2268

MY FAMILY

WHAT’SYOUR NAME?

1. Look at the picture (pic. 3).

What name would you give this baby girl? What name do you like for a boy? Which names are typical in Russia? Which name is the most unusual

among your friends? Which name do you like best?

Pic. 3

2.Read the text aboutAnfisa and write down the different names that people call her. Which name does she like best/ least?

My first name is Anfisa, but the only person who calls me Anfisa is my grandfather. So does my sister when she is angry with me, but fortunately it doesn’t happen very often now.

My old friends call me Belka, because my surname is Belkina, and I was always called Belka at school. I used to hate it.

Most of my friends call me Fisa, and so do my relatives.

My colleagues call meAnfisa Vasilyevna and it’s rather funny, because I’m only 22. My Mоm and Dad call meAnyutka and it’s really nice.

My boyfriend calls me Kiska, but that’s another story…

3.Write different names that people call you. Tell your partner which of your names you like best/ least?

4.How did your parents choose your name?

Nikita, 16 – My parents choose my name because it was fashionable.

Magnolia, 19 – My mum called me Magnolia because she thinks it’s unusual and original, she wanted to show how special I am.

Olga, 34 – I named my daughter Emilia because my husband’s name is Oleg, and Emilia Olegovna sounds good. Ivan, 21 – I’d like to have an unusual name – it would make me feel special, but my dad named me after my grandfather.

Victoria and David Beckham decided to call their son Brookline because they were in New York when they discovered that Victoria was going to have a baby.

Norma Jean Baker changed her name because Marilyn Monroe sounds so much more glamorous.

5.What are the reasons for choosing a name? Think about people you know. Brainstorm ideas!

6.Read the list of reasons.

People can choose a name because:

It sounds good. It’s fashionable. It sounds the same in two languages. It’s unusual or original. It’s the name of a place. It’s a religious name. It’s a name of a famous person. It’s the name of another member of the family.

7.Write the words in the questions in the correct order.

1.name What your mean

2.Where born you were

3.grow Where did you

4.do what do you

5.old how you are

6.languages you any speak can

8.Ask your partner. Tell about him/her to the class.

9.Look at the example questions, then write one more for each group.

13

1. Sports and hobbies.

So, what do you do in your free time? Are you interested in sport? Do you collect anything?

2. Cultural interests and holidays.

What sort of music/films do you like? Do you read books about management? Where do you go for your holidays?

3. Home.

So, where do you live? Do you live in a house or a flat? Do you live in the centre or the suburbs?

10. Make some notes about yourself. Use the ideas below and add more ideas of your own.

1.Sports and hobbies.

I play a little ………

I used to play ………but now ………

I like to go ……… (+ verb with -ing) I collect ………

2.Cultural interests and holidays.

(books) I like ………

(music) I like ………

(films) I like ………

(magazines) I read ………

(holidays) On my last holiday I went to………

3.Home.

I live near ………

I was born in ………

I’m married with two children. Their names are………

My husband/wife/partner………

I’m single at the moment./I’m divorced.

11. Use the questions to find out about other people. Then tell about them.

PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Pic. 4

12. Check the meaning and pronunciation of the words in the box in your dictionary or with your teacher. Then write the words in the correct column below.

Best friend; parent; colleague; dean; relative; stranger; flatmate; neighbour; step-mother; husband; classmate; wife; daughter; mother; son; acquaintance; father; children; uncle; niece; ex-boyfriend; nephew; aunt; father-in-law; mother-in-law; boss; brother-in-law; student; grandparents; son-in-law; lecturer; daughter-in-law; granddaughter; sister-in-law.

Can you add any other words to each group? 13. Study the family tree.

14

Alex + Helen

14. Complete the gaps in the following sentences with information you have learned from the family tree.

15. Draw your own family tree and tell you partner about your family, ask him/her to draw your family tree.

Pic. 5

Read the text and try to draw a family tree of the speaker.

