S

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• Summary

• S

• Fill in the Blanks

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I. Summary of the Text

• Gail and I decided to get married out of
  ________
• ____________________,
• but our wedding plans met with some _________.

love,
mutual trust and respect
resistance
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II. Fill in the Blanks
Why did we decide to get married?

• Gail and I had experienced _____and ______ in
  two years, now we come to ______, ______________
• and ________ each other.
• We confronted ___________ and ________ of
  each others character. We have learnt to be
  __________, ______________ and ________ . The
  source of our strength was our mutual _____ and
  _______.

ups
downs
know
understand
respect
weakness
strengths
tolerant
compromising
open
trust
respect
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What did her mother think?

• When Gails mother heard the news, instead
  of ______________she _________ Gail to reconsider
  our marriage. Though she regarded me as
• ________ and
• _________,
• she was afraid that
• Gail may be marrying
• me for ______ reasons.

counseled
congratulations
charming
intelligent
wrong
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What was her fathers response?

• When Gails father heard the news, he
  approached our decision with _______
  _________attitude. He doubted that I
• was marrying in order to ________ in
• the USA , for I had problems with the
• Citizenship department. So, they all ________
  that Gail be sure that _______
  ____________________and she may
• ________________ .

a father-
knows-best
remain
suggested
she was
doing the wrong thing
change her mind
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Marriage Across the Nations
Para. 1 Gail and I imagined a quiet wedding.
During our two years together we had experienced
the usual ups and downs of a couple learning to
know, understand, and respect each other. But
through it all we had honestly confronted the
weaknesses and strengths of each others
characters.
Para.2 Our racial and cultural differences
enhanced our relationship and taught us a great
deal about tolerance, compromise, and being open
with each other. Gail sometimes wondered why I
and other blacks were so involved with the racial
issue, and I was surprised that she seemed to
forget the subtler forms of racial hatred in
American society.
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Para. 3 Gail and I had no illusions about what
the future held for us as a married, mixed couple
in America. The continual source of our strength
was our mutual trust and respect.
Para. 4 We wanted to avoid the mistake made by
many couples of marrying for the wrong reasons,
and only finding out ten, twenty, or thirty years
later that they were incompatible, that they
hardly took the time to know each other, that
they overlooked serious personality conflicts in
the expectation that marriage was an automatic
way to make everything work out right.
8
That point was emphasized by the fact that
Gails parents, after thirty-five years of
marriage, were going through a bitter and painful
divorce, which had destroyed Gail and for a time
had a negative effect on our budding relationship.
Para. 5 When Gail spread the news of our wedding
plans to her family she met with some resistance.
Her mother, Deborah, all along had been
supportive of our relationship, and even joked
about when we were going to get married so she
could have grandchildren. Instead of
congratulations upon hearing our news, Deborah
counseled Gail to be really sure she was doing
the right thing.
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Para. 6 So it was all right for me to date him,
but its wrong for me to marry him. Is his color
the problem, Mom? Gail subsequently told me she
had asked her mother.
Para. 7 To start with I must admit that at
first I harbored reservations about a mixed
marriage, prejudices you might even call them.
But when I met Mark I found him a charming and
intelligent young guy. Any mother would be proud
to have him for a son-in-law. So, color has
nothing to do with it. Yes, my friends talk. Some
even express shock at what youre doing. But they
live in a different world. So you see, Marks
color is not the problem.
10
My biggest worry is that you may be marrying Mark
for the same wrong reasons that I married your
father. When we met I saw him as my beloved,
intelligent, charming, and caring. It was all so
new, all so exciting, and we both thought, on the
surface at least, that ours was an ideal marriage
with every indication that it would last forever.
I realized only later that I didnt know my
beloved, your father, very well when we married.
Para. 8 But Mark and I have been together more
than two years, Gail railed. "Weve been through
so much together. Weve seen each other at our
worst many times. Im sure that time will only
confirm what we feel deeply about each other.
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Para. 9 You may be right. But I still think
that waiting wont hurt. Youre only
twenty-five.      
Para. 10 Gails father, David, whom I had not
yet met personally, approached our decision with
a father-knows-best attitude. He basically asked
the same questions as Gails mother Why the
haste? Who is this Mark? Whats his citizenship
status? And when he learned of my problems with
the Citizenship Department, he immediately
suspected that I was marrying his daughter in
order to remain in the United States
Para. 11 But Dad, that's harsh, Gail said.
Para. 12 Then why the rush? Buy time, buy
time, he remarked repeatedly.    
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Para. 13 Mark has had problems with citizenship
before and has always taken care of them
himself, Gail defended. In fact, he made it
very clear when we were discussing marriage that
if I had any doubts about anything, I should not
hesitate to cancel our plans.
Para. 14 Her father proceeded to quote
statistics showing that mixed couples had higher
divorce rates than couples of the same race and
gave examples of mixed couples he had counseled
who were having marital difficulties.
Para. 15 Have you thought about the hardships
your children would go through? he asked.
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Para. 16 Dad, are you a racist?
Para. 17 No, of course not. But you
have to be realistic.  
Para. 18 Maybe our children will have some
problems, but whose children dont? But one thing
theyll always have Our love and devotion.
Para. 19 Thats idealistic. People can be very
cruel toward children from mixed marriages.
Para. 20 Dad, well worry about that when the
time comes. If we had to resolve all doubt before
we acted, very little would ever get done.  
Para. 21 Remember, its never too late to
change your mind.
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imagine
-1.imagineplan to have, think about having
We imagine a quiet holiday at home for this
summer after a busy year.
?????,??????????????????
-2. to form a picture or idea in your mind about
what sth. could be like
imagine doing sth. sb. doing sth.
It is hard to imagine living in a place where
there are no telephones or cars.
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character
What does her handwriting tell you about her
character ?
-1. mental or moral qualities that make a
person, group, nation, etc., different from
others (????????????)??,??,??,??
-2. all those qualities that make a thing, a
place, an event, etc., what it is and different
from others(?????????)??,??,??
The furniture in Toms apartment was pretentious
and without character.
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• Cf. character / personality / individuality /
  nature character ???,???,??????
  ???,????????? personality ???,???,???????,???
  ????? individuality ????,????????????? natur
  e ????,???????

