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Breaking Point
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Breaking Point English, baby! Video Lesson
临界点

Reported Speech

Date: Dec 27 2011

Themes: Soap Opera

Grammar: Direct vs. Reported Speech

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Everything has its limit. A table can only hold so much weight before it collapses. A submarine can handle a lot of pressure, but still can’t go too deep. A person can deal with a lot of stress, but everyone has a breaking point.

The breaking point is the moment at which something or someone can take no more. It’s the moment when if you put one more thing on the table, it will fall, or if the submarine goes any deeper, it will start to leak. It’s the moment where if one more stressful thing happens to you, you will go crazy.

Planning a wedding can be exhausting. Find out how close Jason is to the breaking point.

每件事情都有自己的极限。一张桌子只能承受一定的重量,否则它就会倒塌。潜水艇可以承受很大的压力,但是仍不能下潜到太深的地方。一个人可以承受很多压力,但是每个人都有一个临界点。
临界点是指某事或某人不能再继续承受的时刻。即如果桌子上再放一件东西,它就倒塌,或潜水艇再下潜一点,就会破裂的时刻。如果再多一点压力,你就会崩溃的时刻。
筹备婚礼让人筋疲力尽。找出詹森距离临界点还有多远。

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Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Jason

Jason

Mason

Mason

Marni:  Jason!

Jason:  Cake! Vanilla! Roses!

Marni:  Are you OK? You fell asleep.

Jason:  I’m great. I’m doing great. I can do this.

Marni:  Look, I know you have a wedding to plan, but you also have some work to do…

Jason:  Work? What day is it? Where am I?

Marni:  You need to wake up. Now, I think you’ve really reached the breaking point here. You’re stressed out. You’re exhausted. You need to slow down.

Jason:  Can’t rest. Must order thank you notes.

Marni:  Look, you’re not going to have anyone to thank at the wedding if you don’t slow down. You’re also not going to have a job.

Jason:  Maybe you’re right. Maybe I have reached the breaking point. I mean, I did try to order flowers from a chef earlier today.

Marni:  Look, we can’t have someone like you possibly messing up orders or talking inappropriately to clients. I just need you to slow down.

Jason:  Yeah, I did ask our biggest advertiser what her dress size was earlier. I thought I was on the phone with a tailor!

Marni:  I need to take care of this. OK.

Jason:  You know, there’s something else you might want to take care of first. That trash bag looks like it’s about to reach the breaking point as well.

Marni:  That is Mason’s job.

Mason:  It’s Dale and all his pizzas and his cakes. I can’t keep up!

 

Grammar Point

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Jason has fallen asleep at work. When Marni wakes him up, he starts talking about his wedding, but he doesn’t make any sense. He seems exhausted. Marni thinks he has reached the breaking point.

But Jason insists that he has to plan the wedding. Marni tells him he is likely to plan a terrible wedding and lose his job if he doesn’t relax. Jason agrees. He admits that he has messed up his work a couple of times lately.

Just then, Mason drops a lot of trash. It seems he can’t keep up with how much Dale is eating these days and has reached the breaking point.

Have you ever reached the breaking point?

 

Comments

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tiara2tiara

Philippines

I’ve totally been into this stage where I got involved with someone who’s possessive. Countless times I thought I’d reached the breaking point where I felt like I couldn’t keep up with the people around me in the neighborhood and even my friends had seen that changes that I myself didn’t notice. 

03:01 AM Jun 06 2013 |

fabsir

fabsir

Brazil

Yes, I once had so much on my plate at work that I reached the breaking point. I wouldn´t keep up with work, I was always stressed out and one day I messed up an order. Well, I got someone to help me out then. If only I had reached the breaking point sooner I wouldn´t have had so much stress.

03:46 PM Apr 17 2013 |

Rockyy01

Rockyy01

Pakistan

Hmmm… yup…
A couple of months ago…
I reached the breaking point…
actually which broke me from every point…

& I just went mad… & I literally fought with God…
It was the only way to react as I just couldn’t think what should I do…

11:53 PM May 04 2012 |

miguelito4

Peru

Sometimes when you have discussions with friends and even though they know they are wrong and don’t want to accept it, i reach the breaking point. But it’s important to know how to control yourself and  not to do something you could regret later¡¡¡


04:31 PM May 03 2012 |

1 person likes this

Crizsearch

Crizsearch

Indonesia

During exams I really did study alot, the situation has made me feel dizzy, I think no matter I hard I study, When I reached the breaking point , it’s time to get relaxe for a minute.

07:00 AM Mar 27 2012 |

1 person likes this

nahar2001sa

Saudi Arabia

all day

10:23 PM Jan 02 2012 |

Leka_K

Leka_K

Ukraine

All the time.I walk on an edge very often, unfortunately.

