Some years ago, when the brother of an acquaintance of mine was a university student, he bought his first car. Eager to show it off, he asked his parents to go for a ride. As they were driving along, he glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw his father sitting in the back seat with his mouth open. He took this as the sign of his father's surprise. Shortly afterwards, he heard his father whisper to his mother, "If you keep your mouth open, your teeth don't rattle."
Vocabulary Practice
Mark the best choice.

1. An 'acquaintance' is a person ___.
• who works for you
• studying at a college
• you know a little
• unknown to you
2. To 'show something off' means to ___.
• hide something you have bought
• lend something to someone
• keep watching at something beautiful
• let people see something new, nice, etc.
3. To 'whisper' means to ___.
• see something very strange
• say something very softly
• write something down
• pull something heavily
4. To 'rattle' means to ___.
• make a lot of quick little noises
• laugh loudly at something
• take something up and down
• drive a car at a very high speed
Questions for Discussion
1. Was the father really pleased with the ride? How do you know?
2. What do you think of showing off? a quotable quote