Unit 1. About Myself

Vocabulary & Speech Exercises

1. Match the questions and the answers. Practice asking and answering these questions with your partner. Then tell about your partner. Learn the questions by heart.

Questions:

1. What’s your name (surname)?

2. Can you spell it?

3. Where’re you from?

4. How old are you?

5. Where do you live?

6. What do you do?

7. What’s your mobile telephone number?

8. What’s your address?

9. Have you got a brother or sister?

10. Have you got many friends?

11. What are your hobbies?

12. Have you got a pet?

Answers:

1. I’m a student.

2. I’m seventeen.

3. Yes, I’ve got a younger sister.

4. My name’s Anna Zavyalova.

5. I’m from Moscow in Russia.

6. It’s 25 Streletskaya Street.

7. I’m fond of dancing and listening to pop music.

8. Yes, it’s Z-A-V-Y-A-L-O-V-A.

9. I live in Moscow.

10. Yes, I’ve got a dog. Its name is Rex.

11. No, I’ve got only my best friend Kate, but I’ve got many acquaintances.

12. It’s 8905 755 30 59.

2. Look at the family tree and complete the sentences below.

1. John is Jill’s … .

2. Timothy is Jill’s … .

3. Eve and Ana are Timothy’s … .

4. Eve is Sheila’s … .

5. Albert Dodds is Tom’s … .

6. Barry is Eve’s … .

7. Susan is Timothy’s … .

8. Tom is Mary’s … .

9. The only two people who are not related are … and … .

3. Find an odd word in every line.

1. tanned – fair– sunburnt – plait

2. wrinkles – round – square – oval

3. haircut – bald – dimple – hairstyle

4. fashionable – middle aged person – teenager – elderly

5. medium-sized – ordinary – short – tall

6. curly – straight – wavy – pony-tail

7. attractive – handsome – ugly – pretty

8. fat – moustache – plump – slim

4. Complete these sentences.

1. She has blond … .

2. He has very pale … .

3. They have curly … .

4. I would say he is of medium … .

5. Last time I saw him he had grown a beard and … .

6. His skin was … after the summer on the Black Sea.

7. Both men were very good-… .

8. She is beautiful but her younger sister is really quite … .

9. When she smiled, two pretty … appeared on her cheeks.

10. She looks very much … her mother.

11. The elderly lady had … hair.

12. A fair … is typical of all people of this race.

5. Describe the people in pictures 1-5.

1 23

4. 5

6. Translate these sentences into Russian. Pay your attention to the bold-typed words.

1. I am good at maths and physics.

2. I am fond of jazz.

3. She is interested in windsurfing.

4. My mother works as a teacher of Russian at school.

5. My father works for a big company.

6. He looks like his father. What does he look like?

7. My granny was a housewife and looked after her children.

8. We take care of our grandparents.

9. He takes part in different sports competitions.

10. I take after my father.

11. My sister is engaged. She will get married soon.

12. Five years ago they got divorced.

13. It is my mom who keeps the house.

14. I often help my mom about the house.

15. She’s got a family of her own. They’ve got a house of their own.

16. She plays the piano well. I like playing football. She often plays with her little brother.

17. The room has got a wonderful view of the sea.

7. Put in prepositions if necessary.

1. She goes … university. She is a student.

2. My dad works … an engineer … a plant.

3. My father looks … the dog.

4. My mom is a housewife, she keeps … the house.

5. My sister doesn’t like helping … the house.

6. My sister takes care … the flowers.

7. She will take part … the concert.

8. My granddad was born … 6 September … 1939.

9. I live … my parents.

10. I like playing … my cat.

11. My relatives say I took … my mother in the character.

12. My dream is to have a house … my own.

8. Tell a few words about yourself: name, age, appearance, character, residence, occupation, hobbies. Tell about the members of your family. Tell about your friend.

Text 1

Read and translate the text into Russian. Answer the questions below. Practise good reading of the text.

Let me introduce myself. I am Alex Smirnov. Alex is my first name and Smirnov is my surname. I’m seventeen years old. I’m a student. I live in Cherepovets with my parents. I study economics at the Institute of Management and Information Technologies. I’m quite tall and slim. I’ve got dark hair and grey eyes. I go in for sports. I play basket-ball and take part in different basket-ball competitions. I also like cycling and snowboarding. My dream is to become a millionaire.

Now I want to tell you a few words about my family. My father is a computer programmer. He’s a tall man with dark hair and grey eyes. I look very much like my father. I also think I take after him. He’s fond of music, and when we’re at home and have free time we play the guitar and sing together. He’s also good at repairing things.

My mother is a teacher of biology. She works in a college. She likes her job. She’s a good-looking woman with brown hair and green eyes. She’s forty-four, but she takes care of her look and looks much younger. She’s tall and slim. She’s interested in sports and she goes in for dancing. My mother keeps the house and takes care of my father and me.

My sister Helen is twenty-five. She’s married and she’s got a family of her own. She works as an accountant for a small business company. Her husband is a programmer too. They’ve got two little children: a daughter and a son. I like to babysit them.

My grandparents are already retired. They like gardening and spend their time growing tomatoes, potatoes and onions.

We live in a residential area in a block of flats. The flat has got a balcony with a great view of the park. We live in a nine-storey building on the 5^th floor. My room is small, but light and cosy.

Questions:

1. How old is Alex?

2. Where does he live?

3. What does he look like?

4. Is he a student or a school-boy??

5. What are his interests?

6. What do his parents do?

7. What do they look like?

8. What are their interests?

9. What is his sister’s name?

10. Is she single or married?

11. What is her husband?

12. Do his grandparents work?

13. Where does Alex live?