Два приятеля встретились в баре и разговорились. Через некоторое время один из них сказал: "Ты думаешь, у тебя семейные проблемы? Послушай про мою историю. Несколько лет назад я встретил молодую вдову со взрослой дочерью, и мы поженились. Недавно мой отец женился на моей падчерице. Это сделало мою падчерицу моей мачехой, а мой отец стал моим пасынком. Кроме того, моя жена стала тещей собственного свекра. Идем дальше, у дочери моей жены (моей мачехи) родился сын. Этот мальчик мне единокровный брат, потому что он сын моего отца, но он также сын дочери моей жены, что делает его внуком моей жены. Это делает меня дедушкой моего единокровного брата. Это было бы еще терпимо, пока у нас с женой не родился сын. Теперь сестра моего сына, моя теща, стала еще и бабушкой. Это делает моего отца шурином моего ребенка, сводная сестра которого - жена моего отца. Я шурин моей мачехи, моя жена - тетя ее собственного ребенка, мой сын - племянник моего отца, а я свой собственный дедушка, а ты тут жалуешься на семейные проблемы!"

16. Read the following letters to a newspaper. Fill in the gaps with the expressions from the list below (make

Each week the Star Daily summarizes responses to a question we pose to our readers. Here are some of our favorite responses to the question: Birth order: does it matter?

15

1.I’m the youngest of five children. I know that ___________ (1. most) all later-born children are reserved, but not necessarily aloof. I have a positive ____________ (2. point of view) on life and ____________ (3. accept experiences) as they come.

2.I’m the firstborn in my family. My siblings complain that I’m arrogant, but I don’t ___________ (4. consider) myself that way. At social gatherings, I _______________ (5. end up) being the life of the party. I see my role as

___________ (6. encouraging) my more introverted friends.

3.I realize that acceptance of this birth order theory is becoming more and more

___________ (7. common), but I just can’t buy it. _____________ (8. First of all) I think personality traits are determined by genetics. Second, theories like birth order are actually harmful in that they may ________ (9. label) people unfairly, that is, lead to misattributions about people’s personalities.

4. I’m an independent, only child. So I spent a great deal of time alone. To ____

_______________ (10. overcome loneliness) I had to learn more skills. For example, I learned how to lose my awkwardness and self-consciousness. In fact, nowadays. I’m usually the one to __________________ (11. get people socializing and enjoying themselves) at social occasions.

17. Read the article written by Lucille K. Forer. For questions (1 – 8), choose the correct answer (A, B or C).

How Your Birth Order Influences Your Life Adjustment

When we are born into a family unit or brought into it through adoption or as step-child, we take a certain place in the family hierarchy. We become only child, oldest child, middle child, or youngest child.

The first and most obvious effect of taking a certain position in the family is the relationship we have with respect to the people already there. If there are only adults present, we are in a very close and often intense relationship with them, as anyone knows who has had a child or who has watched first-time parents hovering over their infants. This constant and close relationship gives the first child in the family an opportunity to imitate and learn from these adults to the fullest possible extent. The first child imitates their physical mannerisms and learns speech from them. He learns many more things and much of the learning takes place on an unconscious level. That is, neither the parents nor the child verbalize that thus and so is the way to do something. The child observes and imitates.

Relationship with parents

From the beginning the parents treat the child in accordance with his place in the family and soon the child recognizes that place. He is the child in the family, and he tends to think of himself as a child in relation to adults. The only child never has any reason to change such perception of his role and tends to carry into adulthood a strong feeling of being a child in relation to other people.

The first child, who becomes the older or oldest child, does not have this unlimited time to view himself as the child in the relationship with his parents. When a sibling arrives, he tries to suppress the view himself as the child and he struggles to be parental. We shall find that in both childhood and adulthood the older or oldest child’s emphasis upon being “parental” offers him both advantages and problems.

Children who follow the first child in the family come into a situation where the relationship with the parent is, except in most unusual cases, shared with another child. The parents themselves have been changed by the preceding child or children in many ways. They are more experienced as parents. They may not welcome their later children with as might delight as they did their first child, but they are probably less tense and anxious about being able to care for them properly. The later children enjoy many advantages as a result of having more relaxed parents. They benefit from the tendency of parents to try out ideas on their first child and to be more tolerant with later children.

The first child serves as a barrier between later children and the parents. He is one of the models for his siblings. Later children in a family do not feel the same dependency on the parents for sustenance and companionship as did the first child. They do not have such intense feelings of loneliness when the attention of the parents is directed elsewhere, nor do they seem to feel so inadequate when they do not meet the standards of their parents.

Extremely important to differentiating later children from first children is the extent to which direct identification with the parents is diluted for the later children. The later children seem more content to move gradually from child to adult. They do not seem to try as hard, as does the oldest child, to be parental and adult even during childhood.

The child becomes known as the family’s only child, oldest child, middle child, or youngest child, depending on his birth order. He is thought and talked about as having that place in the family. Both in his mind and in the minds of other people an important part of his identity is his family position.

