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Views #1338 | Intermediate (B2)

Brotherly Love

Sorie and Mark talk about brothers and sisters and how their age affects her relationship with them.

Mark: So you were talking about how you got five brothers. Do you have a different relationship with each one of them?

Sorie: Yeah, definitely. They all range in age, so the oldest is 26 years old and the youngest is six years old. So I’m closer to my closest brother but they all have different personalities. And I have a great relationship with each one of them.

Mark: I’m wondering if the relationship you have with the oldest one is more like brotherly-sister and the relationships you have with the really young ones is more like some kind of mother and son relationship.

Sorie: Definitely. As I told you, my youngest brother is six years old. And my neighbors, they used to think that that was my child because of the difference in age. And I would be carrying him around and I would change his diapers. And when my mom was out, I was the one taking care of them or when my mom was sick, I was the one making their meals.

And still have a different kind—I feel a different love for them than the love I feel for my brother. I feel like he’s more like a friend. I can talk to him; I can share my experiences with him. We’re close in age so we have a lot of similarities. And with my younger brothers, they often ask for advices and they want me to give them a little bit of my knowledge. So it’s very different with each one of them.

How about you? You said you had only one sister.

Mark: Yeah. I have one sister and she’s older than me. Definitely, there’s no sense of motherliness from her. I didn’t feel that at all. And we were just totally independent. I was a boy and she was a girl. She did girl things, I did boy things, and then we just lived in the same house.

Sorie: What’s the age gap between the two of you?

Mark: It’s like three years.

Sorie: Three years, okay.

Mark: Yeah.

Sorie: What’s the relationship you have with her right now?

Mark: The relationship I have with her right now—well, we live in different countries, so we’re so far apart. And she now has children, and I don’t have any children but we still intermittently keep in touch with each other. And it’s the same kind of feeling, the same, like; familial love obviously is very present. But it doesn’t—we don’t—I don’t know. You spoke about you’re talking to your brother about lots of things that you’ve been up to. And perhaps, I don’t talk to my sister about things, and I talk to my wife and my friends about those things. So it’s more like she’s my family rather than my friend.

Sorie: I see. Did you ever wish to have any brothers?

Mark: No. I just took it as it came. It wasn’t my choice, so I didn’t wish for any brothers or sisters anymore. She’s just my older sister. But I had lots of friends. Friends are very important to me, so my friends are like—my male friends, when I was younger, they’re like my brothers really. So it didn’t matter that they weren’t part of my family like an extended family.

Answer these questions about the interview.
Audio Lessons about Phrases and Vocabulary

range

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They all range in age.

Range means vary. Notice the following:

  1. They all range in color.
  2. They look similar but they all range in cost.

age gap

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What’s the age gap between the two of you?

An age gap is a difference in two people's ages. Notice the following:

  1. They are in love despite a 20-year age gap.
  2. The age gap between my sisters is only two years.

intermittently

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still intermittently keep in touch.

Intermittent means from time to time, but not regularly. Notice the following:

  1. The volcano erupts intermittently.
  2. Buses in poor countries often run intermittently.

 

keep in touch

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We still keep in touch with each other.

Keep in touch means to stay in contact by phone, mail, or correspondence. Notice the following:

  1. After you move, please keep in touch.
  2. She is really good at keeping in touch with people.

be up to

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Things you’ve been up to.

Things you are up to are things you are doing. Notice the following:

  1. He hasn't been up to any good.
  2. Hey, it's me. What are you up to?

take it as it comes

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I just took it as it came.

When you take something as it comes, you have no special feelings about it. Notice the following:

  1. To avoid stress, I just take life as it comes.
  2. I had no preference. I just took it as it came.

Vocabulary Quiz

range • age gap • intermittently
keep in touch • up to • as it comes
  1. He is no good.
  2. They have a wide of choices.
  3. The internet stops sometimes.
  4. You need to take life .
  5. I try to with all my old friends.
  6. There is a wide in my office .

 

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