Menace to Our Marriage--Questions and Answers

Here are some questions about

Menace to Our Marriage

and possible answers

(reviewed and corrected)

# 1 Who is Madge?
      Why is she in Sue's home?

She is Sue's friend. she was ill and wanted to visit Sue.
Madge is Sue's best friend. Because she was sick, Sue invited Madge to her home to look after her.

She is Sue's  best friend  She wanted to rest and have some fun.

Madge is Sue’s best friend. She was ill, so she needed to take a rest.

Sue's best friend.Sue hadn't seen her for a long time.
Madge is Sue's best friend.

Madge was Sue's best friend. Because Madge had been ill and needed a  place to rest.

She's Sue's best friend. She's been ill and needs a rest.



# 2 What did Madge say about
      George and Sue's home?

She said George is a handsome man, Sue's home is beautiful. and she envied Sue very much
She said George is a successful man and Sue's home is very beautiful.
I gather George is just successful as he is handsome! You've got a beautiful house.
It’s a wonderful house and George is a successful and handsome man.
It's a beautiful home.
It's a beautiful home.
It's a beautiful home and George is handsome.
You have a beautiful house and George is as handsome as he is successful.

# 3 On the first day after she arrived
      what surprising thing did Madge do 
      with George in the living room?

George hated dancing. but he danced with Madge.
She gave George a massage to help him relax.
She monopolized George all night long [long 加重語氣] and danced with him in the living room. She totally ignored Sue's feelings.
She taught George to dance. Because George hates to dance.
She cooked dinner. [NO, SHE DIDN'T!] (besides, cooking dinner is not surprising]
They danced in the living room.
Madge did the rumba with George

# 4 Why was Sue surprised by #3?

Because George hated dancing.
Because Madge was been sick and rested all day, but she had enough energy to have fun with George. [This is not a good answer in this context]
George was not only doing Rumba, he quite obviously enjoyed it!
George was not only doing the rumba, he was enjoying it.
He doesn't like to dance.
George was not only doing the rumba, he was enjoying it. [notice -ING ... -ING]
Because George never danced with her.

# 5 How did Sue feel about Madge
      on the first day?

She thought of Madge was making a shameless play for him.
She thought Madge was secretly falling love with George. [do you really think this is a secret???]
Sue felt Madge WAS trying to steal George from her.
Sue felt Madge had a crush on George.
She didn't like Madge giving HER extra work.
On the first day that Madge came to Sue's home, Sue was happy [PA ... PA]
Sue felt that Madge had a crush on George.

# 6 Is Madge a good friend?
      Why? [give two reasons]

No. she is not a good friend because she shouldn't have danced with Sue's husband. and she should have kept her distance. If Madge was in Taiwan and didn't care about her friend's feelings, she could become George's mistress.
No, I don't think so. She is obviously a bad friend. 1) She often mentioned Sue's defects. 2) Even though Sue took good care of her, Madge treated Sue like a servant
1.They were good friends, but it was a long time ago. 2. Because of what she did to Sue, Madge is not a good friend.
No; she had a crush on her friend’s husband and treated her host like a servant.
NO.1. she was too obviously interested in George 2.she lied about Sue.
she made Sue sad, unhappy and angry
No; Madge treated Sue like a servant and hit the little boy.
No, she's a bad friend. 1. She knows that George's wife is Sue. 2. She is a lazy girl.

# 7 Is Sue a good friend?
      Why? [give two reasons]

Yes. She is a good friend: she shared her husband with her friend, and she didn't [mind] [have a problem with] {her husband going fishing with a woman who liked him}.
Yes, I think Sue was a good friend. 1)She invited Madge to her home when she knew she had been sick. 2)She took care of Madge, and even worked like servant.
Yes, She treated Madge kindly and generously, like a good friend. 2.Sue said nothing nothing to Madge. Even though Madge tried to steal her husband, Sue suffered in silence.
Yes; she cares about her friend and she never talks behind Madge's back [PR ... PR]
Yes,1.She always took care of Madge. 2 She didn't [gossip about Madge].
Sue is generous/helpful/ etc.. she invited Madge to her home and she was very kind. [PA ... PA]
No; Sue should tell Madge that she mustn't make passes at George, and she should tell George that Madge hit the little boy.
Yes, she takes good care of her friend. She is a good wife.

# 8 Is George a good husband?
      Why? [give two reasons]

No. he shouldn't dance with a girl who is HIS wife's friend and go fishing with her. The important thing is, he was holding Madge by the waist.
Probably yes, but I think he isn't good enough as a husband. 1) He should take better care of his wife and share leisure time with her. 2) After Sue complained, he shouldn't stay too close to Madge.
1.Yes, at first, he just try to be a good host and be pleasant her. 2. No. How can he treat Madge so well and ignore his wife?
Yes; he respects his wife and he can correct the mistakes he made.
He is a good husband because he likes kids and loves Sue
George and Madge's relation see quite close. He still has a smart estimation.

