General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on divorce and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Tonya: Hey, Phil. Uh. Why the gloomy face?

Phil: Ah, Sharon and I are calling it quits. We’re breaking up. Divorce time. [What?] I need to find a good divorce lawyer.

Tonya: What? Phil You’ve only been married two months. What’s going on?

Phil: Y-You just don’t understand. There are just some differences we haven’t been able to work out.

Tonya: Well, you’ve only been married two months. Like what? Things can’t be THAT bad.

Phil: Oh, yeah. Yeah, they are, sis. I thought married life was gonna [going to[ be filled with bliss, but things are really terrible right now.

Tonya: Like what? You haven’t given me a reason yet for wanting to break up.

Phil: Well, okay, okay. Wait. First of all, she drinks 2% milk [So what? I do too.] and won’t switch to non-fat milk. [So?] She’s always telling me to put the toilet seat . . .

Tonya: Bring . . . buy two things of milk. Big deal.

Phil: And she’s always telling me to put the toilet seat down in the bathroom. [Duh . . .] And, and, and, she wears this smelly facial cream. Oh, it’s so smelly. And, and she . . .

Tonya: Well, that IS annoying, but so what?

Phil: And, she sometimes falls asleep with the light on. Oh, oh yeah. And get this: she studies English grammar in her free time. [Serious?] Really romantic, right?

Tonya: You know what? So what? It’s not a big deal. That’s it? Don’t you think those are pretty petty reasons for wanting to get a divorce?

Phil: Hey, the movie stars do it all the time. [What?] And, AND AND . . .

Tonya: You wanna [want to] be like them?

Phil: And get this. She gets upset when I call my old girlfriend two or three times a week. I mean . . .

Tonya: WHAT? YOU’RE CALLING YOUR OLD GIRLFRIEND?

Phil: Just to say hello. That’s all.

Tonya: You shouldn’t be calling her! No wonder she’s upset.

Phil: And I now only have one picture of my (old) girlfriend in my wallet. I got rid of the other three last week.

Tonya: You’re still carrying pictures of your old girlfriend?

Phil: You, you just don’t understand.

Tonya: What is wrong with you? Phil, be quiet and listen, Phil. What is wrong with you? You have a really screwy way of thinking about this. [You don’t understand.] Listen, listen, listen. First of all, those character flaws, as you see them, they are just habits, personal habits that aren’t bad at all, but YOU are a big part of the problem. [WHAT?] Calling your old girlfriend? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? [You don’t understand.]

Keeping pictures of your girlfriend? [You don’t under-] Only having one in your wallet and feeling bad? What is wrong with you, Phil?

Phil: What? I’m just, I’m . . .

Tonya: No, listen. Stop thinking of yourself. You are so self-centered. I am ashamed that you are my brother. [I still . . .] What’s wrong with you?

Phil: Still, I just need a good divorce lawyer.

Tonya: A divorce lawyer is the last thing you need; maybe she needs one, but you don’t.

Phil: Man. Wha . . .?

Tonya: Listen, listen. You just need to grow up. [But. . . ] Save your energy and frustration for real problems. Listen, people get really sick, sometimes people die. When you guys have kids, you’re gonna [going to] have some teenagers coming down the road, and that’s pretty scary. You’re going to have some financial problems. You haven’t seen anything yet. I think you guys really need to get some marriage counseling; you’ve got to work on these problems, Phil.

Phil: Ah. WOMEN!

• gloomy (adjective): sad or depressed
  – I’ve noticed a very gloomy atmosphere in their family recently.
• call it quits (phrasal verb): give up or end 
  – After having gone through marriage counseling, Karl and Susan decided to call it quits.
• bliss (noun): happiness 
  – Marriage is filled with a combination of bliss and trails.
• duh (exclamation): used to expression that something is stupid or obvious
  – A: This advanced grammar class is so difficult. >> B: Well, duh. It’s an advanced class for a good reason.
• petty (adjective): simplistic, unimportant
  – My parents often get into petty arguments about dumb things.
• down the road (prepositional phrase): in the future
  – Their relationship is going to be in serious trouble down the road unless they work to resolve their differences. He should stop taking such a belligerent (hostile or aggressive) attitude toward things.