Vocabulary:

Reject - отвергать, отбрасывать

Well-balanced - уравновешенный, сбалансированный

Extinguish – гасить, погасить, убивать

To imply - подразумевать

Nappy - пеленка

Absurd - абсурд

Generation - поколение

To justify – оправдывать

Solution - решение

Significant - значительный

Maturity - зрелость

Exercise1. Answer the questions:

What problems can a couple with desirable children have? How many children does a family need to be well-balanced? Why is it important to have a boy in a family? Why is the family of five with interval of 2 years hot desirable? Who is in the family takes the functions of baby-sitter? What can the devotion of parents to their child lead to? Is it right that parents pampering the child have got risk to bring up a self-centered and selfish offspring? What makes the politicians think about the birth of absolutely new generation?

Exercise2. Make a panel with the following topics on the agenda.

The number of children in a family in the modern life

The role of the state in the formation of a family

Listening Focus

Exercise1. Listen to the song “Killing me softly with his song.” Look at the title and the opening lines of the song.

Strumming my pain with his fingers,

Singing my life with his words,

Killing me softly with his song …

What do you think the song is about? Do you think it is a romantic song? Is it a sad song?

Exercise2. Study the words and word combinations, make up some sentences.

Strum, stranger to have a style, to flush with fever, to be embarrassed, despair

Exercise3. Look at the verses of the song and put the lines in the correct order. The first each verse is given to you.

Killing me softly with his song

I heard he sang a good song

To listen for a while

A stranger to my eyes

I heard he had a style.

And so I came to see him

And there he was this young boy

I felt all flushed with fever,

And read each one out loud.

embarrassed by the crowd.

I felt he’d found my letters

But he just kept right on

I prayed that he would finish

He sang as if he knew me

Singing clear and strong

And then he looked right through me as if I wasn’t there.

As if I wasn’t there

In all my dark despair,

But he just kept on singing.

Exercise4. Listen to the song and check your answers.

Exercise5. Answer the questions.

• The singer with his song spoke directly to the woman. What is the song about? What relationship does it sing out?

• What feelings does the song evoke in you?

• What is more dramatic moment of the song?

• Have you ever felt anything like that?

Exercise6. Write your variant of the story, beginning with “It was unforgettable moment in my life when I met him first …. ”

FOCUS

1. What is an ‘arranged marriage’? In which countries or cultures is this type of marriage common? Do you know anyone who has had an arranged marriage?

Read about it

Real-life COUPLES

Sarita and Ranjit Sharma talk about their arranged marriage.

How was the marriage arranged?

Sarita: I was studying in America at the time. A friend of my family told us there was this man living in Britain who was looking for a suitable girl. My dad liked the sound of him. We made some enquiries – his education, what he did, that kind of thing. The news was very encouraging. Ranjit was a good man.

Ranjit: The first I knew about Sarita was the day before she arrived here! My father organized the whole thing. I was happy to meet Sarita but I knew I could always say no if I didn’t think we’d be right together.

What were your first impressions of each other?

Sarita: Good. Although there wasn’t a great surge of attraction, I remember thinking. “He seems nice.” The atmosphere that day was intense because our families were watching us, so Ranjit suggested we go out for a drink on our own.

Ranjit: I liked Sarita I found her attractive, but there wasn’t that spark you get if you see someone you fancy at a party.

How did you decide on each other?

Sarita: We met up three more times over the two weeks before I returned to America – by then I’d decided that Ranjit was right for me.

Ranjit: There was pressure from my family after the very first meeting. I’d seen 3 girls before Sarita, but she was the first I was interested in. So I said yes after those first three meetings.

Do you love each other now?

Sarita: Yes we do. I couldn’t pinpoint an exact time when love began, but it was about two years into the relationship.

Ranjit: Love came into our relationship after a while. I didn’t wake up one morning and think, “I love this woman.” The love we now have is warm, deep and lasting.