- •Content
- •Unit 1. Relations
- •Unit 2. My friends and hobbies
- •Mum's hobby
- •The most popular hobbies and free time activities among young people
- •Introduction
- •Variety of hobbies and interests
- •Unit 3. My studies
- •Information Technology
- •Unit 4. My motherland and city
- •Yoshkar-ola
- •III. Grammar and writing
- •IV. Speaking
- •Imagine that you receive a foreign visitor. You want to show him (her) your favourite places in the city. Speak of them.
- •Unit 5. My future plans and ambitions
- •Unit 6. English-speaking world
- •III. Grammar and writing
- •IV. Speaking
- •Bibliography
- •Appendix I
- •Additional texts
- •The country I live in
- •The republic of mari el
- •Cities of the united kingdom
- •The uk’s geographical description, economy and political system
- •Appendix II Tongue-twisters
- •Appendix III Successful writing
Content
UNIT 1. RELATIONS 4
UNIT 2. MY FRIENDS AND HOBBIES 15
UNIT 3. MY STUDIES 27
UNIT 4. MY MOTHERLAND AND CITY 39
UNIT 5. MY FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS 48
UNIT 6. ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD 58
BIBLIOGRAPHY 65
Appendix I 66
Appendix II 73
Appendix III 74
Unit 1. Relations
WORD STUDY
Read and learn new words and word combinations
family: traditional/ extended/ one-partner family/ foster family |
семья: традиционная/ большая (включающая помимо родителей и детей, также ближайших родственников)/ неполная семья/ приемная семья |
distant/ close relative |
далекий/ близкий родственник |
relationship |
отношения, родство |
pedigree |
родословная |
family tree |
генеалогическое древо |
family member |
член семьи |
be brought up |
воспитываться |
upbringing |
воспитание |
to get on |
ладить, уживаться |
adult |
взрослый |
childhood |
детство |
generation |
поколение |
to be born |
родиться |
to be from/ to come from |
быть родом откуда-то |
to live |
жить |
mother-in-law |
теща, свекровь |
father-in-law |
тесть, свекор |
wedding |
свадьба, бракосочетание |
marriage |
брак |
bride |
невеста |
bridegroom |
жених |
divorce |
развод |
widow |
вдова |
widower |
вдовец |
Match the words to the definitions
1. |
nickname |
a) |
a family that is formed on the remarriage of a divorced or widowed person and that includes one or more children |
2. |
stepfather |
b) |
a sister with whom one has only one parent in common |
3. |
stepmother |
c) |
a person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from one is descended |
4. |
half-sister |
d) |
the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body |
5. |
half-brother |
e) |
a man who has lost his wife by death and has not remarried |
6. |
stepfamily |
f) |
a man who is married to one’s mother after the divorce of one’s parents or the death of one’s father |
7. |
ancestor |
g) |
name given in addition to or altered from or used instead of the real name |
8. |
divorce |
h) |
the husband of one’s daughter |
9. |
son-in-law |
i) |
a woman who is married to one’s father after the divorce of one’s parents or the death of one’s mother |
10. |
widower |
j) |
a brother with whom one has only one parent in common |
Fill in the gaps with the words in the box
father-in-law, aunts, mother, daughter-in-law, sons, father, youngest, step-father, uncles, husband, parents, twins, wife, step-mother, son-in-law, daughters, mother-in-law, relatives, cousins. |
When two persons are married, a man is called the ___; the woman becomes his ___. When a child is born in the family, the father and mother of the child are called ___. A family generally consists of a ___, a ___ and children – ___ or ___ or both. The first born child is the ___, the last born – the ___. Two children that are born together are called ___.
The father and mother of the husband become the ___ (in law – by marriage), and ___ of the wife. The husband is the ___; the wife is the ___; they have brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
The other members of the family are the ___: uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.
The brothers and sisters of any of the parents become the ___ and ___ of the children. The children of two married brothers or sisters or brother and sister are ___ to each other.
In case of a second marriage, we speak of a ___ or ___, step-son and step-daughter.
READING
Before you read answer the questions:
Who do you live with?
Do other members of your family live near you, or do you have to travel to see them?
Read the text
Modern families
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.
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 % |
I'm Callum, and I live with my parents in Cambridge, in the east of England. We moved here when I was five because of Dad's job, but my mum comes from the north of England, and Dad comes from Scotland. I've got a grandma in Edinburgh and a granddad in Yorkshire. And I've got two cousins who live near London, because that's where Dad's sister and her husband live. We see my cousins about three times a year, and we go up to Edinburgh every New Year, but I can't remember when I last saw my granddad in Yorkshire. He always sends me presents, though!
