UNIT 3

The Q Classroom
Teacher: The Unit 3 question is: “Why are social skills important?” So, let’s talk about
that. First, what are social skills? Yuna?
Yuna: Hmm. For one thing, they include _____________________________. You know, saying
“Please” and “Thank you” and opening doors for people . . . things like that.
Teacher: That’s certainly part of it. Sophy, what can you add?
Sophy: I think social skills are skills that help us to communicate with other people in
__________________________________. It’s about being able to talk to people and build
relationships. So, I’d say it’s more than saying “Please” and “Thank you.”
Teacher: What do you think, Felix? Why are social skills important?
Felix: Well, it’s like what Sophy said. We need to __________________________ with other
people. We all know people who have problems because of their poor social
skills.
Teacher: That’s true. Marcus, do you think people can learn social skills?
Marcus: Yes, I do. I once took a course in ____________________________—that is,
________________________________________. It helped me a lot. Now it’s easier for me to
talk to people in lots of different social situations.

Vocabulary
1. You should always treat coworkers with __________ and respect. Good manners are
important at work. (behavior/courtesy)
2. Miteb’s ________ in today’s class was terrible. Here arrived late, he talked on his cell
phone, and then went to sleep! (behavior/courtesy)
3. I’m nervous about dining in the restaurant tonight. There are so many different
glasses and forks on the table. Can I borrow your book about ______________?
(etiquette/behavior)
4. When you stay at a friend’s house, it is ____________ to write him or her a thank-you note.
Its shows you are a good friend. (polite/rude)
5. That child was very rude to everyone. Parents should teach their kids better ___________.
(manners/courtesy)
Listening Comprehension 1

True or False:
1. Professor Forni says people are more polite now than in the past.
2. Professor Forni says rudeness can cause social problems.
3. Professor Forni says there is no connection between rudeness and stress.
4. The best idea is to be polite when people are rude to you.
5. It’s OK to say that you don’t like someone’s behavior.

Multiple Choice:
1. The host of the program is ____.
a. Scott Webber
b. John Hopkins
c. Lynn Hancock

2. “Road rage” is a term used to describe drivers who ____.

a. get angry while driving
b. are not good drivers
c. drive too fast

3. If someone is yelling at you, you should ____.

a. scream at them
b. say nothing and walk away
c. stay calm and speak politely

4. Lynn tells a story about something that happened to her when she was ____.
a. driving her car
b. riding on a bus
c. riding on a subway

Unit 3, Listening 1
Be Polite
Scott Webber: Good evening, everyone. I’m Scott Webber, your host on Book Talk. Tonight,
Lynn Hancock is here with us. Lynn is a 1)__________________________ and
regularly writes book reviews for the Sunday Nation. So, Lynn, tell us what
book you have for us today.
Lynn Hancock: Thanks, Scott. I have a little book here called The Civility Solution: What to
Do When People Are Rude. It’s by P. M. Forni, a professor of Italian literature
at Johns Hopkins University. Professor Forni believes that there is an
increase in 2) ________________________ in our society today.
Scott: Does he really think that people are ruder now than in the past?
Lynn: Yes, he does. And he thinks that this is a serious problem. It’s not just that
people don’t obey the 3) ______________________________. Rudeness and bad
4)________________________ actually hurt us. For one thing, they cause stress,
which is bad for our health. And in the worst cases, rudeness can even
result in violence.
Scott: Violence?
Lynn: Yes. What we call 5)__________________________ is just one example. Drivers get
very angry and scream at each other. Sometimes, they even get into fights.
This is becoming more common.
Scott: So. what does Professor Forni think we should do about it?
Lynn: Well, that’s where the 6)“________________________________” comes in. When
someone is rude to us, it’s natural, or normal, to be rude to them. You’re
rude to me, so I’m rude to you. It’s a circle of rudeness. But, when we’re
7)_______________________________ who is rude, it breaks the circle. In other
words, you’re rude to me, but I’m polite to you. If people can learn to do
this, our society will be better.
Scott: Hmm. It sounds very nice, but it isn’t easy. How can I be polite if someone’s
rude to me?
Lynn: Forni admits that it isn’t easy, but he has some ideas about how to do it.
Here’s an example of something that happened to me last week. I
8)____________________________________ into a man on a crowded bus. The man
yelled at me, “Look where you’re going!” So I decided to try the civility
solution. I calmly and politely said, “I’m sorry, sir, but the bus is crowded.
You don’t need to yell.” At first the man looked surprised, but then he said,
“Sorry! I guess I’m just tired today!”
Scott: So, in other words, you can tell people that you don’t like their -
9)_______________________ and be polite at the same time.
Lynn: Exactly. That’s the idea. And sometimes—not always, of course, but
sometimes—when you’re polite, the other person becomes more polite as
well and uses 10)_____________________________. Also you feel better. You’re not
getting angry and stressed about the situation.
Scott: Hmm, I guess I can try it the next time someone is rude to me. Hey, maybe
we should practice. Say something rude to me and let me try . . .
Listening 2, Part 1
Classroom Etiquette
Kate Collins: And finally tonight we have this report from Larry Stark. We frequently hear
that children don’t have ___________________________. In today’s society, parents are
too busy to teach their children manners. For example, families don’t sit down
at the table to eat together. As a result, children don’t learn
_____________________________. Also, children don’t know how to
___________________________ around adults—when, for example, they should use
titles like Mr., Mrs., or Ms. So, here’s Larry. He’ll first tell us what schools are
doing about this and what the results are. Then he’ll answer the important
question: How do teachers and parents feel about it?

Listening 2, Part 2
Larry Stark: Thanks, Katie. Schools are giving their students classes in etiquette and
polite behavior. But, the teachers aren’t teaching these classes. In one
school, the ________________________ asked a company called Polite Children to
teach the classes. Marjorie Lucas is the owner of the company. Polite
Children offers courses in manners to the schools. This is how Ms. Lucas
explains it.
Marjorie Lucas: Teachers spend a lot of _______________________ class time
_________________________ bad behavior. A lot of this is just bad manners. We
teach manners for many different situations. Children learn both table
manners and classroom manners. They also learn how to relate to adults. In
the end, manners are all about having ______________________________. That’s
why it’s important to use words like please, thank you, and
_____________________________. That’s why kids in the classroom should raise
their hands and not ____________________________________. When children learn to
be _____________________________ in these small ways, they learn to respect other
people.
Larry Stark: We asked Tom Saunders, a school principal, about the effect of these classes
at his school.
Tom Saunders: You know, Larry, they’re having a ______________________________ on our students.
After we started the classes, students’ grades went up by 10 to 13 percent
in one year. Teachers say that students are _____________________________________
in the classroom. This saves a lot of time—time teachers can spend teaching
instead of correcting bad behavior. There’s less violence in the school, too.
For example, we have fewer fights in the hallways. This
_________________________ the quality of the school.
Larry Stark: Parents also like the etiquette classes. Here’s Jenny Miranda, whose son
Marcos is in the third grade.
Jenny Miranda: Marcos came home and said he wanted to “_______________________________.” I
was amazed. Now we’re practicing things like calling adults Mr., Mrs., or Ms.
and saying please and thank you. These little things make a big difference.
Kate Collins: Thanks for that _________________, Larry. That’s all for tonight, so I will now
politely wish all of you a very good evening.