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AMarriageAgreement(PartOne)(TomandLindahavesignedamarriageagreement.Bothagreenottobreaktherulesoutlinedintheagreement.John,areporter,istalkingtothemabouttheagreement.)John:Tom,Linda,firstI'dliketoaskyouwhyyoudecidedtowritethisunusualagreement.Tom:Wefoundthatmanyproblemsarecausedwhenapersonhasdifferentexpectationsfromhisorherspouse.Wewantedtotalkabouteverythingopenlyandhonestlybeforewestartedlivingtogether.Linda:Alsowebothknowhowimportantitistorespecteachother'spetpeeves.Like,Icangetveryannoyedifothersleavestuff--clothing,papers,everything--lyingaroundonthefloor.Itreallybuggedme,soweputthatintheagreement.John:ThisismentionedinArticle1:CleaningUp,isn'tit?Itsays,Nothingwillbeleftonthefloorovernight.Everythingmustbecleanedupandputawaybeforegoingtobed.Tom:ThenI'llknowclearlywhatLinda'sexpectationsare.John:Isee.WhataboutArticle2:Sleeping?Itsays,Wewillgotobedat11p.m.andgetupat6:30a.m.exceptonweekends.I'msuresomepeoplehearingthiswillthinkthatthisagreementisn'tveryromantic.Tom:Well,wedisagree.Wethinkit'sveryromantic.Thisagreementshowsthatwesatdownandtalked,andreallytriedtounderstandtheotherperson.Alotofproblemsoccurinamarriagewhenpeopledon'ttalkaboutwhattheywant.Linda:That'sright.Whenwedisagreedaboutsomething,weworkedoutasolutionthatwasgoodforbothofus.IwouldmuchratherhaveTomreallylistentomeandunderstandmyneedsthangivemeabunchofflowersoraboxofcandy.Questions:1.WhichstatementbestsummarizesthemarriageagreementbetweenTomandLinda?2.AccordingtoTom,whatwillgiverisetoproblemsinamarriage?3.WhatcanbeinferredaboutLindafromtheconversation?AMarriageAgreement(PartTwo)John:Linda,doyouspendalotoftimecheckingtoseeiftheotherpersonisfollowingtherules?Arguing?Linda:No,notatall.Tom:Alotofcouplesarguebecausetheydon'tunderstandeachother'sexpectations.Ithinkwespendlesstimearguingthanmostcouplesbecausewebothknowwhattheotherpersonexpects.John:Whathappensifoneofyoubreaksarule?Tom:Well,that'sinArticle13ofouragreement.John:Isit?Ohyes,Article13:BreakingRules.Ifyoubreakarule,youmustapologizeanddosomethingnicefortheotherpersontomakeitup.Linda:Yeah,likelasttimeTombroketheruleofdriving.John:What'stherule?Linda:Theruleiswemustaskfordirectionsifwearedrivingandgetlostformorethanfiveminutes.John:Whathappened?Tom:Weweredrivingtoafriend'swedding,andwegotlost.Lindawantedtostopatagasstationtoaskfordirections,butIthoughtIcouldfigureitout.Linda:Thenwedrovefortymilesinthewrongdirectionandendedupbeinglateforthewedding.Tom:SoItookherouttodinner.IknewwhatIshoulddotoapologize.John:That'sveryimportant,Ithink,knowinghowtoapologize.Bytheway,doyouplantoupdateyouragreementatall?Whatifthingschangeinyourlifeandaruledoesn'tworkanymore?Linda:We'vethoughtaboutthattoo.Article14statesthatwemustreviewthisagreementonceayearandmakenecessarychanges.John:Well,itwasreallynicetalkingtoyouboth.Thankyouverymuchforyourtime.Tom&Linda:Thankyou.Statements:1.TomandLindaneverarguebecausetheybothknowwhattheotherpersonexpects.2.OnceTombrokeArticle14andapologizedtoLindabytakingherouttodinner.3.Ifsomeoftherulesinthemarriageagreementbecomeoutdated,changeswillbemadetoupdatethem.4.ItseemsthatbothTomandLindaaresatisfiedwiththeirmarriageagreement.APerfectMatchAreyoulookingforagoodrelationshipwithsomeonespecial?Whattypeofpersonisthebestpersonforyou?IsitthepersonwiththehighestIQ?Isitthemostbeautifulormosthandsomeperson?Howabouttherichestpersonorthemostambitious?Isyouridealpartnerthemosttraditionalorthemostmodernperson?Isheorshethepersonmostlikeyou,ormostunlikeyou?Theanswer,psychologistssay,isnoneoftheabove.Why?Becausetheyareallextremes.Inanumberofresearchstudies,psychologistsaskedcouplesthesequestions.Theanswerswereclear.Mostpeoplearehappywithmoderation¡ªwithpartnerswhoarenotthemostorthebest(ortheleastortheworst).Peoplearemorecomfortablewithpartnerswhoarenotsospecial.Theresearchshowedseveralotherimportantthings.Inaloverelationship,twothingscancausetrouble.First,troublehappenswhenbothpeoplegetangryquickly.Thisisnotsurprising.Second,troublehappenswhenpeopledon'texpecttochangethemselvesinarelationship.Doyoustaycalmwhenyoudisagreewithsomeone?Areyoureadytochangeyourself?Ifyoucantoleratedisagreementandarewillingtochange,maybeyouarereadyforaseriousrelationship.Statements:1.Thepassageimpliesthattheperfectmatchforyouisapersonwhoismostunlikeyou.2.Theauthorarguesthatthemostbeautifulormosthandsomepersonmaynotbeyourperfectpartner.3.Moderateperson,thatis,thepartnerswhoarenotthemostorthebestcanbeyourperfectmatch.4.Theresearchshowedthatanextremeloverelationshipbetweenthetwocancausetrouble.5.Thepassagestatesthattheangerisoneofthecausesthatleadtothebreakupofaloverelationship.6.Theperfectmatchliesinthepeople'sattitudestotoleratedisagreementandbewillingtochangeinarelationship.Amanwastellingoneofhisfriendsthesecretofhiscontentedmarriedlife.Mywifemakesallthesmalldecisions,heexplained,andImakeallthebigones,soweneverinterfereineachother'sbusinessandnevergetannoyedwitheachother.Wehavenocomplaintsandnoarguments.Thatsoundsreasonable,answeredhisfriendssympathetically.Andwhatsortofdecisionsdoesyourwifemake?Well,answeredtheman,she