1.3. Relationships
En esta sección del tema tendrás la oportunidad de leer textos y revisar vocabulario relacionado con las relaciones personales.
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Actividad de lectura
Aquí tienes la historia de amor entre la reina Victoria y el príncipe Albert de Inglaterra. Lee el texto para familiarizarte con el vocabulario asociado a las relaciones personales y amorosas.
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Imagen en Wikimedia Commons de Miguelemejia bajo Dominio Público |
Famous Love Stories: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
She mourned her husband's death for 40 years. Victoria was a lively, cheerful girl, fond of drawing and painting. She ascended the throne of England in 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
While at first Prince Albert was unpopular in some circles because he
was German, he came to be admired for his honesty, diligence, and his
devotion to his family. The couple had nine children. Victoria loved her
husband deeply. She relied on his advice in matters of state,
especially in diplomacy.
When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated. She did not appear in
public for three years. Her extended seclusion generated considerable
public criticism.
However, under the influence of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli,
Victoria resumed public life, opening Parliament in 1866.
But Victoria never stopped mourning her beloved prince, wearing black
until her death in 1901. During her reign, the longest in English
history, Britain became a world power on which "the sun never set."
Texto de David Johnson extraído de Factmonster

Actividad de lectura
Lee el siguiente diálogo.
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Imagen en Wikimedia Commons de |
Background: Alex and Karen run into each other while attending a party after not having seen each other for six months.
Karen: Hey, Alex
.
Karen: Ah, Alex. Let me in. Come on.
Alex: What do you want?
Karen: Are you interested in going on a blind date this weekend?
Alex: Oh no. I'm not going through that again. You can just nip that idea in the bud. No way. Forget it. Absolutely not!
Karen: Hey, no need to be sore and sensitive about that still. Gee.
Alex: Sensitive?
Karen: Uh-huh. Well, if you really want to get something off your
chest, then say it. Go ahead. I hate it when you just beat around the
bush.
Alex: Okay. Do you want the truth? Do you remember that girl you
said had a crush on me? Well, after hearing that, I was on cloud nine
after the first date, thinking that this was the one, but then, she
stood me up on the second date. I mean she led me on and then dumped me
after that for some guy with a Harley motorcycle named Dirk.
Karen: Oh, Dirk Angel. Come on. It wasn't that bad.
Alex: Not that bad!? Women always say that men don't show their true
colors until they get serious, but women do the same thing.
Karen: Hey, men can be real jerks, too, buddy boy. [Ahh.] I mean,
they promise you the moon, they make you think they're Mr. Right [Now . .
.], and just when you think you've found the one [Well . . .], they
drop you like a rock when something new comes along. [Ahh.] Women
shouldn't hafta put up with that kind of stuff.
Alex: Yeah, Yeah, but I think it goes BOTH ways in dating and
marriage. You hafta be completely honest in a relationship, right?
[Yeah.] And communicate openly before you decide to tie the knot, AND
you can't give someone the cold shoulder and expect things to be all
rosy. If you hurt someone's feelings, then you hafta work hard to make
up.
Karen: And there hasta be a certain amount of give-and-take.
Alex: Of course. Anyway, uh, yeah. Anyway, uh, what's the girl's name?
Karen: Ah, so you are interested...
Alex: Well, not really, but since you mentioned it...
Diálogo extraído de EZlang

Importante
En el diálogo anterior hay varios idioms o expresiones idiomáticas, es decir, palabras o frases que tienen un sentido figurado, su significado real no corresponde con su significado literal, el de la suma de las palabras que lo componen. Aquí tienes un enlace en el que podrás consultar y practicar con los idioms más comunes en inglés.
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Actividad de lectura
Lee los siguientes textos sobre la amistad.
![]() Fotografía en Flickr de Brett Sayer bajo CC |
Texto 1
Friendship is essential in life. When in trouble, we need friends' help, support and encouragement. When successful, we also need friends' approval, celebration and sharing. People who are different can still be friends. Lore is my best friend. She is talkative, intelligent and ambitions. Oppositely, I am quiet, honest and generous. We have known each other since we were in high school and we have experienced many repeated difficulties, but we are still good friends.
In our school period, we had a common goal, how to keep high grades. We did research, and discussed issues together. Because of our different opinions, sometimes we argued. We sometimes had mutual competition. But our friendship was rock-solid throughout.
After graduation, we entered the identical department of a company. At the beginning, in the strange environment, we encouraged each other, made joint efforts, adapting to the working conditions very quickly. One day, the relationship was broken. As the enterprise was a "Pyramid", everyone wanted to be promoted. In this competition, injuring others was inevitable. After that, we talked less, wouldn't study together. It seemed everybody was avoiding each other as much as possible. Finally, she was promoted. Although I knew that she hurt me, I had congratulated her. We did not seem to want honestly discuss it. So I understood that power and money are stronger than friendship.
Before leaving the company, I decided to immigrate the US. I talked to her that I understood every person wants to be promoted. For power and money, people might hurt others. But it had passed, I hoped that we could treasure the friendship. Afterward she also immigrated to New Zealand. We restored our good friendship.
Texto adaptado de CCSF ESL Student Wiki
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Texto 2
I first met Francis when I entered the university. We were in the same class and were looking for a flatmate. I put an advertisement in the local student newspaper and he answered it. When we met, we hit it off straightaway and we started sharing a house. Living together was fun, we soon found out we had a lot in common and quickly became close friends. We always had really god discussions about politics and environment. We also liked the same music. We fell out a couple of times about the housework because Francis is very tidy and I don't worry about all that stuff. When we graduated, we went our separate ways and since then our lives have been very different. Francis moved to a different city and got a job in a bank. He began earning a lot of money whereas I found a job as a production assistant for art exhibitions. I don't earn a lot of money but I get a lot of personal satisfaction from my job. Francis is very busy because his job and he hasn't got much time to meet friends. He met Sharon, his wife and they married last year. They have a pretty bay girl.I still live alone and I don't have any children. I enjoy meeting friends and goint out. Our lifestyles have changed so much, but still we talk on the phone and we visit each other from time to time.