2. Speaking

Does your country have a national song or anthem? What are the words and music like? Is the song popular in the whole country?

3. WRITING

Write a paragraph about your country’s national day - explain:

• when it is

• what its historical origins are

• what happens on that day

• what people eat and drink.

MODULE 3. EVERYDAY LIFE / DAILY ROUTINES / HOUSES / FAMILIES / FOOD SHOPPING / LEISURE ACTIVITIES

MODERN FAMILIES

VOCABULARY

Marry – жениться на ком-л., выйти замуж за кого-л. / remarry – повторно жениться, выйти замуж / get married – жениться, выйти замуж / be married – быть женатым, быть замужем

Divorce – развестись с кем-л. / get divorced – / be divorced – быть разведенным

Separate / o be separated – разойтись (расстаться, объявить о расставании и раздельном проживании, без официального развода

Divorce rate – процент разводов

Nuclear family – семья, состоящая только из родителей и детей

Extended family – семья в широком смысле, включающая не только родителей с детьми, но и бабушек и дедушек, боковые ветви и т.д.

Generation – поколение

Go out to work – выйти на работу (после декретного отпуска)

Couple – (супружеская) пара

Domestic life – семейная жизнь

Single parent – мать-одиночка или отец-одиночка

Illegitimacy – «незаконное» рождение, рождение вне брака

Be born outside marriage – быть рожденным вне брака

Maternity leave – отпуск по уходу за ребенком

Level 1 tasks

1. Speaking.

What is a “traditional” family nowadays? With more and more couples choosing not to get married, and with the number of divorces and second marriages increasing, the idea of the “traditional family” (two married parents, an average of two children, grandparents living nearby) is rapidly disappearing in some countries. Here are some personal examples and statistics from the English-speaking world.

Task 1:

1. Read the statistics about families in the USA and the UK and

analyze it.

2. How do you think that the same statistics would be different in your

country?

Families in the USA in the UK

Marriages that end in divorce 50% 33%

Families with only one parent 25% 25%

Children who live in a single-parent

home at some time 50% 33%

Children whose parents aren’t married 33% 40%

Single parents who are men 10% 10%

1. READING

Task 1.

Before you read: Who do you live with? Do other members of your family live near you, or do you have to travel to see them?

Task 2:

Match the words to the definitions.

1. ex-wife / ex-husband a. Someone that is married to one of your parents, but isn’t your parent

2. late wife / late husband b. someone who has the same mother, or the same father, as you, but not both

parents

3. second wife / second husband c. someone that you were

married to in the past who is now dead

4. stepmother / stepfather d. the child of someone that is married to one of your parents

5. stepsister / stepbrother e. someone that you were married to in the past but are now divorced from

6. half-sister / half-brother f. someone that you marry when you

have already been married to someone else before

WORKING MOTHERS

Task 3: Before you read;

1. Look at the table of birthrate figures. How do you think this

statistics might have been different 30 years ago? Why do you think that this statistics has changed in recent years?

2. Who looked after you before you started school? Did your mother

work when you were little?

Birthrate figures: USA UK Australia

Average age of

mothers giving birth 27 30 29

Average age for

having a first baby 25 28 27

Average number of

children per family 1.9 1.64 1.75

Task 4:

Read the first paragraph of Who’s Holding the Baby? and answer

the questions:

1. Why are some women in the English-speaking world having babies

later in life?

2. What sometimes happens in couples where the woman earns more

than the man?

3. What causes particular financial pressure on families in the UK

these days?

4. In what percentage of British families do both the mother and the

father work?

WHO’S HOLDING THE BABY?

These days, better education and career opportunities for women in the English-speaking world mean that many women are leaving it until the age of 30, or even 40, to start a family. By this age, many women already have successful careers which they are often reluctant to give up. These days there are a number of men, especially those in couples where the woman earns the most money, who are happy to stay at home in the traditional role of the “housewife”, but for a large proportion of couples this is not an option. Financial pressures, particularly in the UK, where house prices have reached astronomical* heights, mean that many couples cannot afford* to give up one of their salaries* when a baby arrives. In 39% of British couples with children, both parents work, and some women return to work when their babies are only three or four months old. So who is holding the baby for these couples?

Task 5:

Quickly read the profiles of the three women and match the words to their definitions.

1. childminder a. a special type of “school” where parents can leave very young children

all day (American English)

2. day care centre b. a special type of “school” where parents can leave very young children

all day (British English)

3. nanny c. someone who looks after one family’s children in the family’s home

4. nursery d. someone who looks after various people’s children in their own house

Task 6:

Which of the three women:

1. regularly starts work at half past seven?

2. looks after very small babies?

3. takes a child to various classes?

4. looks after three children each day?

5. gives the children a bath in the evening?

6. helps with the housework too?

Jenny Cope, childminder, Lincol, England:

“I look after five different children in total, but they come on different days of the week, so I only have three each day. My house isn’t big enough for any more!

Today I’m minding* Kieran, who’s three, Toby, who’s two, and

George, who’s fourteen months. Their parents all work full-time, and they bring them at different times of the day. For example, Kieran arrives here at half past seven and his mum collects him at six o’clock in the evening. I play with them, give them their meals, do some educational stuff with them and let them watch videos. We go out a lot, too – for walks or picnics.

Tricia Durham, day care assistant, Pittsburg

“I work here at Daisies Day Care Centre, doing the early shift. That means that I work from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, although the center is open until six in the evening. We take children from birth to five years. Their parents leave them here at the center and pick them up* after work. We have five different rooms – one is for the babies to sleep in and one is where we serve their meals. Of course there’s also a big playground outside. We do a lot of educational activities with the older children – music, painting, nature studies. They don’t just play with toys all day”.

Annette Stills, nanny, Adelaide, Australia

“I live with the Carter family and look after their two daughters:

Amy, who’s three, and Ella, who’s eighteen months. Not all nannies live with their employers, but I’ve got my own room and bathroom in the Carters’ house. Mr & Mrs Carter leave their house really early to go to work, so I get the children up* and give them their breakfast. After that I take Amy to nursery and then I go to the shops with Ella. I pick Amy up again at half past twelve, and then we usually take sandwiches to the park. We go home after lunch so Ella can have a sleep and I can do some cleaning, then I take Amy to ballet and music classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I give the children their tea* at about 5 o’clock and I give them a bath before their parents come home. Their parents pit them to bed while I start the dinner. I have Saturday afternoon and all Sunday off*.