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tolerance
-1. willingness or ability to accept sth.
-Tolerance between the races of the world is a
must.
????????????????
-Try and show some tolerance and you will find
the world is so wonderful.
-2. the ability to bear sth. unpleasant, or to
continue existing in spite of bad conditions
-My tolerance of heat is greater after having
lived in Fujian province for a couple of years.
??????????????
-Many old people have a very limited tolerance
to cold.
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?memory? tolerate v. ??,?? tolerant a.
??? ?collocation? have (no) tolerance for/ of/
toward ?(??)?? show
tolerance toward/ of sb ????
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compromise
n. C, U a settlement of differences in which
each side makes concessions??,??,??
-It is hoped that a compromise will be reached in
todays talk.
vi. settle a difference, etc., by making a
compromise ??,??
-He asked more than I was willing to pay, so we
compromised on a price in between.
?????????????,????????,???????????

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vt. bring sb/sth/oneself into danger by foolish
acts ?????,????
He has compromised himself by accepting money
from them.
???????????????????
?collocation?
compromise with sb. over sth.
?????????reach a compromise ????
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illusion
1) C a false idea, belief or impression
???????????
Alcohol gives some people the illusion of being
witty and confident.
??????????,???????????
2) C a thing that a person wrongly believe to
exist a false idea ??
I have no illusions about his ability.
an optical illusion ??? be under the illusion
that ????? be under no illusion about / as to sth
??????? have no illusion about ?????
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mutual
a.1) (of feeling or an action) felt or done by
each to the other (??????)???
Their cooperation was based on mutual respect,
trust and understanding.
????????????????????????
2) shared by two or more people ???,??
Lu Tao and Xia Lin met through a mutual friend Mi
Lai.
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compatible
a.1) (of people, ideas, differences, etc.)
suitable able to exist together
(????????????)???????
The marriage of Song Jianping and Lin Xiaofeng
came to an end because they were simply not
compatible with each other.
?????????????,???????
2) (of equipment) able to use together
(???)???,???
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Unfortunately he bought a printer that was not
compatible with his computer.
???,??????????????
?memory? compatibility n. ???? ?collocation
? be compatible with ????,???
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resistance
n. 1) U being against sth ??,??
The establishment of the chemical factory in
Haicang region met with some resistance.
?memory? resist vt. ??,?? resistant a.
???,??????collocation? resistance to
????/?? resistance from ????? put
up/offer resistance ????
2) U (sing.)(action of) using force to be
against sth/sb ??,??
The antelope put up a passive resistance.
???????????
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reservation
n. 1) U,C (esp.pl) spoken or unspoken limit
which prevents ones agreement with a plan, or
accepting of an idea, etc.(???????)????,????
?memory? reserve vt. ??,?? ?collocation? agree
to a plan with certain reservations
?????????? accept ones statement without
reservation ????????make/ have a reservation for
??
I have some reservations about his story.
2) C order of seats, etc.????(??????)
If you want to go to the concert, youll have to
make a reservation.
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confirm
vt . 1) prove (a report, an opinion, etc.) true
or correct ????
The announcements confirmed that the election
would take place on June 20th.
????????6?20????
2) make (a plan or meeting) certain, often by
telephone or writing (???????)??,??(?????)
Id like to confirm a reservation for a double
room on the first of July. ????????7?1???????
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suspect
vt. 1) have an idea of the existence or truth of
(sth) believe ????
We suspect theyll be a little late.
2) feel doubt about (sth) mistrust?????
He suspected a plot against his wife.
?????????????
?memory? suspicion n. ??,??,??,?? suspicious
a. ???,???,????? suspiciously ad. ?????
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???? suspect sb of sth ????? suspect sb
to be ill ??????????suspect, doubt ???? 1)
?????????,???????,????? ??? 2)
??????that???,suspect???? ?,????,doubt?
?????,??????? I suspect that he has
quite a lot of money. ???????? I doubt that he
has a lot of money. ????????? 3)
doubt????whether/if??,????????? ?At one time
I doubt whether the company could recover
from its financial difficulties, but the
government loan seems to have helped.
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resolve
vt. 1) end (a problem or difficulty) ??,??
The two parties agreed to resolve conflict in a
peaceful way.
????????????????
 2) decide determine ??,??
  He resolved to (resolved that he would ) start
off early the next morning.
?memory?resolute a. ???,??? resolutely
ad. ??,??? resolution n.
??,???collocation? resolve to do ?????
resolve that ?????
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ups and downs
ups and downsa mix of good experiences and bad
experiences ????????,??,??
Life is full of ups and downs.
???????????
Exercise ??????????????????????????
The ups and downs of the characters in Zhu
Deyongs cartoons have provided TV series with
good subjects.
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for a time
for a short period ????
For a time both countries followed the terms of
the treaty.
???????????????
?exercise?
??????????????????
The national economy was backward for a time in
1960s.
?Memory? all the time ??,?? at a time ??,??
at all times ??,?? at one time?? at no
time ??,?? at times ??,??
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work out
develop in a certain way ??????????
This injured basketball player worked out with
the physical therapy three times a week.
?exercise?
They hoped to be able to move into their new
house at the end of the month, but things did not
work out as they had expected.
?????????????,???????? ?????
???? work at/ on ??? work up ?????
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meet with
encounter sth experience sth ??,??,??
I met with some difficulties in surfing the net.
?exercise?
??????????????,??????????
At the end of last year, many farmers met with
bad luck, their crops were destroyed by the snow
storm.
?????????? run across, run into, come across,
meet sb. by accident
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all along
all the time ??,??????
We know all along that he will make it.
?exercise?
?????????????
The Chinese government has all along been
combating drug trafficking.
Do not be confused with all alone, ???
Did you do that all alone?
????????????
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on the surface
when not observed, thought about, etc. deeply
???,?????
The old gardener seems cold and unfriendly on the
surface, but hes really a warm-hearted person.
???????????????,???,??????????????
?exercise?
????,???????,????????????
He was optimistic on the surface, but he was
really a pessimist.
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buy time
delay an action or decision that seems to be
coming too soon ??????????
Can we talk about it later? he said, trying to
buy a little more time.
?????????,?? ?????????
?exercise?
??????????????????
They tried to buy time by doing a lot of talking.
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• During our two years together we had
• experienced the usual ups and downs of a
• couple learning to know, understand, and
• respect each other. (L1-2)