The other members of the family assume certain attitudes toward each child in terms of his birth order. Parents usually expect their oldest child to be more capable and more responsible than the younger children. The oldest child comes to think about himself in the same way. These ways of seeing himself, of thinking about himself because of his sibling role, become part of his self-concept.

Older or oldest brother or sister tends to develop a self-concept that includes the belief that “I can do many things better than my siblings can. I am more adequate than other people in many situations.”

The middle child comes to think of himself as sometimes better able to do things than other people because he is more capable than his younger sibling or siblings. Sometimes, though, he must turn to his older sibling or to his parents for help and so he comes to think of himself as able to obtain help when he needs it.

16

The youngest child tends to think, “I am less able to do many things than other people. But I need not be concerned because there are always others around to take care of me.”

The role we take as the result of being in a certain place in the family not only causes us to think about ourselves in certain ways, but it also causes us to think about other people in certain ways. The oldest tends to expect other people to be relatively less capable. The middle child has less specific expectations about the capabilities of other people. The youngest may see others as more adequate while the only child tends to think, “I am most secure when there are parents around to take care of me, but when they are not there, I have no one to turn to for help. So I’d better learn to take care of myself as much as possible.”

The place in the family establishes for the child a specific role to be played within the family group. It influences him to develop certain attitudes toward himself and toward other people and helps him develop specific patterns of behavior.

1. When we are born we take a certain place in …

a)the family hierarchy;

b)the local population;

c)the certain position.

2.The first child imitates … a) his/her parents’ behaviour; b) his/her friends’ habits;

c) his/her youngest brother/sister’s mannerisms.

3.The parents treat the child in accordance with … a) his/her appearance;

b) his/her school marks;

c) his/her place in the family.

4.… parents become probably less tense and anxious about being able to care for their children properly. a) After the birth of their second child;

b) Having spent two years in Paris;

c) When their first child starts attending grade school.

5.The later children enjoy many advantages...

a)of having more relaxed parents;

b)of loneliness;

c)of their parents’ intense feelings.

6.The child becomes known as the family’s only child, oldest child, middle child, or youngest child, depending on… a) his birth place;

b) his birth order; c) his name.

7.Parents usually expect ...

a)their youngest child to be more capable and more responsible than the older children.

b)their oldest child to be more capable and more responsible than the younger children.

c)their oldest child to be less capable and less responsible than the younger children.

8. … causes us to think about other people in certain ways. a) A certain place in the family;

b) The role in the family; c) Our capabilities.

18. What was the writer’s purpose? How much do you agree with his point? Give the summary of the article. Compare with your partner’s.

19. Work with a partner. Discuss birth order theory.

Student A: Read statements 1 and 2 aloud, and ask the related questions.

Student B: Cover the left-hand column. Answer the questions. Speak at length using the new vocabulary in any order. The first one has been done for you. Then switch roles after question 2.

17

How do you think being “firstborn” affected Mr. Smith? Does this apply to the firstborn in families you know?

E.g. “Being the oldest Mr. Smith always breaks the ice at family gatherings. He was marked as the gregarious one. My brother is the firstborn in my family, and he also thinks of himself as the leader of the group.

Why do you think later-born children have this temperament? How does this apply to your family?

Now switch roles

Why do you think only children may be like this? Can you apply this idea to a family you know?

Why do you think middle children turn out this way? Do you know any real-life examples of middle children like this?

GENERATION GAP

20. Generation gap is a difference in attitude, or a lack of understanding, between young people and older people. Is there a big generation gap between teenagers and parents in your country? What kinds of things teenagers argue about? You are going to practise a negotiation between a teenager and a parent.

Work in pairs. A-students are Teenagers and B-students are Parents. The teenager will start the activity outside the classroom, which is now a living room. The teenagers come into the living room in turn. The parent is sitting down in the living room, perhaps watching TV.

Student A: Teenager

You need to borrow your parents’ car next Saturday to go out for the day with some friends. Persuade your parent to let you have the car. You are really looking forward to the trip which has been planned for some time. You haven’t asked your parents before now because one of your friends was going to take his car, but unfortunately it’s not working and is being repaired.

•The last time you borrowed the car a small mark appeared on the door while it was parked. You offered to pay but your parents refused.

•You often wash the car and your parents appreciate this. Next Sunday you are free and can wash the car.

