Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Have you ever been betrayed? How did you feel? You probably had hurt feelings. Maybe, your best friend told one of your secrets to someone, and now everyone knows the secret. Or perhaps, your significant other promised to help you and then never came to help. It can be difficult not to hold a grudge when someone acts like this.
People have different opinions about grudges. Sometimes, holding a grudge reminds you not to trust a person. Sometimes, this is an important thing to remember. You can just act like they are invisible and continue to live your life. However, many people think that this is unhealthy. They say you should forgive and forget. If you can let your hurt feelings go, your perspective may become happier.
Gary doesn’t want to hold a grudge, but he’s having trouble letting something go. Listen as Dominique shares her thoughts in today’s English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Gary: Where do you stand on grudges?
Dominique: You know the whole forgive and forget?
Gary: Yeah.
Dominique: I can’t forgive, and I can’t forget.
Gary: Oh, you’re there!
Dominique: Yeah.
Gary: Wow! OK. I feel like I need to talk it over with someone, with something that just happened to me.
Dominique: Really?
Gary: Yeah. I don’t want to hold a grudge, but at the same time, I’m having a hard time letting it go.
Dominique: I can let it go. I can just act like you never existed. And that’s a problem when you have to be around, you know, a significant other or a co-worker all the time.
Gary: Yeah.
Dominique: It’s like, how do act like that person’s invisible when you need them to stamp your memo.
Gary: Right, and trying to consider it from their perspective… what they experienced and why they did what they did, right?
Dominique: Um-hum…
Gary: That’s important. I’m so… I’m just struggling with this. This is such… I feel like I was betrayed, and I want to… I really want to forgive them and let it go, but… ah! It’s just…
Dominique: It’s the hurt feelings.
Gary: Yeah.
Dominique: Yeah.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Modal Verbs" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Gary recently had a bad experience with a friend. He is trying not to hold a grudge, but he is having trouble letting it go. He asks Dominique for her perspective. Dominique tells him that she can’t forgive and forget. But she is good at ignoring people. When she has a grudge, she just acts like the other person doesn’t exist.
Gary isn’t sure that he can act like Dominique. He really wants to forgive the person who hurt him, but he feels very betrayed. He wants to talk it over so that he can decide what to do. Maybe, talking about it more with Dominique will help him to let go of his hurt feelings.
What do you do when someone hurts your feelings? How long do you hold a grudge?