09:15 PM Dec 29 2011 |

1 person likes this

Jojo634178212

China

actually,everyone ever reached breaking point in our daily life  ,it is depends on kinds of things we suffered 。maybe you are stressed out by your job,your daily life ,or your study,it always around us,and it is hardly to say no with that。what is more ,somebody got mad to deal with that matters 。 frankly speaking ,reached breaking point is a human’s nature ,what we must do it to minished that hurt 。


frist ,we must find way to release our stress ,such as doing exercise ,singing ,running ,or talk to friends and so on 。remember that ,find the most suitable way for yourself。


second ,we also can keep writing in diary ,and we can know ourselves clearly。and it also can reduce the hurt to others ,you could show apologized to them。


third,after breaking point ,we should find a way to near the nature and calm down ourselves。after that ,we can back to our job or study。


all in all ,don’t afraid to face difficulties ,if there is a way ,there always a door to you 。

03:58 PM Dec 29 2011 |

Eydo

Eydo

Turkey

Everyone can be reached the breaking point in his life in some period of time..means in hard and difficult time to get rid off the trouble things at the same time is not so easy but patience is the best remdy of hard and harsh time as well..According to our belief in Islam; the patience is half of faith/belief…so who ever wants to have a half of faith/belief without doing and not paying anything at all, he/she has to be patient…Actually the teachers, they have to be patient as well as Jacob’s patient…As saying; “A teacher must have a Jacob’s patient”...I WISH EVERBODY MY BEST ACTUALLY TO THOSE MY FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN EGPYT IN MASR…..


 

10:50 AM Dec 29 2011 |

1 person likes this

aniluniyal

India

hi

03:25 PM Dec 28 2011 |

1 person likes this

friendlover

Turkey

I guess everyone reachs the breaking point because of the nature of humans. In general, I am a very calm person, I rarely get mad, but when I get mad it means I reached the breaking point and then God helps to people I am angry with. I cannot see anything for a while and I can do anything. That’s terrible for sure and I don’t like this.


2 days ago one of my students made me reach the breaking point and for the first time in my teaching life I got mad and and I was going to kill this student.. He was lucky I pulled myself together and just shouted at him..That’s all. But it was also enough to make my students surprised as they are not used to see me angry. In their mind, I am a person always smiling..Yes I am but if if I am not reached the breaking point..

01:16 PM Dec 28 2011 |

1 person likes this

SantD.

SantD.

Brazil

Actually, I’ve just reached the breaking point recently. I was in the same routine since March: wake up, hit the books, go to school and then sleep. I knew I had to take this seriously because I had a goal: to pass my undergraduated admision exams in the end of the year. I thought I was cool with it. My mistake! I haven’t realized how stressed out I was, and because of that, I couldn’t understand anything else. So, I took a decision: I gotta let go some exams. Well, I have to say that I do not regret what I did. It was necessary. So, no more studies for a while. Time to kick back and enjoy the holidays and everything else I couldn’t do this year… so far Cool

11:42 AM Dec 28 2011 |

wwongsapun

wwongsapun

Thailand

At a few years ago, I used to work with the boss so which has a mood swings all of the time. LoL ….One day, He was to angry it seem like the volcano is explode!!!! At the same time, I  try to show calm feeling to him see. It’s mean I don’t care with you angry. I just to look to him explode an anger to me with my eyes look to him with full of the pity … So it’s a poor man that can’t control with self… it’s begin to breaking point that I feel pleasant to resign.

07:10 AM Dec 28 2011 |

1 person likes this

bonniewang99

China

My best friend and classmate lose her parents in one year, I think she will reach the breaking point.

02:53 AM Dec 28 2011 |

1 person likes this

Ahshan

Ahshan

China

reaching the breaking point  ,maybe everyone has the same thing.

10:56 PM Dec 27 2011 |

1 person likes this

geni

Albania

actually reaching the breaking point is rarly happening to me.i can say that  i am sometimes getting nervouse and  say  anything  getting in my mind and committing  a lot of errors and behaving bad with everybody i may met at that time.

08:18 PM Dec 27 2011 |

1 person likes this

zazi zineb

Algeria

mmyes of course i reach the breaking point many times and the worst one is when i passed Bacalouriate Exam i was realy in terrible mood but now i  just be cool as much as i can

08:16 PM Dec 27 2011 |

1 person likes this

tilwayne

tilwayne

Morocco

Fortunately, my breaking point is nowhere close to be easily reached (so far at least ) :) 
Patience is the key…


Reasonable thinking is how to handle it.

08:00 PM Dec 27 2011 |

khaled_islam

Yemen

maybe i need breaking too<

06:38 PM Dec 27 2011 |

whipiry

whipiry

South Korea

breaking point where we can’t endure anymore.

06:34 PM Dec 27 2011 |

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