My name's Meera, and I live in Wolverhampton, near Birmingham, in England. I live with my parents, my brother and my sister. My grandmother lives next door. My mum was born here in Britain, but my grandmother moved here from India in the 1960s when my dad was a little boy. My dad has two sisters - Auntie Sunita and Auntie Rani. Auntie Sunita lives in the same street as us, and Auntie Rani lives in Birmingham, which is only 15 miles away. They're both married, and I've got five cousins. We see them almost every week. Someone is always visiting our house, or we go to Birmingham to see them. And two years ago we all went to India to see our family there.
I'm Ben, from Portland, Oregon, and my family is a bit complicated! I've got a sister called Ella, but three years ago my parents got divorced and now both of them are re-married. We live with my mom, Julie, and my stepfather, Bob. Bob's got a daughter called Daisy, but she doesn't live with us, she lives with her mom. My father's name is Pete. He and his second wife have just had a baby boy, Charles, so I've got a new half-brother!
My name's Trudi, and I've got a sister called Beth. Our mum and dad are divorced, so we live with just our mum in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Our dad has an apartment in the centre of town, and we spend every other weekend there. After school every day we go to our grandma's house and have a meal there, because our mum doesn't finish work until six o'clock. She collects us at half past six, except on Wednesday evenings when we go swimming with our dad.
Answer the questions:
How many people do Callum, Meera, Ben and Trudi share a house with?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the four family situations in the text? Discuss with a partner.
Which of the children according to this text lives in a single-parent family/ in a stepfamily?
Underline the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.
Callum’s aunt and uncle/ grandparents live near London.
Callum often/ sometimes sees his cousins.
Meera’s aunts both live near/ far away.
Meera often/ rarely sees her cousins.
Daisy is Ben’s half-sister/ stepfather.
Julie is Pete’s ex-wife/ stepmother.
Trudi’s mum and dad live in different places/ together.
Trudi never sees her dad/ sees her dad regularly.
Read the dialogue
Interviewer: How many children does the average family have?
Sanna: Most families have two children.
Interviewer: Who looks after the children? Is it just the parents, or the grandparents as well?
Sanna: I'd say just the parents. Grandparents help out in the holiday times normally, but it's unusual for them to look after babies.
Interviewer: Do the grandparents have a role in bringing up the children?
Sanna: I think that tends to happen far more. My family – my dad's parents – gave my parents a lot of advice and help in bringing us up. Even though they far away, they had a lot of say in how we were brought up.
Interviewer: Do you think it’s important for a brother to look after his sister?
Sanna: Well, yes, my brother will look after me, and I will look after my brother. But the whole family looks after me, and not just my brother. I think Finnish women are very equal, so when we were younger it was more usual that I would look after my brother, because I was older than him.
Interviewer: If children don't live with their parents anymore, how often do they see them?
Sanna: Personally, I'd see them, I'd say, once a week, twice a week. Most people work, so it's not really possible to see them every day, but at least once a week if I lived very nearby. And I think there'd be a lot of phone calls as well.
Interviewer: What type of activities does a family do together?
Sanna: With my family, we would just sit and chat, we could go and do sports, go for walks, but it very much depends on the family. Interviewer: If parents give money to their adult children, should it be paid back?
Sanna: The parents won't expect the money back, but the children will pay it back.
Interviewer: What do you think are the most important values to teach children?
Sanna: I think respect for their parents, but also for other people.
Discuss the problems of family life in our country
Exchange opinions in accordance with the plan:
• size of average family
• upbringing
• finance
• family activities
• important values
Use the following phrases:
What do you think, …?
How about you, …?
How do you see it?
What are your views?
That's a difficult question.
It's difficult to say.
Well, how to put it…
I mean, …
I'm really sure, but.....
It's true that...... but on the other hand
LISTENING AND SPEAKING
Listen to James describing his family situation and answer the questions.
Who are: Rachel? Louise? Richard?
What is James’s opinion of Richard?
Who is the oldest child in the house?
Why doesn’t James like Louise’s behavior?
What does their mum say when James and Rachel complain about each Louise?
What happens when they have an argument with Louise?
You will hear a part of the radio program about different types of families in the USA. Decide if the statements below are true or false.
Few years ago there were less traditional families in the US than today.
There used to be more than 25% of traditional families in the USA.
Traditional family is disappearing because marriages are unpopular today.
The number of unmarried women having children is decreasing.
Over the past decade the number of families where parents are not married has raised enormously.
Stepfamilies are quite common in the USA.
Sometimes foster parents have both their own children and adopted children as well.
They say that love and biological relation of the family members are equally important.
Listen to the radio program once again and fill in the gaps.
… There have been a) ____ changes in American families in the past b)____ years. So, there are c)____ different kinds of families today. There are d)____ traditional families in the United States today than in the past. The traditional family includes a e)____ and a f)____ who are married and their g)____. Fewer than 25% of American homes have h)____ traditional families. One major influence on families is the high number of marriages that end in divorce. i)____ single parents are raising their j)____ today. There is also a high rate of unmarried women having babies. k)____ has found that the marriage rate in the United States is dropping. More l)____ and m)____ are choosing to live together and have children but not get married. n)____ experts say that the number of unmarried parents in the United States o)____ more than 70% in the past ten years...