????Like any other couples who were learning to
know, understand, and respect each other, we had
had both happy and unhappy periods. ????learning
to know, understand, and respect each other,
??????? couples? ???????????,?????????????????????
??????,????????????
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• Gail sometimes wondered why I and other
• blacks were so involved with the racial issue,
• and I was surprised that she seemed to
• forget the subtler forms of racial hatred in
• American society.(L6-8)

????Gail sometimes expressed a wish to know why I
and other blacks gave so much time, energy and
attention to the racial issue. And I was
surprised that she seemed to forget the forms of
American racial hatred that are not so obvious.
????????????why???????wondered ???that
??????????? ???????????????????????????,?????????
?????????????????????????
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• We wanted to avoid the mistake made by
• many couples of an automatic way to
• make everything work out right. (L11-15)

????Many couples got married for the wrong
reasons. They only found many years later that
they were not able to live happily together they
hardly took the time to know each other they
ignored serious personality conflicts, hoping
that everything would go right automatically when
they lived their married life. We had learned a
lesson from them and we wanted to live a
different married life.
??????????? We wanted to avoid the mistake,made
by many couples ?????????? the mistakeof
marrying, and only finding out?mistake????that
they were incompatible, that they hardly took the
time, that they overlooked serious personality
conflicts? finding out ????that marriage was an
automatic way to make everything work out right ?
expectation ?????
???????????????????????????????,?????10??20??30?
??????????????????????????,????????????,??????????
??????
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• That point was emphasized by the fact
• had a negative effect on our budding
• relationship. (L16-19)

????????????That point was emphasized by the
fact?That point ????? the mistake (made by many
couples of)that Gails parentswere going
through a bitter and painful divorce ? fact
????which ???????? fact?
????That point was made particularly true when
Gails parents, after thirty-five years of
marriage, were experiencing a bitter and painful
divorce. The divorce had destroyed Gail and for a
certain time had a bad effect on our relationship
that had just begun to develop.
?????????????????????????35?????,?????????????????
???????,?????????????????????
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• To start with I must admit that at first I
  harbored reservations about a mixed marriage,
  prejudices you might even call them. (L28-29)

????To start with I must confess that at first I
was not sure about whether marriage between white
and black would last long, which you might call
them prejudice. ????prejudices you might even
call them ??????,???????you might even call them
prejudices? ???????????,?????????????,???????????
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• Then why the rush? Buy time, buy time, (L49)

????Then why do you want to get married so soon?
Delay your decision about marring that seems too
soon. ????????????????,????????
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• Remember, its never too late to change your
  mind. (L65)

????You can change your mind any time, however
soon or late. ????never / cannot be too to do
????????,???? ????Children are
never too afraid to tell the truth.
??????????? ??????,????????????????