Student B: Parent

Think of one aspect of your son/daughter’s behaviour that you are not happy with and want to talk to him/her about: –

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– .

Next Saturday afternoon you have planned a visit to your parents (your son/daughter’s grandparents).

You want your son/daughter to go with you, but you haven’t told him/her yet. Your parents are getting quite old and they asked especially to see your son/daughter this time.

18

•Your son/daughter keeps asking to borrow your car. You don’t like this. The last time it came back with a small mark on the door. You had to pay, of course.

•Very occasionally your son/daughter offers to clean your car for you, which you appreciate very much. Next Sunday would be a good day for him/her to clean the car.

21. Would you like to marry a prince/princess? Why? What would you do if you were this prince? Would YOU marry the eldest king’s daughter?

One day a young prince arrived at the castle of king Ottar and fell in love with the king’s youngest daughter, who was very beautiful. “You can only marry my daughter”, said the king, “if you can recognise her, and you must marry the woman you choose”. “That’s easy”, said the prince, and King Ottar put all his daughters behind the wall that has some space at the bottom, so the prince could only see seven pairs of feet, and the feet all looked the same. Suddenly, one of the feet moved and so the prince said “that’s the woman I love”.

Unfortunatelly, it was not; it was King Ottar’s eldest daughter who was not at all beautiful, but the prince had to marry her. In fact, she was extremely intelligent and had a good sense of humuor, so that very soon the prince did fall in love with her and they lived happily ever after. The moral of this story is that love is a very unreliable thing.

22. Check the meaning and pronunciation of the words in the box in your dictionary or with your teacher. Then write the words in the correct column below.

Long; round; dark-skinned; auburn; clever; sociable; gregarious; straight; bold; slim; good-looking; scruffy; beautiful; handsome; stocky; easy-going; reliable; jealous; down-to-earth; stupid; tense; ill-mannered; rude; skinny; blond; fair; crew-cut; beard; chubby; honest; generous; bossy; aggressive; moustache; broad-minded; pushy; extravagant; nosy; pretty; pessimistic; optimistic; foolish; brainy; brainless; ugly; wellbuilt; talented; relaxed; bright; sly; gifted; sharp; upset; cruel; quarrelsome; ambitious; self-assured; economical; stubborn; pig-heady; mean; arrogant; frank; happy; unhappy; extroverted; plump; anorexic; elegant; stout; introverted; wrinkled; white.

Describe each of these people, giving information about their appearance and character:

-a man/woman of your dream;

-your future husband/wife;

-a man/woman you’d never marry.

19

DAY AND NIGHT

23. This diagram (Pic. 6) shows the cycle of a 24-hour day and the words we use to describe its parts. The day starts at midnight (at the bottom of the diagram).

There are 24 hours in a day. The day is divided into "day(time)" and "night(-time)". Daytime is from sunrise (this varies, but we can say approximately 6am) to sunset (we can say approximately 6pm). Night-time is from sunset to sunrise.

Every day starts precisely at midnight. AM (Ante-Meridiem = before noon) starts just after midnight. PM (PostMeridiem=after noon) starts just after noon. This means that 12am and 12pm have no meaning.

Pic. 6

24. Read whatAnfisa says about a typical working day.

I usually get up at 7 o'clock and have a big breakfast. I walk to work, which takes me about half an hour. I start work at 8.45. I never have lunch. I finish work at 5 o'clock. I'm always tired when I get home. I usually cook a meal in the evening. I don't usually go out. I go to bed at about 11 o'clock. I always sleep well.

25.Tell about a typical working day for you.

26.Tell about the most interesting place you have ever lived. Use used to live.

E.g. I used to live on a boat. My brother used to live in a tent.

Pic. 7

20

HOMES and HOUSES

1. What kinds of accommodation do you know? Brainstorm ideas!

Accommodation

2. Match the beginning of the sentences with their endings.

g)is a very tall multistorey building.

h)is joined to another one.

3.Use the adjectives to describe each house. Give reasons.

economical;

impractical;

fashionable;

comfortable;

attractive;

expensive;

eccentric;

airy;

cold;

luxurious;

traditional;

secure.

Ex. A flat is economical because it doesn’t cost very much to maintain.

What types of houses are widespread in your city, town and region? What house do you live in? Have you ever been to other cities? What houses did you see there?

4. Match the expressions to the numbers in the picture (pic. 8): the ground floor

the first floor the top floor the basement

21