//What is love?

Listening Book 4

1 - Warm up
- In your opinion, what is love? Tell us about some things that you love.
- How many different kinds of love can you think of (e.g. love for your family, friends, etc.)?
- Do you believe that there is a “universal” definition of love? If so, what is it?
- Is love consistent across generations, cultures and personal beliefs? Why/how?
- Look at the words below. How do you think these words relate to love? Give clear examples to support your argument.
(E.g. Obsession: Love relates to obsession because when you are in love you become obsessed with the person you are in love with,
and you think about them all the time.)

fake - ideal - obsession - shelter - magical - hate - weird - hugging - craving - siblings - human beings - religion

2 - Vocabulary
Let’s look at some words from a video that you are going to watch. Match the words/expressions from the video with their
definitions:
a) Universal truth ( ) A similar idea
b) Common thread ( ) A structure that supports something, such as an idea, a principle or a fact
c) Cult ( ) Not authentic or genuine; false
d) Take a step back ( ) Make someone feel something a lot / too much; be too difficult to deal with
e) Overwhelm ( ) The act of not loving someone anymore
f) Foundation ( ) A group/organization focused on veneration of a person, ideal or thing
g) Fall out of love ( ) A truth that applies to all places and all things
h) Fake ( ) Temporarily stop being involved in an activity/situation in order to think about it in a new way

3 - Video
3.1 Watch the video about love and answer the following questions.
a) What question is being answered?
b) According to the video, is it possible to define love?

3.2 Watch the video again. Fill the spaces with the missing words in each paragraph.

a) “What is love? Seriously, though, what is it? What is love? A verb? A ___________? A universal truth? An ideal? The
_____________ thread of all religions? A ________? A neurological phenomenon?”

b) “Taking a step back or taking a __________ ____________, whatever, love is potentially the most intensely thought about thing
in all of ____________ ______________. And despite centuries upon centuries of obsession, it still overwhelms us. Some say it's
a feeling, a magical emotion, a feeling for someone like you've never felt before. But ____________ are fluid, not a very concrete
foundation for a definition. Sometimes you hate the ____________ you __________.”

c) “Your relationships with your _____________ shape your relationships with partners. And your love for your partner may be
in its own dynamic relationship, healthy or totally weird, with the love of your _______________ and siblings. Love is also a set
of behaviors we associate with the feeling: holding hands, kissing, hugging, public displays of affection, dating, marriage, having
_________________ or just sex.”

d) “But then sometimes, __________________ or suddenly, you don't. You've fallen out of love, become unaddicted, for a spell.
What happened? Does one develop a tolerance or hit a limit? Why do some _______________ stay addicted to each other their
entire lives?”

e) “But is that all love is? Or, perhaps worse, is it just a construct, some fake concept we all convince each other to try to live up to
for a fake sense of purpose? Maybe it is a _________________, but let's be more precise about what a construct is because love is
constructed from reality: our experiences, feelings, brain chemistry, cultural expectations, our lives. And this edifice can be viewed
through countless dimensions: scientific, emotional, historical, spiritual, legal or just ___________________.”

3.3 Watch the video again and choose the right answer.

a) Love can be defined as:

( ) A feeling ( ) A choice ( ) A construct of our experiences, feelings, brain chemistry, and culture ( ) All of the above

b) Research shows that chemicals in your brain stimulated by another person can make you develop a ___________ for that person.
( ) Likeness ( ) Habit ( ) Tolerance ( ) Fixation
c) Love is the same for all people.
( ) True ( ) False

d) One theory is that love is a subconscious means to:

( ) Get married ( ) Pass on our genetics ( ) Get divorced ( ) Enjoy a turkey sandwich

4 - Target language
Phrasal verbs related to love
4.1 Work with a classmate and match the five phrasal verbs below with their meanings.

a) Hit on ( ) To get someone to like you by flirting with them

b) Break up ( ) To find someone attractive and begin to love them
c) Fall for ( ) You like someone; you feel attracted to that person
d) Have a crush on ( ) To end a romance
e) Settle down ( ) To adopt an orderly and routine way of life, especially after marriage

4.2 Now use the phrasal verbs above to complete the following sentences. Make sure to conjugate the verbs as necessary.

a) After he turned 32, he decided to ________________ and have children.

b) So I’ll stop seeing him, otherwise I’ll absolutely ________________ him and suffer a lot!
c) There’s a girl at school I _____________, but she doesn’t even know I exist. One day I’ll ask her out!
d) Tommy is really sad because Laurie ________________ with him last night.
e) There is a guy who has been __________________ me for a while, but he never just asks me out on a date! I would really like to
get to know him.

4.3 Find a partner and ask each other the following questions.

- Have you ever broken up with someone? How did you feel?
- Is it easier to break up with someone or have someone break up with you? fig.1
This is your brain.
- What is the best age to settle down and start a family? Inside are things worth living for.

- Take a look at the image to the right. What does it mean?

5 - Video
fig.2
5.1 Watch the video and choose the best option below to describe it. This is your heart.
Inside are things worth dying for.
a) People from different age groups answer the question: What is love?
b) People from different age groups talk about their love experiences.
c) People from different age groups have a discussion about the definition of “love”.

5.2 Watch the video again and mark the words from the box that are mentioned in the video.

( ) Complicated ( ) Deep ( ) Useless ( ) Shallow ( ) Marriage

( ) Marketing ( ) Accepting ( ) Intense ( ) Sorry ( ) Family

5.3 Watch the video one more time and put the following statements in the order you hear them.
( ) I think love is a way… actually, I’m not really sure how to answer this question.
( ) It’s complicated. Love is a complicated thing.
( ) Someone that loves you loves you because you are you.
( ) Ah, you are asking the wrong age group,‘cause the first thing I wanna do is say,“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
( ) Well, if you’re talking family-wise, that means everything. But if you are talking, like, marriage… I mean, you could be single and
that’s kind of what I wanna do.
( ) Love means… I don’t know. It’s pretty great. I guess you can’t describe it.
( ) Love means being 100% vulnerable and all the way in, you know?
( ) Love is deep.
( ) Love, to me, is the greatest marketing campaign ever invented.
( ) Love means accepting people where they are.
( ) Love means never having to say you’re sorry. But I don’t believe that at all, ‘cause I feel like you say you’re sorry a lot.
( ) That means you love somebody.
( ) Love means a lot to me. It means a lot. I love my family, my grandchildren. It means a lot.

5.4 Now discuss the questions below in small groups.

a) Based on the answers from the video, who do you relate to the most? Talk about it.
b) Do you think the definition of love changes as you get older? Explain.
c) Do you agree that love means never having to say you are sorry? Why / why not?