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Only Child

Only Child English, baby! Video Lesson

Date: Jan 30 2007

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.

Most people end up having children. Many folks have two or three children. Some have big families, with five or six children. And some people have just one child.

Often, families who live in rural areas and work in agriculture have larger families. As areas become more urbanized, family size tends to decrease.

Religion can also play a role. Birth control can help families plan how many children they will have and when. But not all religions condone birth control.

As the earth’s population continues to grow, many wonder if the planet has enough resources to support so many people. In China, for example, the government strongly encourages parents who live in the country’s densely populated urban areas to have no more than one child. City families who choose to have more than one may be subject to fines.

Amanda has one child. Listen to her discuss her choice with Mason.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Mason

Mason

Amanda

Amanda

Mason:  So Amanda, you’ve got, like, one kid, right?

Amanda:  I have an only child...

Mason:  An only child.

Amanda:  ... so to speak, yeah.

Mason:  Do you plan on having another child at some point?

Amanda:  I actually don’t.

Mason:  No? OK.

Amanda:  And that’s kind of a sensitive subject.

Mason:  Is it?

Amanda:  It shouldn’t be, but people make it a sensitive subject for me.

Mason:  Well, I hope you didn’t… I mean, I didn’t mean it that way.

Amanda:  I know you didn’t. But do you… do you think that you’d feel differently had I said, “Yes, we want more” versus “No, we’re done”?

Mason:  Um… Honestly…

Amanda:  Do you wonder why we’re done?

Mason:  I don’t… Well, personally, I don’t care one way or the other as long as people having children is a conscious choice. I, I… you know…

Amanda:  Thank you. Thank you.

Mason:  So, like, if you, if you’ve thought about it, if you’ve discussed it with your husband, I don’t care.

Amanda:  I appreciate you saying that. I feel like a lot of people today have multiple children because they feel it’s the thing to do. It’s the societal, acceptable thing to do.

Mason:  We’ve certainly got our fair share of people in the world.

Amanda:  Absolutely.

Mason:  I don’t feel we need more just for farming’s sake.

Amanda:  Good point.

 

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Discussion

Amanda is happy having had just one child. She thinks many people have more than one because they are conforming to societal norms.

Mason doesn’t care how many children Amanda has. He just wants people to think before they procreate, and plan to have children instead of just waiting for an accidental pregnancy to decide their fate.

Do you think there should be a limit on how many children one family can have?

Are you an only child or do you have brothers and sisters?

 

Comments

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Dail

Dail

China

it depends on the areas.


 uh,i am an only child,cause theres a limit on how many children one family can have in china.

12:03 PM Aug 23 2012 |

Old Yeller

Old Yeller

United Arab Emirates

thanx god …i’m not only child and i have sidlings i would feel bore if i were only child

01:05 PM Jun 01 2011 |

jzalakain

Spain

No much years ago, womens worked at home, brorughting up the children, cleening the house…. but actually womans works out of home and this is very normally.

01:20 PM Dec 17 2008 |

Helga

Helga

Ukraine

Fair share of people… It makes me laugh. How it could be if so many people, I’d say, enormous number of people die every day, every hour, every minute. In many countries the number of new born children is much less than the number of dead people. Disasters, different diseases, famine, wars, different accidents happen day after day taking people’s lives. I think we will be waiting for a long time for fair share, rather we’ll destroy our planet in a different way.

10:03 AM Feb 05 2007 |

rayne

China

just purely from a sustainability’s point of view, controlling the earth’s population is definitely an ideal choice

12:06 PM Feb 04 2007 |

constfang

constfang

China

I like children very much, but I still don’t want to have many children, since I know that in the future the burden will be heavy. So I’d rather have an only child.

01:45 AM Feb 02 2007 |

assia

assia

Algeria

if you have some children you will happy so it is a good thing to have them

05:10 PM Jan 30 2007 |

Everwelwisher

Pakistan

Nida.. i am very very busy..Tahir

03:09 PM Jan 30 2007 |

Nida786

Nida786

Pakistan

Hell Tahir.. my Welwisher where are you now a days…???
Missing you a lot
Nida

02:56 PM Jan 30 2007 |

nugroho

nugroho

Indonesia

Mason’s right. By planning them, it shows the maturity of the parents

06:17 AM Jan 30 2007 |

diazbarreiro

Mexico

children are the most beautiful gift that God gives to us. So, I think we have not got our fair share of people. Don’t be afraid on having children but take care about giving love to children and to share our goods with poor people. That’s the only way in which the natural resources will be enough to humanity.

04:02 AM Jan 30 2007 |

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