Lucy
This is a transcript of an audio listening passage. There's a sentence in it that I didn't understand, which is "Don't spell it." Does this sentence express a concern that the speaker's mother might turn his recreational activities into something planned and organized, thereby making it uninteresting, and he's worried that his mother might spoil his fun? Or does it suggest that he's worried about his mother promising to spend more time with him, fearing that she might not be able to fulfill this promise, or that she might be overpromising? I find this sentence difficult to understand.
Jul 30, 2024 10:14 PM
Answers · 4
"Don't spoil it" = "don't ruin it". Tom doesn't want to spend time with his mother or, more likely, he is pretending that he doesn't want to spend time with his mother.
August 1, 2024
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July 31, 2024
I would say it means "don't spoil it for me"; he wants to finish first and she wants to have a picnic.
July 31, 2024
We would need to know more about him and his relationship with his mother to be sure of exactly what his intended meaning was. My best guess is that he's doing the challenge to feel more grown-up and independent, but her maternal desire to spend time with him makes him feel like a child.
July 31, 2024
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