Lesson 2. My Family

2.1. Усна тема. Моя сім’я

Active Vocabulary:

friendly – дружний; surgeon – хірург; neither ... nor – ні ... ні; handsome – красивий (про чоловіків); grey – сивий; sociable – товариський; overtime – понаднормово; nursery school – дитячий садок; nephew – племінник; separately – окремо.

Now I am going to tell you about my family. We are a family of five. We think we are a large, friendly and united family. So we are happy to be living together and getting on all right.

To begin with, I am going to talk about my dad. His name is Sergey Petrovich. He is 45. He works as a surgeon in a hospital. He is neither old, nor young. He is a good-looking man, handsome, rather thin with dark brown hair just beginning to get grey. He is a very sociable person. What I don’t like about my father is that he is always busy. He works overtime very often. He is a bread-maker in our family. He is fond of going to the country on weekends, because he enjoys working in the garden.

My mother’s name is Galina Nickolayevna. She is three years younger than my father. She works as a teacher at a nursery school. My mother is rather slim and pretty; she is always elegant and smart. In short, she is a pleasant-looking woman of about 40. She always has a lot of work to do at school and about the house. She is fond of her work and spends a lot of time there. But she has to cook the food for all the family at home. Shopping and cooking is nearly half a day’s work for her. But my granny and I have a habit of helping her about the house.

Boris is my elder brother. He is six years my senior. So he is 23 already. He has graduated from the University and he works as an economist now. He is married. His wife is a journalist. They are three in the family. They have got a child, my nephew. It is a lovely little boy of two with golden hair and dark blue eyes. He is full of joy and gaiety. My brother’s family lives separately.

And finally, a few words about my grandmother. My granny is my best friend, I must tell you. She is always ready to listen to my endless stories about my school life and my friends. She is retired now, but in her youth and her older age she worked as a teacher at school. She is a very understanding person, I must admit.

Put it into a few words, we are a united and friendly family.

Запам’ятайте!

orphan – сирота; aunt – тітка; uncle – дядько; niece – племінниця; nephew – племінник; half-sister – зведена сестра; half-brother – зведений брат; mother-in-law – теща, свекруха; father-in-law – тесть, свекор; brother-in-law – зять, шурин, дівер; sister-in-law – невістка, своячениця; stepmother – мачуха; stepfather – вітчим; widow – вдова; widower – вдівець; fiance – наречений; fiancee – наречена; housewife – домогосподарка.

Вправа 1. Дайте відповіді на запитання.

1. Is you family large? 2. Who does it consist of? 3. Is your father older than your mother? 4. Do you have a sister or a brother? 5. Are you fond of your sister/brother? 6. What is your father? 7. Are you great friends?

Вправа 2. Доповніть діалог інформацією про свою сім’ю.

– Now, I would like to know more about your family.

– Oh, my family is ___. I have a ___.

– Do you all live together?

– Yes, ___.

– I wonder who does the cooking and looks after the house?

– It is all in the hands of my ___.

– Do you have any relatives in the country?

– ___.

– O.K. Thank you. I’ll be glad to see your family on occasion.

Вправа 3. Підберіть відповідне слово з наведених нижче, щоб допов-нити речення: aunt, cousin, father, brother, sister, grandfather, grand-mother, nephew, mother, uncle, niece.

1. My father’s wife is my ___. 2. My parents’ son is my ___. 3. My parents’ daughter is my ___. 4. My mother’s husband is my ___. 5. My mother’s father is my ___. 6. My father’s sister is my ___. 7. My mother’s brother is my ___. 8. My father’s mother is my ___. 9. My mother’s sister is my ___. 10. My uncle’s son is my ___. 11. My aunt’s son is my ___. 12. Peter is his uncle’s ___. 13 Ann is her aunt’s ___.

☺А ще прочитайте анекдоти про родинні стосунки.

• There was an Irishman whose sister had a baby. Nobody told him if it was a boy or a girl so he didn’t know if he was an uncle or an aunt.

• What did you get for your birthday? – I got a trumpet, and it’s the best present I have ever got. – Why? – My Dad gives me 50p a week not to blow it.

• Neighbour: “Do you think your son will forget all that he learned at college?” Father: “I hope so – he certainly can’t make a living by kissing girls.”

• Benny was listening to his sister practice her singing. “Mag,” he said, “I wish you’d sing Christmas carols.” “That’s nice of you, Benny,” she replied, “But why?” Benny replied: “Because, then I’d only have to hear your voice once a year!”