ROOMMATES
VIEW If you think this assignment is too much pressure, we can change it to a conversation among all students instead, in a give-and-take form. Below is the main vocabulary used in the newscast; but of course your practice should introduce additional vocabulary.
Besides building a vocabulary around this topic, you should brainstorm for problems living with another person based on your personal experience.
In your presentation, whether as a speech or in dialogue, you should discuss potential problems, give concrete and specific examples, and suggest solutions.
Aim for adequate vocabulary, suitable ideas, and fluent delivery of those ideas. In dialogue, if this form is chosen, be prepared to be responsive to the ideas of others, either by agreement and elaboration or by contradiction with examples.
You should prepare this by the week of 11 March 2008, though we may not get to it until the second hour on Tuesday or Thursday of that week.
"Our relationship was complicated by the fact that he belonged to a different religion."
"The exam was very complicated."
"Her boyfriend is complicating our relationship."
"The situation is very complicated."
Clogged shower drains
"Every time she washes her hair she clogs the drain."
"I have a bad cold and my nose is clogged."
Counseling
"I suggested she get some counseling and she got angry."
"We've got to go to counseling together to save our relationship."
Buzz
"The buzz in the dorms is that she's playing around."
Licensed psychotherapist
"If you go to a therapist, make sure she's licensed."
"Make sure he's a licensed professional."
Life skills
"Living alone, I'm learning a lot of life skills, like budgeting my money, scheduling my time, and so on."
Life coaching
"My boyfriend is coaching me on how to cope with different problems in life."
Seminar
"I asked my roommate to go to a seminar on room sharing, because of problems we have living together."
Sorority house
"I'm hoping to be accepted into the sorority house."
Fraternity house
"My boyfriend belongs to the best frat house on campus."
Sucking up resources
"We're supposed to pool our money, but my roommate is sucking up all the resources by using the air conditioner 24 hours a day, even in winter."
Over and over again
"No matter how many times I tell her she's annoying me, she keeps doing the same things over and over again."
Tandem parking
"Tandem parking is a problem if too many vehicles are parked in such a little space."
Towing cars
"Most of our money goes to paying fines for our towed cars."
Consistent problem
"I wouldn't mind if she did it once in a while, but it's a consistent problem with her."
All hell breaks loose
"When I tell him, all hell breaks loose since he doesn't like to be criticized."
Deal with it
"The way she's behaving, I know I'll have to deal with it somehow, even though I'm afraid she may get angry when I confront her."
Roommate crisis
"I'm having a crisis with my roommate. She smokes all the time and I'm afraid I'll get lung cancer before I graduate."
Tends to be
"He tends to be moody all the time and is very annoying to be around."
Fool around
"I don't mind my roommate fooling around with boys all the time, so long as she doesn't do it when I'm there."
Like a mummy
"When she gets depressed she sits at the dinner table like a mummy, so I get depressed too."
Dealt with a situation
"I dealt with the situation by understanding she was having problems with her mother and so I overlooked her sloppiness for a few weeks."
Traumatic
"I had a traumatic experience when I saw my girlfriend kissing my boyfriend."
Important tips
Some important tips on living together: Keep the volume down; hang up your clothes; keep the air conditioner at a comfortable temperature."
Self-explanatory
"The reason why we have fights is self-explanatory if you look at the mess she makes in the kitchen sink."
Abide by the Golden Rule
"I abide by the Golden Rule, but my roommates ignore it."
Golden Rule
"The Golden Rule is to treat others as you wish to be treated."
Extend common courtesies
"He doesn't even extend common courtesies like putting his dirty clothes in the laundry bin."
House business (bills, etc.)
"We share the house business: she pays the bills, I clean the rooms."
Address issues
"I'm going to address the issue of her hogging the computer all the time."
Smoking
"I don't mind her smoking if she did it outside my room."
Drinking
"He has a drinking problem but he refuses to admit it."
Be the bigger person
"Since I'm one year older, I thought I would be the bigger person and allow her to choose whichever room she wanted."
Wrestling and agonizing (over something)
"I wrestled with the problem for days and agonized whether I should tell her to move out."
Good will
"I felt I should show good will by allowing her to turn up the volume on her CD player and putting earplugs in my ears instead."
Living environment
"I prefer a clean living environment."
Conflict and confrontation
"I'm afraid of conflict and confrontation, so I let my roommate step all over me."
Dish their roommate
"I think I'm going to have to dish my roommate, since she never cleans up around the house."
Dealt with that (something)
"I dealt with her by telling her firmly that I wouldn't tolerate her behavior anymore."
Passive-aggressive behavior
"She's the passive-aggressive type. She never argues. She just pretends not to hear me."
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