I. Chronological List

the objects of my affection

spoiled them

drove my sister crazy

slowly and deliberately opened a can of soda

a pristine gem

rejecting adult rules

no whining

even the mundane could feel magical

unintentional

they gave me the gift of being a presence

they'll figure something out

II. Exercises

15.1 Complete the paragraph using words from the box.

drive (s/o) crazy

give (s/o) the gift of

objects of .....affection

pristine gem

reject

spoil

whine

In this chapter, we witness Randy being the epitome of the uncle, .................his sister's children and .................adult rules. He had a new car, but he didn't want them to have to preserve it as a................ ................. So, he slowly and deliberately opened a can of soda and poured it over the backseat. This, of course, .............. his sister ................. She was trying to teach them to be careful with and respectful of things. His rule was: no.................... If there's a problem, identify it and find a solution. In this simple act, he showed his niece and nephew that he appreciated them for who they were. They were the .....................of .................. ....................... In his dying days, he realized that they had ............ him ............. ............ .............being a presence in his life. He asked them to do the same for his children.

15.2 Rewrite each sentence using the word or expression in brackets.

1. Pausch got a lot of pleasure out of ordinary things. [mundane]

2. Although he had always been unconventional and funny with his niece and nephew, he hadn't realized that he had been preparing them to do the same for his children. [unintentionally]

3. To Pausch, material things are simply things; it's relationships that matter. A car was a car, not a precious jewel to conserve. [pristine gem]

4. He wanted his niece and nephew to do for his three kids what he had done for them. [give the gift of]

III. Categorized List

AWL + other long words

rejecting adult rules

deliberately opened a can

a pristine gem

the mundane could feel magical

unintentional

Idioms + other useful words

the objects of my affection

spoiled them

drove my sister crazy

no whining

they gave me the gift of....

they'll figure something out

The Last Lecture

Ch. 16 Romancing the Brick Wall

I. Chronological List

the most formidable brick wall

it reduced me to tears

I felt no compulsion to settle down

could afford something better

But who was I kidding?

Granted, I had a good job.

my funkier personal information

a pretty offbeat and interesting guy

was intrigued

was gun-shy

was flirting pretty aggressively

making far more eye contact than was appropriate

I couldn't tell if you did that with everyone

a long-distance relationship

I was hooked

an incurable romantic

had fallen in love

my know-it-all attitude

upbeat person

an awkward scene

be totally miserable

might have pulled it off

she's probably scared to death

be supportive

she had come to a realization