Marriage and Wedding

It all starts with a proposal. Traditionally the man goes down on one knee to pop the question.

If he receives a “yes”, the couple are engaged. So, they announce their engagement. It is customary for the man to buy his fiancée an engagement ring, most commonly a diamond ring. Engagements can last for years, and if neither of the couple breaks off the engagement, the next step is marriage.

Planning the Wedding

Most weddings in the UK and Ukraine take the form of either a civil ceremony, conducted at the Registry Office where the newly-weds receive a marriage certificate or a traditional white wedding, held in a church. (There are also other ceremonies for different religions.) If the couple chooses a church service, the planning can become quite complex. At first they have to book the church, to choose and arrange flowers and so on. Other arrangements (for both traditional and civil) are to draw up a guest list, send out invitations, book a reception venue (for after the ceremony), choose bridesmaids (the girls who traditionally accompany the bride in the church) and the best man (the bridegroom’s friend who accompanies him to the ceremony), buy the wedding dress, arrange a honeymoon (the holiday after the wedding) and of course, to select the wedding rings. Ah, by the way, shortly before their wedding ceremony it is the very time to have a stag party and a hen party to celebrate “the last night of freedom” or merely to spend time with their friends (boys separately from girls), who are often at the wedding party afterwards.

The Big Day

The groom and best man arrive at the church first, and then the guests arrive. Last to arrive is the bride, normally dressed in a long white wedding dress with a train (material from the dress that covers the floor behind her), her face covered in a veil, carrying a bouquet of flowers. The church organ plays the Wedding March, the bride stands with the groom, and the service begins. The service lasts for about half an hour, and contains readings (extracts from the Bible). At the end of the service, the couple exchange rings and are proclaimed “man and wife”. At that point, the groom is allowed to kiss his wife. The guests leave and the couple then sign the marriage register.

Next in the big day is the reception, which is often a formal lunch in a hotel. After lunch there are various speeches. Some couples also arrange an evening reception, and hire a disco or band to play music for their friends. At the end of the day, the happy couple traditionally leave on honeymoon.

2

Give the English equivalents.

Дружити з кимось, знайомитись, кохати, зустрічатись з хлопцем/дівчиною, побачення, освідчуватися, залицятися, наречений, наречена, заручатися, заручини, оголошувати про заручини, одружуватися, одружуватися по коханню, шлюб за розрахунком, вінчатись в церкві, засвідчувати шлюб у Рагсі, молодята, обручка, список гостей, весільна сукня, холостяк, свідоцтво про одруження, стара діва, розлучитися, вдівець/вдова, медовий місяць, весілля.

3

Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple tense.

Madonna – Her Life Story Madonna Louise Ciccone _____ (be) born on 16.08.1958 in Michigan, USA. Her mother _____ (die) when Madonna _____ (be) six. Madonna _____ (study) acting at college and then she _____ (go) to live in New York in 1977. When she _____ (arrive) there, she only _____ (have) 35 dollars! Before she _____ (become) a singer, she _____ (work) as a dancer and a model. She _____ (make) her first record in 1982 and in 1983 she _____ (have) her first hit with Holiday. She _____ (meet) actor Sean Penn at a party in Los Angeles, and they _____ (get) married in 1985.

The marriage _____ (not/be) a happy one, and they _____ (divorce) in 1989. Madonna _____ (also/want) to be a movie star and she _____ (make) Evita (the story of Eva Peron) in 1996. In 1998 she _____ (meet) Guy Richie, a British film director, at her friend Sting’s house. On December 22^nd 2000, they _____ (get) married in Scotland. Madonna has three children, and now she lives in London.

4

Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple tense.

1. My mother _____ (live) in Greece when she was a girl. 2. The children _____ (go) to the cinema last Saturday. 3. Mike Gabriel _____ (study) in Scotland. 4. Their father _____ (work) in a bank until he retired. 5. The lesson _____ (start) at 3 p.m. 6. I think he _____ (leave) by the 9.56 train. 7. Last year Ann _____ (pass) the exams at the college. 8. My grandfather _____ (die) 3 years ago. 9. When a child, Alice _____ (eat) a lot of sweets. 10. Last night Alan _____ (arrive) home at half past twelve. He _____ (work) overtime. 11. Jill _____ (buy) a new car two weeks ago. 12. Katy _____ (meet) her husband in Italy three years ago. 13. Several years ago my family _____ (go) on holiday to France. They _____ (enjoy) their time there. 14. My parents _____ (come) for dinner last Sunday. 15. Ben _____ (break) his leg last summer. 16. I _____ (know) the answers to all the questions. 17. We _____ (pay) $20 for the dinner. 18. I _____ (say) hello to my teacher in the street. 19. Lily _____ (buy) a new coat yesterday. 20. The children _____ (get up) late this morning.

5

Make all possible questions to these sentences.

Model: We lived in Kyiv in 1996.

General question:	Didwe live in Kyiv in 1996?
Alternative questions:	Did we or they live in Kyiv in 1996? Did we live or work in Kyiv in 1996? Did we live in or near Kyiv in 1996? Did we live in Kyiv or in Lviv in 1996? Did we live in Kyiv in 1996 or in 2005?
Disjunctive question:	We lived in Kyiv in 1996, didn’t we?
Special questions:	Who lived in Kyiv in 1996? What did we do in Kyiv in 1996? Where did we live in 1996? When did we live in Kyiv?

1.Peter bought his favourite newspaper in the morning. 2.My friends came to see me yesterday. 3.Linda went to Paris last week. 4.They told everything about their wedding. 5.My husband worked as a translator 2 years ago. 6.She wrote him a letter.

6

Make up special questions to the underlined parts of the sentences.

She saw your brother. We heard bad news. Heslept till 10:00. They drank all the milk. John read the letter. We liked that hotel. He went to the park. Alice printed the text. She loved him. They wrote a report.

My friends visited me at the weekend. Tom and Nancy flew to New York. He broke his arm on Monday. Mymother chose this house. They liked that place. Paul got up at 7 o’clock in the morning. She said “Good bye”. Her mother worked at school. We bought a new flat. They went to France in July.

—Look at the questions. Tell a partner about you and your family.

1. Are you married or do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? How did you meet?

2. When did your parents or grandparents meet? Where? How?

7

Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.