مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت الف

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

IDENTITY CRISIS

Except for middle aged-men and women going through a mid-life crisis, we rarely question our identity.

Do middle aged-men and women sometimes go through a mid-life crisis? Yes, middle aged-men and women sometimes go through a mid-life crisis. Have you ever gone through a mid-life crisis?

Your name is your name, your family is your family, and your country is your country.

Do your name, family, and country usually change? No, your name, family and country don’t usually change.

But what if you woke up one day and your name was no longer your name, your family was not who you thought they were, and your country turned its back on you?

That’s exactly what happened to Tim and Alex Foley, two brothers who had their lives turned upside down one day in 2010.

What happened to Tim and Alex Foley? Tim and Alex Foley had their lives turned upside down one day in 2010.

On the surface, it was a normal day for a normal American family.

Was it an unusual day for an unusual American family? No, it’s wasn’t an unusual day for an unusual American family. It was a normal day for a normal American family.

Alex was a high school student who had recently returned home from studying abroad in Singapore.

Was Alex a university student? No, Alex wasn’t a university student. Alex was a high school student. Where did he study abroad? He studied abroad in Singapore.

Tim had just finished his third year of college, studying international relations at George Washington University.

Was Tim a university student? Yes, Tim was a university student. What was he studying? He was studying international relations.

The students were on summer break from school, and it was Tim’s 20th birthday.

Whose birthday was it? It was Tim’s birthday. How old was he? He was 20 years old.

The family went out for a buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant for Tim’s birthday and returned home to celebrate with some champagne.

Where did they go for lunch? They went to a buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant. How did they celebrate after lunch? They returned home to celebrate with some champagne.

Tim was planning to go out with friends later that night, so he went up to his bedroom to make plans.

What was Tim planning to do later that night? Tim was planning to go out with friends later that night.

hen he heard a knock on the door followed by screams of “FBI.”

What did he hear? He heard a knock on the door followed by screams of “FBI.”

The FBI agents streamed into his house from the back door and the front.

Who streamed into his house? The FBI agents streamed into his house. Did they stream in through a side door? No, they didn’t stream in from a side door. They streamed in from the back door and the front.

At first, Tim thought that the police were coming for him because they had found out about all the alcohol at a house party he went to the night before.

Did Tim think the police were coming for Alex? No, Tim didn’t think the police were coming for Alex. Tim thought the police were coming for him.

The legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21, and Tim was underage.

Why did Tim think the police were coming for him? Tim thought the police were coming for him because of underage drinking.

He soon learned that they were there for something much more serious.

Were they there for something more serious or less serious? They were there for something more serious.

One of the FBI agents told them their parents were agents of a foreign government.

What did one of the FBI agents say about their parents? One of the FBI agents told them their parents were agents of a foreign government.

Both their mother and father were arrested, handcuffed and driven away in separate cars.

Were Alex and Tim arrested? No, Alex and Tim weren’t arrested. Their father and mother were arrested.

Alex and Tim were left wondering what happened.

Did Alex and Tim know what happened? No, Alex and Tim didn’t know what happened. They were left wondering what happened.

They were sure that it was a mistake.

Who thought it was a mistake? Alex and Tim thought it was a mistake.

Their father worked for an international relations think tank and their mother was a real estate agent.

What did their father do? Their father worked for an international think tank. What did their mother do? Their mother was a real estate agent.

The family had recently taken U.S. citizenship, but they were originally Canadians.

Were they originally French? No, they weren’t originally French. They were originally Canadians.

They were just a normal suburban family, or so they thought.

Did they think they were just a normal suburban family? Yes, they thought they were just a normal suburban family.