Favorite Relative

英語 × 英文 × 樂詞不疲

Intro
We don’t choose our relatives. We’re just born with them, and we have to do our best to get along with them. In fact, we have to love them. They’re family.
Sometimes, that can be a challenge. We all have relatives who just don’t seem to have anything in common with us. But most of us also have at least one relative whom we love to be around and would want to hang out with even if we weren’t related. Hear Amy tell Marni about her favorite relative.
Dialogue
Amy: So you know I’m getting married this summer, right?
Marni: Yes, I know.
Amy: So, when you are planning a wedding, you end up having to get in touch with a lot of relatives who you really have very little in common with, and who you maybe haven’t even spoken to in years. But there is one relative that I’m really excited to see at my wedding.
Marni: Oh yeah? Who’s that?
Amy: My uncle Dale.
Marni: Oh, that’s nice when you have a special relationship with somebody. Tell me about your uncle Dale.
Amy: Well, we don’t really have a lot in common, but we’ve just always gotten along and I really look up to him. He’s a real outdoorsman and so he kind of exposed me to a lot of things that I never would have done if it weren’t for him, like shooting a bow and arrow and fishing and just like being out in the wild. And I, you know, I always appreciated that in a way more than someone else who I might have more in common with.
Marni: Interesting. So you’re not exactly peas in a pod, but it sounds like you really look up to him.
Amy: Yeah, he’s a cool guy. He taught me how to play poker and gave me one of my first beers, you know, so…
Marni: Uncle Dale sounds pretty awesome.
Discussion
Amy is planning her wedding. There are some relatives she has to invite to the wedding even though she isn’t very close to them. But there is one relative she can’t wait to see: her uncle Dale.
Amy tells Marni why her uncle is her favorite relative. When she was younger, he taught her a lot of things she didn’t know, like how to fish, play poker, and even how to drink beer. She looks up to her uncle and enjoys being with him, even though they don’t have a lot in common.
Who is your favorite relative? Can you describe him or her?
Grammar Point
Phrasal Verbs
Amy says she looks up to her uncle Dale. Look up to is a phrasal verb.
Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + a preposition that alters the original meaning of the verb. The verb “look” by itself means regard or watch. But when you say you look up to someone, it means you admire them.
Some phrasal verbs are separable, meaning you can separate the verb from the preposition. An example of this is pick up. You can say “Will you pick some milk up on your way home?” or “Will you pick up some milk on your way home”? But other phrasal verbs, like look up to, are non-separable. You cannot say “I look my uncle Dale up to.”
Which is correct, “I get along with my sister” or “I get my sister along with”?
Quiz
❶　Amy’s favorite relative is her __.

• aunt
• uncle　✓
• cousin
• brother

❷　Uncle Dale loves __.

• travel
• reading
• being outdoors　✓
• trying new foods

❸　Uncle Dale taught Amy __.

• to fish
• to shoot a bow and arrow
• to play poker
• All of these.　✓

❹　Amy __ her uncle Dale.

• looks up
• looks at
• looks up to　✓
• looks up with

❺　Does Amy have a lot in common with her uncle Dale?

• Yes
• No　✓
• Can’t tell

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