Follow up

Work with a partner. Write a similar dialogue about yourself.

LESSON 3

FAMILY TIES

VOCABULARY AND READING

1 You are going to read a passage about family ties. Before reading look at the box and guess the meaning of the following words.

extended family in-laws nephew niece generation nuclear family divorce single parent family blended family

2 Read and listen to the text and find if your guesses were correct.

There have been great changes in the make-up of families over the last 100 years. In the past, parents, their children, and their children's children often lived together in an extended family. In some places, this extended family even included relatives by marriage, called in-laws, as well as the sons and daughters of brothers and sisters, in other words, nephews and nieces.

Nowadays, in many countries, the extended family is no longer very common. Instead only two generations, parents and children, live together. This is called a nuclear family. Even the nuclear family is becoming less common in the United States, where because of factors such as divorce, the ending of the marriage, there are an increasing number of single parent families, or families with only a mother or only a father. In addition, another kind of family called a blended family is appearing. This is when two people who have been married and have children remarry, and both groups of children live together.

3 Speak in pairs what family type you live in.

GRAMMAR

There + be Some Any Few Little A Few A Little

1 Circle the right answer

1. There ____ a large table in my room.

   1. is b) are

2. There ____ three windows in the classroom.

   1. is b) are

3. There ____ a table and four chairs in my sister’s room.

   1. is b) are

4. There ___ a thick carpet on the floor.

   1. is b) are

5. There ___ many children in the park yesterday.

   1. are b) were

6. There ___ anybody in the kitchen.

   1. was not b) was

7. ___ there any tea in the tea-pot?

   1. is b) are

8. What ___ there in the box?

   1. is b) are

2 Fill in the gaps with some, any, no, and their derivatives.

1. There are ______ mistakes in his dictation.

2. Are there _______ pencils in the pencil-box?

3. Can you give me _______ idea of what your dog looked like?

4. _______ schoolboy knows it.

5. If you see ______ interesting picture there, tell me.

6. _________ has happened to him.

7. Does _____ else want to go?

8. ________ can do that.

9. Is there _______ else you want to know?

10. She doesn’t want _____.

11. ______ in the world could please him.

12. _____ will do it better than you.

3 Choose the right answer

1. There were ____ books on the shelf.

a) few b) little

2. She has got ____ friends.

a) many b) much

3. There was ____ trouble with him.

a) many b) much

4. — There is very (1) _____ traffic in our streets, isn’t there? — Yes, there are very (2) ____ cars in our streets.

a) few b) little

5. I see _____ pears in the tree.

a) a little b) a few

FUNCTION

JIGSAW READING

1 Divide into two groups.

Group A: Read text A (Look at the Appendix p.29). David Snow is telling about his daughter, Jackie.

Group B: Read text B (Look at the Appendix p.33). Jackie, David Snow's daughter, is telling about her life in London.

2 Write answers to the questions

Group A

1. Does David Snow have a good reason to be worried about his daughter? _____ yes _____ no

2. What are his main worries about? ____________________ _____________________ _____________________

_____________________ ____________________ ______________________

Group B

1. Does Jackie Snow enjoy living separately? _____ yes ___ no

2. What are the advantages of living without parents in her opinion? ____________________ _____________________ _____________________

____________________ ____________________ ______________________

3 Answer the following questions:

Group A from David Snow's point of view.

Group B from Jackie's point of view.

1. Why did Jackie come to London?

2. Where is she living?

3. Who is she living with?

4. What's she doing in London?

5. What does her boyfriend do?

6. What does she do at the weekend?

7. What does she think of living in London?

8. What does she think of her parents?

9. How often does she keep in touch?

FOLLOW UP

Discuss your relations with your parents.

LESSON 4

DESCRIBING PEOPLE

READING

1 Think of someone in your family. Write three sentences about them. Read your sentences aloud to the rest of the class.

2 Which relative did you choose? Why did you choose that person? Did you write about their character, appearance, or both?

3 Read the description of Aunt Emily.

My Aunt Emily

Of all my relatives, I like my Aunt Emily the best. She’s my mother’s youngest sister. She has never married, and she lives alone in a small village near Bath. She’s in her late fifties, but she is still quite young in spirit. She has a fair complexion, thick brown hair which she wears in a bun, and dark brown eyes. She has a kind face, and when you meet her, the first thing you notice is her lovely, warm smile. Her face is a little wrinkled now, but I think she is still rather attractive. She is the sort of person you can always go to if you have a problem.

She likes reading and gardening, and she goes for long walks over the hills with her dog, Buster. She’s a very active person. Either she’s making something, or mending something, or doing something to help others. She does the shopping for some of old people in the village.

She’s extremely generous, but not very tolerant with people who don’t agree with her. I hope that I am as happy and contented as she is when I’m her age.