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Marcia was standing in her
bedroom, looking at herself in her
full-length mirror. 'I wish they would quit
lying to me.' she thought to
herself. 'Surely,
they can't expect
me to believe them. I only have to
look in the mirror to see the truth.
And the truth is I'm
fat. They all say, "Marcia, you look lovely, you look slim."
Well
that's just plain
crazy.
Just look at me. I'm so chubby.'
Feeling depressed,
she walked into the bathroom and stood on the
scales.
They
read 37.6kg. 'If
only I could lose another
three kilos, I'd look a bit
better and
Martin might notice
me. He doesn't want to be with a chubby.' She ran
into her bedroom and sat on her bed feeling
sorry for herself.
Martin was staring
at himself in his bathroom mirror. On top of his bed were brochures
for cosmetic
surgery asking "Why wait to
look good? Why wait to be happy? Change your life today!"
He turned his face from side to side, studying
his nose. 'If I could
have a nose
job, maybe I would have
a
chance with Marcia. But there
is
no way I can afford
to have an operation. It would take me years to
save up the money, and by then, Marcia will already
have
someone. Some
guy with a small nose, not with an enormous
nose like me.'
Marcia got dressed and left the
house. She walked through her
quiet neighbourhood still feeling depressed. 'I hope I see Martin
today,' she thought to herself, ' but what's
the
point? He never
notices me. He never notices Fat Marcia.'
Martin put his clothes on and went out. As he walked along the busy
street he felt so depressed. 'I hope I see Marcia today, but what's the
point? I'm sure she doesn't even know my name. Maybe she just thinks
I'm the one with the big nose. I have no chance with her, she's
out of
my league.'
By chance, they arrived at the
gates of their high school at
the same time. Marcia saw Martin and looked down at her feet in
embarrassment. He pretended
to check his mobile phone. But for some
unknown reason, for the very first
time, they looked up at each other and smiled, and a strange force
inside Martin made him say, 'Hi. You're Marcia, aren't
you?'
'You know my name!' Marcia replied, surprised. 'And you're Martin,
right?'
Adjectives
plain:
Here meaning 'clearly'.
crazy:
Here meaing 'not true or sensible'.
chubby:
A little fat.
depressed:
Feeling very unhappy, with no energy.
enormous:
Very big.
Verbs
quit:
To stop.
expect:
Here meaning 'to think something will happen'.
notice:
To see, hear or feel something, for the first time.
feel
sorry for yourself:
To
feel too unhappy about your own situation.
stare:
To
look atsomething for a long time, without moving your eyes.
study:
In this case meaning 'To look very closely'.
have
a chance with sb.:
To
have a chance of becoming someone's boyfriend or girlfriend.
afford:
Here meaning 'To have enough money'.
have
sb.:
To have a boyfriend or girlfriend.
study:
In this case meaning 'To look very closely'.
have
a chance with sb.:
To
have a chance of becoming someone's boyfriend or girlfriend.
afford:
Here meaning 'To have enough money'.
be
out of my
league:
Used when you think someone is much better than you, and so it is
impossible to have a relationship with them.
pretend:
To behave as if something is true. But you know it is not true.
Nouns
truth:
What is real. Facts.
scales:
A machine used to weigh something.
a
brochure:
A thin magazine that advertises something, or gives information.
cosmetic
surgery:
A medical operation to make you look more attractive.
a
nose job:
An operation to make your nose look more attractive.
a
brochure:
A thin magazine that advertises something, or gives information.
cosmetic
surgery:
A medical operation to make you look more attractive.
a
force:
Here meaning 'a physical power'.