Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 25 - I got the message across

Robert: I told my mom that I will stop talking to her if she nags me again about getting married. Drama ensued, but I got the message across. It’s been almost two years and I’ve never heard her nag about that again.

Steve: You can’t get away with it anyway. The natural tendency for anyone who nags you whether a parents or a friend is to be defensive. When you agree with your parents, it’s hard for them to keep pushing the point. Without your interaction, their negative comments have nowhere to go.

Robert: Well, I appreciate the fact that they care about us and they have their legitimate worries even if they are off base. Unfortunately, in most cases there is no getting around their grievances. What may urge them to nag is that they think that they see the large picture better than their inexperienced kids.

Steve: Currently; I’m trying to stay calm, and consider what they're asking. You know with a little added composure, we can prevent future nagging from happening in the first place. We can also put a cherry on top by saying ’you’re a good mom’ at the end.

Vocabulary;

nag: to annoy a person by making continual criticisms or suggestions.

ensue: to follow in order; come afterward.

get the message across: to make someone understand.

get away with it: to succeed in avoiding punishment for something.

defensive: too quick to protect yourself from being criticized.

to go nowhere: to fail to achieve something, or to fail to be successful.

legitimate; (adjective) reasonable and acceptable.

off base: to be wrong; mistaken; unrealistic.

grievance: a complaint or a strong feeling that you have been treated unfairly.

the big picture: the most important facts about a situation and the effects of that situation on other things.

composure: the feeling of being calm, confident, and in control.

cherry on top: something small and special is added to something else that is also very nice to make it just that much more enriched.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. My parents are constantly .......... me to live with them after I went broke.

2. Diana isn’t responsible for the commodity in the warehouse. Her claims and complaints are ..........

3. Today, I failed a test and lost out on the lead in the school play, but do you know what was the .......... on top? I got a ticket on my way home!

4. You may feel nervous but don’t lose your .......... in front of the camera.

5. In my political work I try to concentrate on the big .......... and not be distracted by details.

6. The small amount of compensation is a source of .......... to the people forced to leave their homes.

7. I'm afraid you're off .......... when you state that this problem will take care of itself.

8. I’m not holding you accountable. There's no need to get so ..........!

9. The discussions will have .......... to go unless they show some resilience.

10. We need to get the .......... across that too much violence on TV is dangerous.

11. Everyone thinks he's guilty of the robbery, but it looks like he's going to get .......... with it.

12. The police officer said that he had placed the man under arrest and that a scuffle had ..........

1. nagging 2. legitimate 3. cherry 4. composure 5. picture 6. grievance 7. base 8. defensive 9. nowhere 10. message 11. away 12. ensued