3. The story of my life, sad and happy at the same time*

Let me introduce myself. I'm Helen Belyaeva. At the end of July I had a birthday and I became of age. On the one hand it's pleasant – you feel adult and can do whatever you like; on the other hand everybody can say, 'Could you think a bit harder and not do such stupid things, you are a grown-up already'. So you see, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. I live with my daddy and a younger sister. Our Mum died tragically several years ago in a car crash and Daddy was badly hurt. Now, everything is OK with his health, but there is no Mum nearby. It was a dreadful time for the whole family, but it was Granny, Mum's mother, who saved us. She took care of us, went to the hospital to Daddy (we were not let there for a very long time), encouraged us, smiled and did everything not to let us feel lonely, though very often at night I noticed her crying in her room. Five years passed. Last year I finished school but I did not enter any institute because I simply didn't know where to. I thought I had no any special abilities, bents and vocations. Luckily Daddy got a letter from our family friend living in San Francisco. He asked him to recommend a girl, maybe a student, to live and work in his family as au pair. As they both, Aunt Vera, his wife, and he, Uncle Andrew, were very busy people there was nobody to look after their five-year-old daughter properly. So the men agreed very quickly on my coming there and in few weeks I flew to the USA. I spent a wonderful year there though I missed my folks greatly. The girl I looked after turned out to be a charming child. I got on with her quickly and we became great friends – I read her Russian fairy-tales, taught her to read in Russian and to count, we both watched Russian cartoons with great pleasure and did a lot of other things pleasant for both of us. At weekends we both were taught to swim in the ocean, to ride a horse. Aunt Vera gave several lessons of working with a camera, so very soon I began making short funny films. My host family approved my creative work and advised to become a journalist saying I had some talent. But to my great surprise I discovered that I could remember a lot of English words very easily and soon I began to communicate with Americans without any feeling of awkwardness and shyness. Uncle Andrew was very glad seeing my success in English and other things. But nevertheless he liked to play jokes at me and also his daughter. When the year was coming to the end he suggested me entering any local university and continuing the work at his family. But I wanted to get home badly. So at the beginning of July I returned home and was on Cloud Nine seeing the faces of my relatives again. When I told Daddy about my wish to study languages and to become an interpreter he was very glad. So I passed my entrance exams with excellent marks and became a student of the Institute of International Relations.

II. Read this text and translate it. My Family*

It's a great luck to have a friendly and loving family. I can say this about our family. There are four of us in it: my mum, my dad, my younger brother and me. These are the nearest and dearest. But if we gather all our relatives – all aunts, uncles, grannies, granddads, cousins and other distant relatives – there is a mighty clan.

The eldest member of our clan is our grandmother. We call her Granny Ann. She is in her early eighties. Granny lives with her younger daughter, my aunt Valya, and her family. Aunt Valya is a manager at a supermarket and her husband, Uncle Oleg, is a photographer. Their son Alex works as an accountant in a bank. I don't like him very much; sometimes he is a bit boring and dull. His only interest is his own person. Their daughter Kseniya is a veterinary. She adores all kinds of animals, especially cats. And I think all animals like and trust Kseniya. She has got a "Zoo" at home – two dogs, two cats, aquarium with a lot of fishes and several parrots.

Granny Ann took part in the Great Patriotic War. Granny has many orders and medals. She likes to tell us about the life in the past and different fairy-tales to the youngest members of the family. Our granny has got three sons and three daughters. Her husband, our granddad Yuri, died several years ago. He was a very jolly man with a good sense of humour.

My father is her second son. His name is Alexander. My daddy is a doctor at hospital. He is very serious and strict. He works very hard. But my mum, his wife, likes to laugh very much. My mum's name is Tatiana. She is about fifty and she looks great. My mum jogs every morning in the park, does not eat sugar and other junk food and is very vivid. But my dad likes to sit in the armchair with a newspaper or simply lie on the sofa after work. Sometimes he is very tired. My parents are of the same age. As for my brother, I can say he is a real rascal (плут, шельмец) and a madcap (сорванец). Sergey is fourteen but all fences and all trees are his. He likes to invent something explosive. Daddy says his son must become a great chemist if he doesn't fly into the air a bit earlier with all his toys and our flat.

And now about me. My name is Elisabeth, Betty for short. I'm twenty-one. I am a part-time student of the Institute of International Relations. I am going to become an interpreter. I study English and the next year I am going to learn German or French. And I work as a secretary for a large firm. I am fond of music and dancing. But most of all I like reading. I have a lot of friends and we spend free time very merrily.

My other two uncles with their families live in St. Petersburg. Uncle Peter is an engineer at a large plant. His wife, Aunt Irene is a typist at the same plant. They have twins of the same age as I. Marina and Sophia study at the University and they are going to become journalists. A rather dangerous profession nowadays, I think. They are fans of hiking and all that tourist romance.

And Uncle George is a colonel of the Russian Army. His wife is a housewife. They move to different places all the time, so it's difficult for her to find a job. Aunt Vera takes care of her husband, her children – Kirill, a boy of sixteen, and Nastya, an eleven-year-old daughter, and keeps house. She is a very charming and calm woman with a bright smile. We like to visit them, because their house is always so cosy and we feel at home there.

One of our aunts, the eldest daughter of our granny, lives in Ukraine, in the Crimea. Her name is Nadezhda and she is about sixty. She is retired now but she can't sit without work. She is always as busy as a bee. Her large family – her husband and four children are proud of her. Her husband, Uncle Victor, still works as a carpenter at a workshop. Aunt Nadya, as we call her, worked as a teacher at school for thirty-five years. She taught children the Russian language. Now she is fond of her orchard. In our childhood we used to spend our summer holidays in the Crimea, swimming in the sea, lying in the sun, eating fruit and working in her orchard.

The other aunt, Aunt Kate, is the youngest of the granny's children. She is an architect in our city. Aunt Kate has a wonderful and original art taste. Her family is small – she, her husband, Uncle Andrew, and her son Nick of twenty. Nick is going to become an artist and he studies at Art College.

It's difficult to describe all other relatives. They are so different. But all of them are always ready to help each other if there is need. We all are united and friendly, caring and attentive.

But I must say a few words about two more members of my family. They are our dog Zella and cat Ching. It's always funny to watch their tricks. They are great friends and they are ready to defend each other when one of them is at fault.

So, you see, our family is really great, I am sure.