Unit 8. Family trends in great britain and the usa

Vocabulary Practice

Ex. 1. Fill in the blanks with a suitable word or a phrase.

1. In fact one marriage in every three now ends in ….

2. The majority of divorced people marry again, and they sometimes … … for a second family.

3. Most people living alone are …, but there has been a big increase in the number of men who live alone.

4. If young people … … … from their parents by their late teens it is often regarded as a kind of unhealthy dependence.

5. Others … marriage and childbirth and as a consequence bear fewer children than women who marry earlier.

6. When getting married both parties sign the document of marriage, that is, a ….

7. Marriage has a … … which means that a Registry Office has a record of it and it carries certain … ….

8. In cases of divorce the financial support required from the … will vary from case to case and if agreement is not possible between the two parties the court will decide.

9. Two-thirds of black children are now being born in … ….

10. These children are destined to add to the number of those in poverty and to those involved in … and ….

Ex. 2. Make up dialogues using the following words and word combinations.

to end in divorce, to take responsibility, to increase, a generation, tolerant, the head of household, share important decision making, permissive, strict parental control, break away from, a marriage certificate, a breadwinner, the distribution of property

Ex. 3. Circle the correct prepositions to complete the following passage.

The Changing American Family

The American family has been changing (for, during, since) the end (of, from, at) World War II. First (by, to, of) all, the birth rate has been decreasing steadily (in, for, during) many years. (By, For, Of) economic reasons, most families nowadays do not plan (of, about, on) having more than two children. (In, At, By) addition, fewer and fewer households resemble the traditional family, which used to consist (of, about, with) two parents and some children. Now, almost 25 percent (in, of, around) the children (in, at, around) the United States live (by, with, for) only one parent, and approximately 40 percent (by, at, of) all children alive today will live (in, for, with) one-parent households (at, between, before) their eighteenth birthday. Most (of, at, from) these households are a result (from, of, for) separation: two (about, over, out of) five marriages in the United States and Canada now end (of, for, in) divorce. Some single people, moreover, are raising children (with, from, by) themselves. Another major change (of, in, about) the American family is the working mother. The percentage (with, from, of) married women (in, at, around) the work force (with, among, about) children (with, from, under) age six has risen (below, from, out of) 12 percent (toward, to, up) 45 percent (by, since, in) the past thirty years.

Ex. 4. Translate into English.

1. Типичная английская семья состоит из мужа, жены, двух с половиной детей (по статистике) и кошки с собакой.

2. Традиционная британская семья середины прошлого века включала в себя не менее трех детей, сейчас же только семь процентов семей состоят из пяти или более членов.

3. Сейчас в Англии большинство женщин стремится пойти на работу, и даже если у них есть дети, они отправляют их в ясли или детсад и возвращаются к своей карьере.

4. Сейчас семья изменилась – появилось много семей с одним ребенком. Многие разводятся, живут отдельно и сами воспитывают детей.

5. В наше время каждый третий брак заканчивается разводом супругов.

6. Обычно после развода дети остаются с матерью.

7. Наиболее угрожающая особенность американского общества – это постоянно увеличивающееся количество детей, рожденных в неполной и бедной семье.

8. По-моему, наша семья вполне укладывалась в стереотип: папа зарабатывал деньги, мама была домохозяйкой и воспитывала детей.

9. В большинстве стран молодые люди, которые поженились, как правило, не живут под одной крышей со своими родителями.

10. Многие считают, что семья как общественная ячейка приходит в упадок.