1. Phonetic exercises

1.1 Mind the pronunciation of the following words.

daughter [ˈdɔːtə ] fiancé [ fiˈɑ:nseɪ ] widow [ ˈwɪdəʊ ]

niece [ niːs ] fiancée [ fiˈɑ:nseɪ ] widower [ ˈwɪdəʊə(r) ]

nephew [ ˈnefjuː ] matrimonial [ ˌmætrɪˈməʊniəl ]

blonde [ blɒnd ] moustache [ məˈstɑːʃ ] swarthy [ ˈswɔː(r)ði ]

brunette[ bruːˈnet ] forehead [ ˈfɒrɪd ] eyelashes [ˈaɪˌlæʃiz ]

1.2 Consult a dictionary and pronounce the words. What is specific about their pronunciation?

grandfather grandparents granddaughter grandma

grandmother grandchildren grandson grandpa

1.3 Practise the pronunciation of the combinations of letters ght.

light [ laɪt ] length [ leŋθ ]

height [ haɪt ]

straight [ streɪt ]

1.4 Revise the pronunciation of the definite article. Mind that you should pronounce the article "the" as [ðɪ] in front of words that start with a vowel-sound. You pronounce the article "the" as [ðə] in front of words that start with a consonant-sound.

to do the room the aunt

to do the cooking the uncle

to lay the table

to do the shopping

to clear away the dishes

1.5 Practise the linking [ r ] sound.

My mother’s sister is my… Your husband’s mother is your …

My daughter’s brother is my… My father’s daughter is my ..

2.1 Family

Family is a living cell of society, a group of people who live together and share different physical and moral responsibilities in their daily life. People start the families in order to succeed in this life, to have someone special to love and to be loved back, to have children and bring them up. Labour achievements, mood and what is called happiness depend on family relations.

But it’s wrong to think that your family is only your father and mother. A family is a group of people united not only by blood, but also by love. Your family consists of all the dearest people. Family are the people that always love you, support you and help you.

The proverb says, “There is no place more delightful than home and there are no people more dear than your relatives”.

Your closest relatives are your parents: your mother and father; and your siblings (brothers or sisters). If your mother or father is not an only child, you also have aunts and / or uncles. An aunt is the sister of your mother or father, while an uncle is the brother of your mother or father. Your female child is called your daughter, and your male child is your son.

If your aunts or uncles have children, they are your first cousins. (In English, the word cousin is used, whether the cousin is female or male.) Your female cousin is your mother (or father’s) niece, while a male cousin is the nephew of your mother and father.

When you marry, your husband (or wife’s) family become your in-laws. The mother of your spouse (husband or wife) is your mother-in-law and his or her father becomes your father-in-law. The term in-law is also used to describe your relationship with the spouses of your siblings. So the husband of your sister becomes your brother-in-law, while the sister of your husband becomes your sister-in-law. If you are a woman, you become the daughter-in-law of your husband’s parents, and if you are a man, you become the son-in-law of your wife’s parents.

The parents of your parents are your grandparents – grandmother and grandfather. You are their grandchildren – either a granddaughter or a grandson.

The mother of your grandmother or grandfather is your great-grandmother. The father is your great-grandfather. The grandparents of your grandmother or your grandfather are your great-great-grandmother and great-great-grandfather.

If your mother or father remarries, you can acquire a new family and set of relatives. If your father marries a second wife, she becomes your step-mother. Any children she already has become your step-sisters or step-brothers. Your mother’s second husband becomes your step-father.

Families may be classified into a number of different types.

The most recognized of these families is the so-called nuclear family, which consists of a husband and wife and their biological or adoptive children.

A family that includes in one household near relatives in addition to a nuclear family is called an extended family. It is a big family consisting of at least three generations living together. The head of the family is usually the oldest man. More often than not, such family consists of grand-parents, their sons and their son’s families.

A single-parent / one-parent family is another type of family. It is a family in which there is only one parent who takes care of the child or children because the parents are divorced, or because one of the parents is dead.

Besides, there are families which have no children. Many childless families choose not to have children because they concentrate on their careers, or like to travel. To replace children, childless families usually have pets instead.

But whatever family it is its members will be happy if all of them get along well with each other, don’t quarrel or argue but help each other both in everyday life and in household chores, when all the duties are organized among all the members and each one has his usual round of duties. Then it will be much easier to run house: to keep the flat tidy, to do the “hoovering” (the vacuum cleaning), washing up, shopping, to cook meals, to iron the clothes etc., and then to find some time to have fun together.

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. (Desmond Tutu)