Household Chores
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Buddhi | Todd |
Todd and Buddhi continue their conversation about household chores and responsibilities.
Todd: Looking back I think other roles were kind of traditional like I have two sisters and they usually had the responsibility of doing the cleaning, and I had the responsibility of , you know, mowing the lawn, and taking out the trash and cleaning up the yard and stuff like that. Was it similar in your house?
Buddhi: Well, dad used to do stuff like that and my brother and I didn't do much work.
Todd: You were spoiled.
Buddhi: Very, very, very, very .... yeah. Did you ever decide to shift work with your sisters?
Todd: No, of course, it never even occured to me. I mean, when you're young, you just do they tell you to do, and to be honest I was very happy. I think I loved doing yardwork. I loved mowing the grass and pruning the trees and, you know, taking about the trash - anything that was physical I enjoyed. I didnt enjoy cleaning. But you never had to do that?
Buddhi: Well, I cleaned my own room and my brother cleaned his own, and I mean, it's obvious and it's ... I mean... it's something we really should do, like at home. When we eat, you clean your dish, and maybe we ... when I grew up, I'd wash ... I'll do the dishes, and even if I didn't do my mom wouldn't expect me to do it, and make sure I do it somehow. If it's not done, she'd do it. If I do it, well, she'll be thankful.
Todd: So, in your household, who mops the floor?
Buddhi: My dad would.
Todd: Your dad would. Who washes the windows?
Buddhi: My dad, yeah.
Todd: Oh, your dad! He's hardworking. OK, who does the laundry?
Buddhi: My mom or myself.
Todd: Or yourself? Really! OK. What does your brother do?
Buddhi: Most of the time, like, he's about eight years older than me, so as soon as he graduated from high school he went abroad for high studies, so when he was doing the usual stuff, I was a kid, so I was not doing anything, so soon after he went I took over or something like that.
Todd: Well you did some stuff.
Buddhi: I did. I'm proud.
looking back
Looking back the roles were kind of traditional.
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When we look back, we think about the past. Notice the following.
- Looking back, university days weren't so bad.
- Once you leave home, there's no looking back.
spoiled
You were a spoiled child.
A spoiled child can do or have anything he or she wants. Here are two samples.
- Were you spoiled as a kid?
- My boyfriend called me a spoiled princess!
occur
It never even occurred to me.
If something didn't occur to us it means we didn't think about it. Notice the samples.
- It never even occurred to me that you were married.
- He should have taken a morning class, but it never occurred to him.
expect
My mom wouldn't expect me to do it.
Here, mom didn't think something would happen. Here are two samples.
- No one expected me to pass the exam, but I studied hard and passed!
- He didn't expect to enjoy the movie. He's just not a Tom Cruise fan.
the usual stuff
I did the usual stuff on the weekend.
'Usual' is similar in meaning to 'normal', and 'stuff' just means 'things'. Notice the following.
- I have the usual stuff to do after school today.
- The action movie was boring; fight, car chase, bomb, the usual stuff.
Vocabulary Quiz
expect • usual stuff
Kadi talks about gender roles in in her country of Sri Lanka.
