Unit 1

You will read & translate a text about self-presentation and a family. Before you read, discuss in pairs the following.

1. Do you remember your early years? Why? 2. Do you know the truly significant things about the people you love and live with? 3. Do you often share your fears and problems with your parents? 4. What are your best memories of your family? 5. Do you have family customs (e.g. an annual picnic, the first day of spring, a traditional relaxed evening meal once a week) etc.? 6. Is it a challenge for family members to make time for one another? What is your opinion?

Introducing myself (my family)

To begin with I’d like to introduce myself. My full name is Alexander Andreevich Smirnov, but friends normally call me by my short name Sasha. I was born on September 27, 1993. I am 17. Originally, I’m from Murmansk, but now I live in Arkhangelsk. I am a first-year-student of the Northern Arctic Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov.

I was born under the astrological sign of Libra. I think I’m quite easy-going and balanced. I find it easy to make friends. It seems to me I can mix quite well with people I’ve never met before. I like to be friendly to the people around me. I can play the piano quite well. I love playing computer games and reading. I am sure I am ambitious. I like to win competitions, to win prizes, to score the most points, to be the best, etc. I have a career plan.

I come from quite a big family. We are 6 in the family: my father, mother, two brothers, a sister and me. My parents live in Murmansk. When I lived there I had very close contact with my family, but now of course it’s much more difficult. I feel the miss of my parents and my granny. Every week we could go at the weekend to stay with my grandmother on my mother’s side. My grandfather is not sociable but he is a very good musician. I don’t remember my grandparents on my father’s side; they died when I was 5 years old. I write occasionally to my parents, also we phone each other and send e-mails.

My father is quite old, he’s 55. He is tall. He has short, dark, curly hair and a small beard. I think he is a cheerful and good-humored person. He usually wears jeans and sweaters. My father doesn’t like formal clothes. He prefers to dress casually. He is generous, punctual and helpful. He is always clean-shaven. He is very interested in other people and he plays the guitar very well. He is a marine engineer of a shipping company. He has a sister Lidia, so I have only one aunt. I love my auntie, her husband (my uncle) and their children (my cousins).

My mother is 50. She has short, straight hair. She has dimples and rosy cheeks. She has long eyelashes which she darkens with mascara. Her favorite colours are green and light blue. My mother likes to be well dressed. She wears shoes with extremely high heels. She is open-minded and nice. Her main interest is music. My parents have a great many friends. My mother’s brother Alex and his wife have three children, who are all married now.

My brothers Sergey, who is six years older than me, is a computer programmer. He’s married to Irena, who doesn’t work – she is a housewife and she brings up the children. They have two children: Igor and Maria aged four and three. They are my nephew and niece. My other brother, Ivan, who is five years older than me, is an architect. Unfortunately, he and his wife Marina got divorced two years ago. My sister Anastasia is one year younger than me. She is a blond girl with short straight hair, dark eyes and slander arms and legs. She is rather tall and slim. So you can see we have quite a lot of presents to buy at Christmas!

To my mind the stereotypical family of husband and wife is changing now. Unfortunately there are a lot of one-parent families. A lot of people get divorced now and live on their own, and bring up their children on their own.

Psychologists say some families cope well with problems, while others fall apart. I am absolutely sure that the key to a family’s strength and happiness is the degree of emotional closeness between members.