Answer the questions (honestly!) and then read the explanations.
1. You are walking to your boy/girlfriend’s house. There are two roads to get there. One is straight path to take you there quickly, but is very boring. The other is much longer but is full of wonderful sights and interesting things. Which one do you take to get to your boy/girlfriend’s house, short or long?
2. On the way you see two rose bushes. One is full of red roses, the other is full of white ones. You decide to pick 20 roses for your boy/girlfriend, of any other combination. What number of white and red roses do you pick? (You can pick all of one or any combination of the two).
3. You finally get to their house. A family member answers the door. You can ask them to get your boy/girlfriend or you can go to get him or her yourself. Which do you do?
4. You go up to your boy/girlfriend’s room, but nobody is there. You decide to leave the roses. Do you leave them on the windowsill or on the bed?
5. Later, it’s time for bed. You and your boy/girlfriend go to sleep in separate rooms. In the morning, when it’s time to get up, you knock at your sweetheart’s room. Is she/he awake or asleep?
6. Now it’s time to go back home. Do you take the short, plain road or the longer, more interesting one?
Explanations
1 The road represents your attitude towards falling in love. If you take the short road, you fall in love quickly and easily. If you take the long road, you take your time and do not fall in love easily.
2 The number of red roses represents how much you give in a relationship, while the number of white represents what you expect in return. For example, if you choose 18 red and 2 white roses, you give 90% and expect 10% in return.
3 This question represents your attitude towards handling relationship problems. If you asked the family member to get you your sweetheart, then you like to avoid problems and hope that they will solve themselves. If you went to get him or her yourself, then you are a more direct person and like to work out problems immediately.
4 The placement of roses determines how much you like to see you boy/girlfriend. Placing them on the bed means you like to see them a lot, while placing them on the windowsill means that you are alright with not seeing them very often.
5 This is representative of your attitude towards their personality. If you find them asleep, you love your boy/girlfriend the way they are. If you find them awake, you expect them to change for you.
6 If you choose the short road, you fall out of love easily. If you choose the longer one, you usually stay in love for a long time.
Vocabulary
Windowsill – подоконник
Separate – отдельный
Sweetheart – возлюбленный, возлюбленная
To represent – символизировать, олицетворять
Attitude – отношение
In return – в ответ
To handle – справляться с
Relationship problems – проблемы взаимоотношений
To avoid – избегать
To work out – решать (задачу)
To determine – определять
Personality – личность
To fall out of love – разлюбить (кого-либо)
Discuss in small groups of 3-4 students. Then give your resolution to the whole class.
– What does love mean for you? What do you associate it with?
– Do you like watching love romantic films? Can you name any? What did you watch last?
– What is romantic atmosphere for you?
– How often do you give presents to your sweetheart? What are they?