waiting for. Later in the day, the mailman delivered a special delivery letter. I was very happy to receive it, and I think you will understand why when I let you read the letter. This is the letter: Dear Jim, This is Your first year at the university and the first time you have been away from home on your birthday. Your mother and I miss you very much. We often talk about how quickly you have grown up. We know you’re very busy at the university, but we’re glad you are able to write to us so frequently. Both your mother and I are fine, and your younger brothers are in good health, too. They asked me to wish you happy birthday for them. I am enclosing some money as a gift for your birthday. You can buy whatever you wish with it. Write to us whenever you can. We would enjoy seeing some photographs of you and the university. Love, Dad . trip. At first we wanted to fly because it would be faster and would give us more time for sight- seeing but my brother was very anxious to take a boat trip. The children will enjoy that, too complete. He listened to the patient’s heart, took his blood pressure and temperature, gave him an X-ray and examined his eyes and ears. The doctor finally completed his examination and spoke to me.