dialogue 1

Jingjing: Mark, have you been ___ anything ____?

Mark: ________. Besides ____away at my list of ___, I just ____ an old article about ___ in theU.K. and Europe, and have been thinking about it ____.

Jingjing: Wow, how ___ is the article?

Mark: It's afew years old, ___ years, I think. It focused on a ___ of more than ___ U.K. parents, and their ___.

Jingjing: That sounds interesting. What did the ____ say?

Mark: A ___number of dads said they felt they were doing a ____than their own ___ haddone.

Jingjing: It's ____ to me that so many _____ that way. People get __________

Mark: Right. Their own parents might have had exactly the ____ ____ years earlier.

Jingjing: Did ____ feel they were doing ___?

Mark: You know (?)—I don't think the article ______ about that. I should probablytry to _____ the ____ research, not just the article that ____ it.

Jingjing: That'd be a good idea, if you want to do _____. _____did it say?

Mark: Well,it talked about _____ policies, and made _____ between the U.K. and countries on the European ____. It said ___ Europeans have_______, still getting ___, and being there for their young children.

Jingjing: That sounds ____ Yeah, I keep hearing about how _____ Northern ____countries are.

Mark: It sure sounds that way. Almost all ____ take ____ in Sweden and Norway, while only ____of dads ______ in the U.K.

Jingjing: Women take ____ leave, though, don't they?

Mark: Of course. That's ____ everywhere.

dialogue 2

Jingjing: So, Mark, what do you think _____?

Mark: Hmm,first of all, someone who's______would be a better dad. In the U.S.,_____ are raised in ___ families, mostly by their ___.

Jingjing: That's really a ____.

Mark: Yeah. ___________He has thousands of fans.

Jingjing: That sounds like a ___ audience; but I guess it _____a more generalneed.

Mark: I'm sure he gets to hear plenty of stories about _____.

Jingjing: Do you think a father has to be very _____________

Mark: I guess that depends on _______, and on what the mother and other ____ are doingalready.

Jingjing: Did your own parents play very _______? May I ask?

Mark: No problem. My parents were pretty ____. My dad was a ___,and my mother __, though she also had a ___. They had a lot in __,though.

Jingjing: Really? Like what?

Mark: They both liked ____, and reading. I remember coming ____ on Saturday morningsand finding them both ____ reading.

Jingjing: That sounds like a ____. Who ___ your breakfast?

Mark: That was easy. I just ____ the pantry and the ___, and helpedmyself.

Jingjing: Wow. I hope they didn't keep much _______!

Mark: ___ atall.

new words andphrases

from dialogue 1

Funny you should ask: It's a coincidence, because I happen to have been thinking or doing something closely related to your question.

chipping away at : working on something gradually, reducing whatstill needs to be done something

survey: a set of questions, to measure people's attitudes, experiences and behavior

respondents: people who complete surveys and return them to researchers

parental leave: time off from work, granted by an employer, during pregnancy or the weeks after child birth

paternity: starting fatherhood

maternity: starting motherhood

from dialogue 2

make a name for oneself: become famous

pep talk: an inspirational conversation, with advice and principles for good living speaks to : something points out the importance of something else

nurturing: taking care of children, showing love

bread winner: earningmoney for one's family

raid : search though a place to find things