[LIFE ★]
THIS WEBSITE WILL END YOUR RELATIONSHIP FOR YOU
(P1) With CHEEKY sayings like, “Recently single? You are now,” on its website, The BREAKUP Shop looks more like a joke than a serious service. And yet, it’s actually real.
(P2) A reporter tried the new website, paying $30 for the service to break up with his girlfriend for him VIA telephone. The good news is that she was IN ON IT – they weren’t breaking up FOR REAL.
(P3) The Breakup Shop was launched last week by two Canadian brothers named Evan and Mackenzie (no last name?). One of them told the reporter, “People are already paying services like Tinder to get them in a relationship, why not pay a service to get you out of one?” The site offers breakup services in the form of texts, emails, letters, phone calls, and CARE PACKAGES (cookies? flowers?).
(P4) Now, we get it—breaking up with someone is never something you really LOOK FORWARD TO. But sometimes, if a relationship isn’t serious, it’s possible to end it cleanly and quickly via text. But having someone else do it for you? Are people really going to get ON BOARD WITH this?
(P5) APPARENTLY, the response from most people is that the breakup call (text, email, etc.) isn’t real. People think it’s a joke. Then, when they find out it’s real, it’s not so funny.
(P6) NO WONDER people hate modern dating!
WORDS: 229
SOURCE: http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2015/11/the-breakup-shop-website-service
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Do people create silly apps and services like this to make money, or to get attention?
- Have you ever experienced a bad breakup?
- What do you think of the influence of the Internet and electronic devices on dating?
- What is the least painful way to receive bad news?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- In on it
- For real
- Care package
- Look forward to
- On board with
- No wonder
