Story, Accidental – Part1: Doctor on the Couch

Doctor on the Couch

She liked lying on the couch. She often thought it was the best part of going to the psychologist. She often worked nights and couldn’t sleep well during the day. But when she was here, talking to Ann, she felt all the stress fall from her body and she could really relax. “And how’s it going with Alex?” asked Ann. “He still doesn’t understand my situation.” she said. “You know, what it’s like working as a doctor, my children coming back home to live with me, my ex. When I’m not working I just want to be alone or having fun with friends.” “So you still feel happier when you’re working?” asked Ann. “Sure. And I’d like to feel happy when I’m not working too.” she said. She was now thinking about the meal that evening. Would he be happy or would it all end in another horrible argument? “I like to be with him when we’re having fun.” she said. “A romantic meal, just you and me.” she laughed. “Sorry?” said Ann.

Understanding the Story

1-3 Single Choice: Choose the best option from A-D below.

Vocabulary

1. Find 8 words from the story in the word square.

Look at the example ‘meal’. You can move in any direction, but each letter has to connect to a letter next to it.

Click ‘ANSWER’ when you finish.

2. Look at the 8 words and write down any words you don’t know.

Find the words in the story again and decide if they are important for understanding the story.

If they aren’t important, continue reading and don’t look for them in a dictionary.

If you think they are important, can you understand possible meanings from the sentence they are in?

If you have no idea about the meaning and think the word is important, then continue reading and use a dictionary to learn it when you finish.

Write the sentence containing the word, but don’t write a translation in your language. When you look at the word again, the sentence will help you remember what it means.

This is a good way to learn new vocabulary without looking in a dictionary for every word you don’t know. Some words aren’t important, so don’t spend time learning them.

Now do a crossword puzzle to practise these words and others from the story.

CROSSWORD

Language Focus: Like + to/-ing, Want to, Would like to

2. Now decide which phrase above has the following meaning:

A) I want something but I don’t have it and I don’t know if I will have it in the future.

B) I enjoy this.

C) I think it’s something good.

D) I want this a lot.

Click ‘ANSWER’ when you have decided.

Practice Board

4. Now write your own sentences using ‘like’, ‘want’ and ‘would like’ on the board below. Happy writing!

You can also listen to this part of the story below.