Anglysky_yazyk_1sem_10ch / Тексты / заочное 1 family

FAMILY

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

Germany: What future for the family?

New figures showed yesterday that Germany has the highest percentage of childless women in the world. 30% of German women have not had children, and this figure rises to 40% among female graduates. Germany's Family Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, said that if the birth rate does not go up, Germany will die.

Germany's birth rate is one of the lowest in Europe, with an average of 1.37 children per woman, compared with 1.75 in Sweden and 1.74 in the UK. German mothers are also the oldest, with an average age of thirty when they have their first child - and most parents choose to have only one child.

According to Professor Norbert Schneider of Mainz University, the reasons for Germany's low birth rate include poor childcare, a school day that ends at 1 p.m., and old-fashioned attitudes among employers. In addition, many German women are already in their mid-thirties when they finish university and get a good job.

Ms von der Leyen, a mother of seven, says that another difficulty is that some women cannot find a suitable man. Uncertain men (who are unsure about becoming fathers) are also responsible for the low birth rate, she claims.

The minister has developed a plan to encourage people to have more children. First of all, if parents need private childcare, they will get help from the government, by paying less tax.

Secondly, families will get up to 1,800 euros a month from the government if men stay at home for two months after the birth of a new child.

But some men, even in the minister's own political party, are unhappy with this last idea. Professor Schneider says that in Germany it is acceptable for women to take time off to have children. However, if a man takes time off work to look after a new child, his career will be over. The typical family picture is very much alive in Germany, he said. Women look after the children while men go out to work.

Задание 2. Прочитайте текст.

The name game

Your name is extremely important. It's how you identify yourself. It's how other people identify you. Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Can you imagine someone famous with a name like that? He had to change it. Marilyn Monroe sounds so much more glamorous than Norma Jean Baker. So how do parents make one of the most important decisions in the lives of their children - giving them a name?

Some parents choose names because they are fashionable. Other parents do the opposite and call their children unusual names, or they even invent names. Helen Petrie, a psychologist at Hertfordshire University, says that people who choose unusual names for their children want to show how special they are.

However the children are not always very happy with their parents' choice. David Bowie's son found the name Zowie so embarrassing that he changed it to Joe. I wonder if Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's children feel good about their names: Rummer Glenn, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle!

These days it's fashionable to give your child the name of a place that is important to you: Victoria and David Beckham decided to call their son Brooklyn because they were in New York when they discovered that Victoria was going to have a baby. Madonna named her daughter Lourdes after the town in France, and ex-US-President Bill Clinton named his daughter Chelsea after a part of London that he and his wife liked.

Personally, I think it's a good idea to give children names of famous people. Leonardo Di Caprio was named after the famous Italian painter and Liam Gallagher, singer with the band Oasis, called his son Lennon after his hero, John.

Определите, правдивыми или ложными являются следующие утверждения, исходя из содержания текста:

1. Fashion is often important when parents choose a name for their child.

2. Parents can even invent names for their children.

3. Children always like the choice of their parents.

4. Parents never call their children after places they like.

5. It is a good idea to give children names of famous people.

Задание 3. Заполните пропуски в тексте следующими фрагментами:

a) For example, last month the British government refused to increase paternity leave from two weeks to four weeks.

b) Today, in the UK, a mother can have 26 weeks’ maternity leave.

c) If they want more time, they will have a maximum of three years’ leave.

d) If they can make a law, then it will be good news for families everywhere.

e) Dads need time with their new babies too.

f) Companies do not accept that dads should have time with their babies.

g) It also means mums will probably get more help at home.

DADS NEED TIME TOO!

‘Maternity leave’ means time off for mothers to look after their new babies. But what about fathers, or ‘dads’? 1_____. How often do they get ‘paternity leave’.

Ten years ago, in many countries, a mother was lucky if she had four weeks’ holiday. 2_____ This means 26 weeks’ holiday with full pay.

This will soon change. Mothers will then have the chance to have a whole year’s maternity leave on full pay. 3_____ However, the last two years may not be paid.

But what about dads? If they get two weeks’ paid leave, they’ll be lucky. 4_____ They think mums should stay at home and dads should go to work. Many working dads will have little time with their babies. This is bad because research shows that some time with a new baby can be very important for both dads and babies. 5_____

Many dads believe that the law on paternity leave should change so dads can spend more time with their children. However, many governments believe that dads are not important for babies. 6_____

The European Union has often said that paternity leave is important. 7____ Dads are happy that maternity leave is increasing but they want to have time to help too.