# 9 At the end of the story,
      George said Madge is two-faced.
      How did he know this?

Because the kids told him.
He realized Madge is two-faced from what the kids said. He believes the children wouldn't tell lies.
Sue's nephew and niece exposed the truth that Madge {had been hitting} [HAVE + -EN, BE + -ING = 之前一直做這件事情] them whenever [WHEN + EVER = 每次] George was not at home.
Because the children SAID Madge hit them and she only BEHAVED nicely when George CAME home. [全部過去式]
Because she hit the children.
When the children said "you hit me!"
The little boy says "you hit me", and the little girl says "you only get nice when uncle George comes home."
He believes the children when they say that Madge only becomes nice when he comes back home [home 當副詞用，所以不能加 to] [全部現代式]

# 10 What did you learn from this story?

Don't bring your friend back home to stay with you
Keep your eyes open and make sure you really know someone's character before this guy become your best friend.
Don't leave your husband alone with another female, even a good friend. Just express your feelings immediately, don't hesitate.
Don’t attempt to destroy other people's marriage (especially your friend's) and don't be a two-faced person.
Don't judge people by their appearance.
Beware of your friends (OR: don't trust your friends completely, don't be too trusting, too naïve)
Time reveals a person's true nature.
There's nothing to it! = It's very easy.


A--Overall opinion of this story: What do you think of this story? Do things like this only happen in comic books and television soap operas? Does this kind of story help you learn English, or do you prefer official textbooks? Are your teacher's explanations helpful, or do you prefer to check the dictionary yourself?

I think this story is very interesting. I believe it not only happens in comics but also in the real world. I learn a lot from this kind of story. It helps me know understand daily conversation. Teacher: your explanations are helpful to me because there are many expressions which I can't check in a dictionary.

This situation happens not only in comics or on TV, but also in our everyday lives.

I think most of what we read was about love. It would be better if we could read about a different topic as well, I guess. Your explanations and analysis are very important and helpful to me. It saves me time to ignore what is not important to learn. It also reminds me what i should pay attention to. I appreciate so much everything you taught. Thank you, teacher!

I think Madge shouldn’t do some bad things to hurt her good friend’s heart. Another bad thing was that George was almost fully in love with Madge. I think this probably happens in real life. It will spoil friendships. I like to read this kind of stories (and enjoy them ) and my teacher's explanations were helpful, but I still have to check a dictionary to understand all of it.

1.First, tell Madge that she was interfering with her marriage. Second, tell George about her feeling ands arrange for Madge to move to another place. She shouldn't let things get worse.
2.This kind of story does not only happen in comic books, but also in real society.
3. Any kind of teaching material is fine with me. I can learn something from it.
4.Yes, my teacher's explanations help me to know more detail. I usually read it 2 or 3 times, I will check the dictionary to help me know the whole story the first time. Then I will quickly reread it 1 or 2 times.

About those stories that we see on TV. I like like stories which are different. They let me know about true people's relationships.
Yes, I am interesting in reading a comic for learning English more than textbooks. It's more fun. I think I should read the comic by checking the dictionary myself and explanation by teacher on the next week.


B--What to do: What should you do if a guest does sth wrong in your home (breaks/takes things, asks the wrong questions etc.)? What should Sue have done?

If I was Sue. I would tell her what I think. For example, I don't like it when you dance with my husband or go fishing with him. Then I would immediately ask her to leave.

Forgive the guests kindly if they broke something. Explain to them politely if they ask the wrong questions. Try to get a consensus if we have different lifestyles.

Sue should communicate with Madge and tell here how she feels about the way Madge behaves with George. Then she should let George know what Madge does when he is not at home.

I think I would tell him( or her) that he shouldn’t do such things. It is really bad for me (or it will hurt me).

I think Sue has to tell George her true feelings about Madge. She should tell him that she is afraid George may fall in love with Madge. Otherwise she should tell Madge she doesn’t like Madge’s behavior because it could hurt her.

I would figure out how serious this thing is. I would express my feelings or remind them of their faults.

Sue did nothing: she kept those unhappy feelings bottled up inside her. She dared not express her feelings to Madge. She worried about it might her relationship with Madge.
If it was one of my friends, I would tell them.
Don't let it happen to my friends.

I would explain my rules to my friend when they come, ex: no smoking, not talking loudly....etc. Sue should tell her friend her feeling.


C--Rules For Good Guests: If you stay in a friend's home for a few days, what are some things you should or should NOT do? Make up six rules for yourself and number them: SHOULD 1, 2, 3; SHOULD NOT 1, 2, 3.

Should
1. I should help to do some housework.
2. I should make my friend happy and let her know that my being here will make her happy.
3. I should keep my friend's home clean.
Should not
1. I should not touch things which don't belong to me.
2. I should not be lazy.
3. I should not make my friend feel bad if I am in her home.

YOU SHOULD:
1 Bring some presents when you arrive at a friend's home and give them to him.
2 Praise your friend's home: Appreciate their hospitality
3 Politely greet your friend's family
YOU SHOULD NOT:
1 Affect your friend's normal life.
2. Become a burden.
3 Ignore your friend's feelings

Should:
1. Guests should respect their host's lifestyle.
2. Express gratitude.
3. As much as possible help out with housework.
Should not:
1. Peek at anyone's papers, and listen in on secrets you overhear (非禮勿視,非禮勿聽)
2. Complain about anything.
3. Break taboos.

You Should:
1. Be a polite guest, Greet everyone in the family.
2. Keep the environment clean and help out with housework.
3. Bring a gift.

You Shouldn't:
1 Stay too long.
2 Take away anything that doesn't belong to you.
3. Gossip or ask about priavte matters.

1.Don't affect their lives.
2.Be polite.
3.Try not to listen in on or gossip about family secrets.

Should:
1.Get up early
2. Help with housecleaning (chores)

Should not:
1.eat food in unsuitable places
2.drink
3.smoke
4.go home late
5.talk loudly