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Front of the Class · 2008 — 第 14 / 17 章 · 5'02" · B2

Brad's Dad Threatens a Lawsuit, Explained：make an exception

Brad only asks for a quiet room so his Tourette's won't disturb others, but the test center refuses: "I can't make an exception." His father cuts through the rules with two words — "the magic word: lawsuit" — and Brad suddenly gets the private room he needed.

あらすじ

What happens: At the testing center, Brad is told there's no record of his special accommodations and must sit the graduate-school exam with everyone else. As his tics worsen and the administrator insists "I have to start the exam now," his father arrives, talks to the office, and returns with the news that Brad can test alone in his own room.

NegotiationSmall talkSaying noPersuadingParent & childB2mediumamericanClean
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

single someone outa matter of timespecial accommodationsmake an exception

00:00 / 05:02
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このシーンの表現

make an exception

bend the rules once

The administrator refuses Brad's special room with a flat I can't make an exception.

Could you make an exception and accept my late form?

このシーンの他の表現

  • single someone out

    be picked out

  • a matter of time

    bound to happen soon

  • special accommodations

    special testing arrangements

  • you bet

    certainly, of course

このシーンのメモ一覧

119 行のセリフに 20 件のメモ

表現 · B1have been meaning to do something

have intended for a while

Um, I've been meaning to come speak to you about...
表現 · B2be reluctant to do something

unwilling to do

Um, we were just reluctant to tell anyone at first.
文法 · B2it was only a matter of time before the chemo became obvious

time clause: The before-clause is the real subject; it only stands in as a placeholder.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the chemo became obvious, so...
表現 · B2I'd be grateful if you ...

I would appreciate it if

And, um, I'd be grateful if you kept our secret a little longer.
発音want her to

Link want her to into something like wan-er-ta.

I just don't want her to be singled out.
発音make you

In make you, you weakens to a quick ya.

It will make you feel better.
表現 · A2it's time to do something

now is the moment to

I've, uh, decided it's time to go for my master's degree.
表現 · A2go away

leave for a while

does that mean you'll be going away?
表現 · B1would it bother you if ...

would you mind if

Would it bother you if I did go away?
文法 · B2if I did go away

hypothetical if-clause: The past tense in if I did marks it as hypothetical and adds emphasis.

Would it bother you if I did go away?
表現 · A2show someone something

let you see something

Come here, I want to show you something. Crazy.
表現 · B1be supposed to do something

should, by rule

I'm supposed to have special accommodations.
発音make an

Link make an so it sounds like may-kan.

I can't make an exception.
表現 · B1have the right to do something

be entitled to do something

They promised-- Wha! and I have the right to special testing accommodations.
文法 · B2if I'm in that room

conditional clause: The if-clause gives the condition that makes concentration impossible.

How could anybody possibly concentrate if I'm in that room?
スラング · A2gotta

have got to — Spoken shorthand; too casual for formal writing.

I gotta get to work.
表現 · B1more than just something

not merely

As it turned out, I needed more than just dad's good luck.
表現 · B2all the way through something

from start to finish

Ja! Ja! With the clock and my Tourette's ticking away I failed to get all the way through the test.
スラング · A2gonna

going to — Everyday speech; avoid it in formal writing.

Uh-huh. Mom says all my grandparents are gonna come.
表現 · A2do someone a favor

do something for me

Now, do me a favor, will you? Hmm?

「Brad's Dad Threatens a Lawsuit」を読み解く

What's really going on

The surface fight is procedural — a form, a missing notation, a rule. But it's really about whether Brad gets to be judged on his mind rather than his tics. He argues his case calmly and precisely: "And I have the right to special testing accommodations." The center won't bend: "I can't make an exception." What changes nothing in the argument is emotion; what changes everything is leverage. His father doesn't reframe the disability, he reframes the risk — "The magic word: lawsuit." The scene is blunt about how institutions work: rules loosen when the cost of holding them tight gets high enough. Brad gets his room, but the victory is won by someone else, which is why his quiet "Thanks" lands so heavily.

Theme

JusticeBrad has a legal right to accommodations, yet he only gets them once his father threatens to sue.
Family loveHis father drops everything to fight for him, and Brad's quiet thanks shows what it means.

このチャプターで学べること

  • A mother's smallest request carries the biggest fear.
  • One legal word turns a closed door into an open room.
  • Brad keeps his humor even while asking for help.
  • The exam scene shows paperwork can be crueler than people.

発音のポイント

  • want her to — Link want her to into something like wan-er-ta.
  • make you — In make you, you weakens to a quick ya.
  • make an — Link make an so it sounds like may-kan.
I just don't want her to be singled out.

Heather's mother isn't hiding the illness to avoid gossip; she wants her daughter treated like any other kid, not marked as the sick one.

Tourette's does have its privileges.

Brad jokes darkly that a private exam room is one small upside of a condition that mostly makes his life harder.

Would it bother you if I did go away?

Brad checks whether Nancy would mind him leaving town for graduate school, testing how serious they are before he decides.

How could anybody possibly concentrate if I'm in that room?

Brad points out a practical problem: his involuntary noises would wreck the exam for everyone else, so he isn't asking for a favor, just common sense.

このシーンについての質問

Why won't the testing center let Brad test alone?

They say there's no notation of his accommodations and everyone must test under the same conditions, and the administrator claims he can't make an exception.

What does "the magic word: lawsuit" mean?

Brad's father is saying that once he threatened to sue, the center instantly found a way to give Brad his own room — the threat, not the argument, did the work.

Is Brad's father right to threaten a lawsuit?

Brad had a documented right to special testing accommodations, so the threat only pressed the center to honor an obligation it was already ignoring.

What happens with Brad's exam in the end?

Even alone in his room, his tics and the clock eat into his time, and his voiceover says he failed to get all the way through the test.

Front of the Class · 全 17 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 15 章give up on someoneBrad Won't Give Up on a Student
第 1 章elephant in the roomBrad Asks for a Chance第 2 章drive someone nutsBrad's Tics Drive His Family Crazy第 3 章at the end of one's ropeBrad's Childhood with Tourette's第 4 章live withBrad Learns He Has Tourette's第 5 章face something head-onBrad Refuses to Hide第 6 章get in the wayBrad's Dad Offers Him a Job第 7 章take something as a challengeBrad Stands Up in a Job Interview第 8 章have the giftDiane Tells Brad He Has the Gift第 9 章color outside the linesBrad Cohen's Best Interview第 10 章go to bat for someoneBrad Gets Kicked Off the Golf Course第 11 章talk the talk, walk the walkBrad Gets His First Teaching Job第 12 章a whole alphabet of problemsMr. Cohen Teaches Second Grade第 13 章take it to heartAmanda's Dad Pulls Her from Class再生中 · 第 14 章make an exceptionBrad's Dad Threatens a Lawsuit第 15 章give up on someoneBrad Won't Give Up on a Student第 16 章fed upBrad Worries He'll Hurt Nancy第 17 章je ne sais quoiBrad's Dad Finally Says He's Proud
第 14 / 17 章 · 残り約 13 分