First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.
Gail and Mark lived together for two years to get to know each other before they decided to marry. They wanted to marry for the right reasons. Hearing news of wedding plans, Gail’s mother, who was supportive of her daughter’s marrying a black man, told her to be very certain Mark was the right life-long partner. Gail’s father thought Mark might be using this marriage to obtain United States citizenship. Gail’s father used statistics about mixed marriages, his counseling experience and children’s problems to warn his daughter she was rushing into marriage without thinking enough about it. His strong-willed daughter thought doubt meant no action; she would rather act now and worry later. Her father reminded her it is never too late to change her mind. (Words: 126)
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions with your own experiences.
1. For what two reasons did Gail and Mark live together?
2. How did Gail’s father and mother react to the news about the wedding plans?
3. In what ways are Gail’s and her father’s views different