1. ANSWER KEY
Are You Bored or Boring?
Does it make a difference if I say quot;you are boredquot; and quot;you are boringquot;? .You
bet! And you may get yourself in trouble if you mix these two sentences up!
Confused? Yes, it can be confusing sometimes!
Remember:
Adjectives that end with -ed talk about one's own feelings, whereas
adjectives that end with -ing talk about a person, a thing or a situation that
causes one's feelings.
For example:
 The movie was boring (so I felt bored).
 This book is so interesting (so I am interested in the book).
 My boyfriend has a very annoying habit (so I am annoyed).
 English usage can be confusing (so a lot of students are confused).
 My husband's job promotion was surprising (so we were very surprised).
 The baseball game between the Giants and the Tigers was exciting (so
the fans were excited).
Now try these questions:
 His speech was so bored/boring that in no time everyone fell asleep.
 I was surprised/surprising to see Mr. Koizumi at the party.
 We were all confusing/confused because the instructions given were
unclear.
 On Christmas Eve, many children are so exciting/excited that they stay
up all night.
 This exercise is interested/interesting.
 My neighbors are very annoyed/annoying because they always play loud
music.

2. Are You Bored or Boring?
1. Pierre: Hey, my job's __________ too, but that's no reason to quit. It's not easy
to find a new job. a) boring b) bored
2. Elisabeth: I think he's quitting for another reason. He didn't get the promotion he
wanted and I think that he's really ________. a) disappointing b) disappointed
3. Pierre: That's probably the real reason. He works hard and his boss is very
________ with his work, so he deserves a promotion. a) satisfying b)satisfied
4. Elisabeth: Well I hope he changes his mind. It's difficult to find ________ work
with a good salary. a)satisfying b)satisfied
5. Pierre: How about your sister Kate? I hear that she won a prize for her multimedia
project. She must be ________. a) thrilling b) thrilled
6. Elisabeth: I'm really happy for her. She worked so hard. And the results are
fantastic. It's a sociology project and it's full of __________ images and sounds.
a) fascinating b) fascinated
7. Pierre: Good for her! She really deserves it. But I feel really bad. She invited me to
see it. I planned to go, but when the day came, I completely forgot. It was so
________. a)embarrassing b) embarrassed
8. Elisabeth: Yes, she told me. Apparently she saw you the next day and you were
really ________ when she mentioned it. Don't worry about it. She knows you're
very busy. a) surprising b) surprised
9. Pierre: Well, I'm glad she's not upset with me. By the way, there's a documentary
on TV this evening that you should not miss. It's about global warming, and some of
its predictions are quite ________. a) terrifying b)terrified
10.Elisabeth: Global warming! Future disasters! It sounds very ________.
a)depressing b) depressed

3. 11.Pierre: Yeah! You're probably right. But as you know, I'm very ________ in that
type of documentary. I'm not going to miss it. a) interesting b) interested
12.Elisabeth: But it's not for me. My work is quite ________ and when I come home,
I just want to relax. a) exhausting b) exhausted
13.Pierre: I know what you mean.I often feel quite depressed after I watch that kind
of documentary, but at the same time I find it quite ………a)fascinating b)fascinated