My family

Let me tell you about myself. My first name is Ann. My surname is Lebedeva. I am 17. I was born in Rostov. I left a secondary school. My favourite subject at school was maths. Now I am a first year student at the Marine Technical University. I study here to be a Bachelor of Science/Arts. I like reading. I prefer detective stories, historical novels and modern writers.

My family is not large. We are four in the family. My father’s name is Anton. He is 45 years old. He is an engineer. My mother’s name is Helen. She is 41. She is a housewife. My brother/sister is a pupil. I love my family. We are all friends and we get on very well.

We live in a three-room flat in a new block of flats. There is a living room and two bedrooms. We also have a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet. We have all modern conveniences: gas, running water, central heating, electricity and the telephone. My mother keeps the house and we share household chores to help her. I have my duties about the house. I go shopping for food and clean the rooms. It’s not difficult for me. There is no place like home, you know.

I have many friends. Most of them are my former classmates. We spend much time together, go for a walk or to a disco party, talk about lessons, music, and discuss our problems. I like listening to modern music and my favourite group is U2. I haven’t got much time for TV but sometimes I spend an hour or two watching an interesting film or a news programme. In the evening I often read magazines or an interesting book. I like fresh air and exercise, but I don’t have enough time for sport.

What is your name?

• Excuse me.

• Yes.

• What is your name, please?

• My name is Olga.

• Is this your first name?

• Yes, it is.

• What is your second name?

• My second name is Pavlovna.

• And what is your last name?

• My last name is Savchuk.

• How old are you?

• I’m twenty.

Presents for the Family

• What comes next?

• Let me see… Tights and lipstick for my nieces, a large box of chocolates for my granny, as she has a real sweet-tooth.

• Who comes next?

• My nephew will be five next week.

• You should buy him a wind-up toy and a pack of bubble-gum.

• And what about my wife’s brother?

• You mean your brother-in-law? What does he do?

• He’s a writer.

• That is easy then. Buy him a good portable computer!

1.8 Tell your partner which of the following are true about you and you family.

– we spend a lot of time together

– we are close to each other

– we share secrets

– we make decisions together

– we help each other

– we don’t communicate much

– they help me believe in myself

– we criticize each other

1.9 Exam task. Answer the questions. Then make up a dialogue about your family with a partner.

1.What’s your full name? 2.How old are you? 3.When and where were you born? 4.Is your family big? How many are you in the family? 5.Have you got any brothers or sisters? 6.What is your father’s name? How old is he? What does he do? 7.What is your mother’s name? How old is she? What is her job? 8.Who keeps your house? 9.How do you spend your free time?

1.10 Match questions A – F to answers 1 – 6. Then make the answers longer from lines a) – f) below.

A Have you got any brothers or sisters?

B Can you please describe one of your friends to me?

C What do you like doing in your free time?

D Can you tell me something about your family?

E What are some of your good and bad qualities?

F How do you spend time with your friends?

1. I love cycling and doing tricks on my bike.

2. I’m rather lazy.

3. My best friend is Katya. She’s a very interesting person.

4. No, I’m an only child.

5. We go out together, especially at the weekends.

6. There are four of us: my parents, my brother and myself.

a) Sometimes we go dancing, sometimes to the cinema, and sometimes we just walk around the city centre.

b) But I’ve got four cousins, two girls and two boys. My favourite cousin is the same age as me.

c) I go out on my bike every day if the weather is not too bad.

d) I usually leave doing all work till the last moment.

e) My mother is a doctor and my father is an engineer.

f) She paints and draws and plays the piano.

Grammar: Pronouns some, any, no and their derivatives
some	any	no
somebody	anybody	nobody
someone	anyone	no one
something	anything	nothing
somewhere	anywhere	nowhere

Note: Any in positive sentences means любой, всякий: Any student can

join a scientific society. You can call me any day, any time.

– Mom, what is there for lunch?

– Ham and some salad.

– Is there any grapefruit juice?

– I’m afraid there isn’t. There is some apple juice in the fridge.

– Is there any fruit?

– Yes, there are some bananas and pears.

– Oh, there isn’t any bread.

– So, let’s go to the store.