WRITING AND GRAMMAR
Read the text quickly. How is Diana’s day different to yours?
My name’s Diana. I’m 17 years old and I live with my mum in Brighton on the south coast of England.
I’m studying English, French and Spanish. I’ve just started Spanish this year and I’m really enjoying it!
My day starts at 7.00 am. First, I get up and I have a shower. Then my mum and I have breakfast together. I usually have toast and a cup of coffee for breakfast and my mum has a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal.
My mum works in an office in town and she leaves for work at 8.15 am. I leave at 8.30 am and walk to the bus stop. I usually catch a bus at about 8.40 am and it’s only a ten minute ride to college.
My classes start at 9.00 am and finish at 3.30 pm. After my classes, I usually go to the library for about an hour and after that I walk home.
I get home at about 5.00 pm and I usually prepare a meal for my mum and me. She gets back at about 6.30 pm and we eat our meal together.
After our meal, I usually do my assignments while my mum’s doing the washing up. I’ve just begun an assignment on the French Revolution which is quite interesting. Then I text my friends or call them on my mobile for a chat. Finally, I go to bed between 11.00 and 11.30 every night but sometimes I’m still texting at midnight!
Look at the verbs underlined in the text. Write them in the correct column in the table. Then say why each tense is used each time.
Present Simple |
Present Continuous |
Present Perfect |
Live |
am studying |
… |
Present simple, present continuous or present perfect? Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
My school day a) starts (start) at 8.00am but I b) ___ (get up) at 6.30am. First, I c) ___ (get dressed) and then I d) ___ (have) breakfast. Every day I e) ___ (catch) a bus to school. It f) ___ (leave) at 7.30am. This year I'm in 10th grade and I g) ___ (study) a lot of subjects. I h) ___ (just start) Italian this year. It i) ___ (be) really interesting. School j) ___ (finish) at 1.00pm and I always k) ___ (have) lunch with my friends. Sometimes we l) ___ (play) football while we m) ___ (wait) for the school bus. I n) ___ (just win) a football competition with my school team.
Put the sentences a-e in the correct order to make a paragraph. Then rewrite the paragraph using these sequencers to improve it.
After that Finally First Next Then
I go to bed at midnight.
I drive to work.
I get dressed and have breakfast.
I get up at 7.30 am.
I work until 5.30 pm.
Change to the plural as in the examples.
+s |
Consonant + y →ies |
s, sh, ch, x, +es |
man → men |
f, fe →ves |
friends |
families |
matches |
men |
wives |
Relative, relationship, child, generation, mother-in-law, marriage, bride, factory, bridegroom, sister, brother, hobby, wife, daughter, aunt, match, uncle, person, woman, step-son, boy, mile, street, house, suburb, baby, activity, bus, class, library, address, lady, country, godfather, nanny, life, room-mate.
Read the Simon’s letter to Tracey and write an e-mail letter the answer it.
33, Regent Avenue
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LE3 5DX
UK
3rd March
Dear Tracey,
Thanks for your letter – I've finally found an American pen friend! To answer some of your questions: I'm 16. My dad's a computer technician and my mum works in a factory. I've got two younger sisters – Kirsty and Laura. You say that you don't know anything about life in the UK, so I'm going to tell you about a typical day in our house.
My mum gets up really early, before 6.00, because she has to leave the house at 6.45. The rest of us get up at 7.00. We don't sit down together for breakfast – it's too chaotic. We leave the house at 8.15. Dad drives to the centre of town, and I walk with my sisters to the bus stop. School starts at 9.00. We have lunch at school at 12.30, and lessons finish at 3.30. Sometimes we walk home. We get home at the same time as Mum – 4.00. She gives us something to eat at about 6.00, because we're starving, but Dad doesn't get home until after 7.00, because the traffic can be really bad. She and Dad eat a meal at about 8.00, while we're watching TV or doing our homework. Mum and the girls go to bed at about 10.00 and Dad and I stay up watching films on SKY. I have to go to bed at 11.00. I don't know why Dad doesn't go to bed then too, because he always falls asleep in the middle of a film and goes to bed at about l.00 am!
Tell me about a typical day in your house.
You can email me on ssmith.3@freemail.co.uk
Best wishes,
Simon
QUESTIONS FOR A DISCUSSION
Do you often have arguments with your parents? What are the reasons for them?
What advice could you give parents not to have arguments with their children?
What advice could you give children not to have arguments with their parents?
Use the following phrases:
I think…
It seems to me …
I believe …
In my opinion …
To my mind …
Personally, I don’t think that…
I’m afraid I can’t accept it.
I’m afraid I have another opinion.
There is no doubt that…
I agree with you completely.
You’re right.
I agree in a way, but on the other hand…
You might be right, but …
That’s absolutely true, but also …