My father works as a biologist in the Academy of Sciences.
He told me this story about a postgraduate.
“This young man, Igor, was clever but everyone thought he
was strange. Maybe it was so because he was so irritable and
also he suffered from hypochondria.”
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“Father, what is that?” I asked.
“Hypochondria is a kind of sickness that causes a person to
think he is ill. Besides that, he did have a nightmarish situation
at home and he saw everything as a drama. You may wonder
why he was able to continue in the university. He was a genius.
He was talented. If this boy read a text, he could retell what he
had read word by word.”
“How did he do in his studies?” I asked.
“He ignored getting ready for exams. But he could pass his
exams perfectly. When he defended his dissertation, nobody
believed he could do it. At the defense the doctors and candidates
of biology science didn’t take him seriously. They asked him
many questions. They were shocked that he answered them all
brilliantly! On the contrary, he showed that he knew more than
they did.”
I said, “That's amazing that so many people could be wrong
about him.”
My father concluded: “We shouldn’t judge people by their behavior or appearance if we don’t know them well. Sometimes
we are mistaken about them.”
Exercises
I. Understanding the Story
What is the father's conclusion?
II. Vocabulary
Choose the best word to complete the sentence.
hypochondria postgraduate nightmare irritable behavior
1. The man suffered from ________________________ .
2. His __________________ was highly unusual.
3. His situation was so extreme that his life was like a
_________________ .
4. The young man was often unpleasant and
__________________ .
5. He was a university _____________________ and wrote a
dissertation.
III. Now you Talk
1. Describe a hypochondriac's day.
2. Tell about a time when someone showed s/he was not as she
appeared.
3. How would you know if someone is a genius?
IV. Now you Write
1. A summary of this story.
2. Write about how you would help a friend with hypochondria.
3. Write a description of this postgraduate. You can add details.
V. Role Play
1. Father and the writer: They discuss different sicknesses.
2. Father and a doctor: They discuss this young postgraduate.
3. The writer and her friend: They talk about an irritable person
they know.
4. Postgraduate at dissertation defense: Two doctors try to
confuse him.
5. Postgraduate and father: After the defense, they talk about his
success. |
