Modal Verbs for Deduction and Obligation: A Mother's Regret (Review)

Paragraph 1 Listen

Janet was a loving mother to her 12-year-old son, Tim. They had a happy family life, and she thought that her son was safe at school. However, one day, she received a [vocab word=shocking]shocking[/vocab] phone call. Tim's teacher told her that he had been seriously injured by several boys and was in the hospital. Janet could not believe her ears and [vocab word=rush]rushed[/vocab] to the hospital to be by her son's side.

Paragraph 2 Listen

As she drove to the hospital, she started to [vocab word=recall]recall[/vocab] several incidents in the last few months. Tim had been coming home with [vocab word=bruise]bruises[/vocab] and [vocab word=tear]torn[/vocab] clothes. He said nothing had happened, but he must have been getting into fights at school. Janet should have sat down with him to talk about these incidents. Because she ignored these [vocab word=sign]signs[/vocab], she had not been able to help Tim. One day, she remembered, Tim came home crying. He said that he had been ignored by his [vocab word=classmate]classmates[/vocab] all day long. That day must have been very [vocab word=hurtful]hurtful[/vocab] for him.

Paragraph 3 Listen

In the hospital waiting room, Janet [vocab word=reflect]reflected[/vocab] on her son's behavior in the recent past. Tim had started to become more [vocab word=seclude]secluded[/vocab]. He [vocab word=prefer]preferred[/vocab] to stay in his room instead of playing outside. He must have been trying to [vocab word=avoid]avoid[/vocab] the [vocab word=bully]bullies[/vocab]. Tim had always been a good student, but his grades had been slowly [vocab word=drop]dropping[/vocab]. It must have been the stress of [vocab word=deal]dealing[/vocab] with the bullies on a [vocab word=daily basis]daily basis[/vocab]. That must have affected his academic [vocab word=performance]performance[/vocab], Janet thought.

Paragraph 4 Listen

Janet [vocab word=wish]wished[/vocab] she had done more to protect her son. She [vocab word=regret]regretted[/vocab] not visiting the school earlier to speak with Tim's teacher or the [vocab word=principal]principal[/vocab]. They could have [vocab word=intervene]intervened[/vocab] and helped stop the bullying. She [vocab word=blame]blamed[/vocab] herself for not spending enough time with him when he needed her the most. She could have listened to him more and tried to understand his pain.

Paragraph 5 Listen

Sitting beside Tim, Janet promised herself to protect her son from the bullies from now on. She would [vocab word=educate]educate[/vocab] herself about the signs and [vocab word=consequence]consequences[/vocab] of bullying. She would [vocab word=communicate]communicate[/vocab] with Tim's teachers frequently. Janet knew that if she had [vocab word=pay attention]paid closer attention[/vocab] to the signs earlier, she could have [vocab word=prevent]prevented[/vocab] Tim's [vocab word=injury]injury[/vocab]. Moving forward, she was [vocab word=determine]determined[/vocab] to be the supportive mother Tim needed so he is protected in school.