1. Learn the two stories by heart to remember the models.

I try to be a good son/daughter, but no matter how hard I try, my parents never seem to be satisfied / happy. They think I should eat healthier food, I should wear nicer clothes, I should get better grades.

And according to them, my hair should be shorter, my room should be neater, and my friends should be more polite when they come to visit.

You know, it isn’t easy to be a teenager.

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We try to be good parents, but no matter how hard we try, our children never seem to be satisfied / happy. They think we should

wear more modern clothes, we should buy a faster car, and we should listen to louder music.

And according to them, we should be more sympathetic when they talk about their problems, we should be friendlier when their friends come to visit, and we should be more understanding when they come late from their Saturday night date.

You know , it isn’t easy to be parents.

2. Read the text and get ready to tell your foreign friend about Ukraine, your native country

Ukraine lies in the very heart of Europe. It is one of the richest and most beautiful countries of the region by its geographical position. Ukraine is one of the largest European countries. Its territory is 603,7 thousand square km. Ukraine borders on Poland and Slovakia in the west, on Hungary, Romania and Moldova in the south-west, on Belarus' in the north and on Russia in the east and north-east. In the south Ukraine is washed by the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. The capital of the country is Kyiv. The largest cities are Kharkiv, Odessa, Donetsk Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv.

Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital and the largest city, and Sevastopol.

Ukraine proclaimed its independence, on August 24, 1991. The referendum and the first presidential elections took place on December 1, 1991. That day, more than 90 percent of the Ukrainian people expressed their support for the Act of Independence. The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted on June 28, 1996. According to the Constitution, the state language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. The State Banner of Ukraine is blue and yellow. The Coat of Arms (the State Emblem) is the Trident. The State Anthem is “Shche ne Vmerla Ukraina”. The national currency is the hryvnia.

Ukraine's legislative branch includes the Parliament (the Verkhovna Rada). The parliament is primarily responsible for the formation of the executive branch and the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

The territory of our country has a variety of landscapes as it lies in three main zones: mixed forests, forest-steppes and steppes. There are large tracts of forests in the north and vast steppes in the south. There are two mountain chains in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Carpathians are situated in the southwest of the country. The highest peak is Hoverla (2061 m). The Crimean mountains are situated on the Crimean peninsula in the south of the country. The highest peak is Roman-Kosh (1545m).

There are many rivers in Ukraine. The longest rivers are the Dnipro, the Dunai (the Danube), the Dnister, the Southern Buh, the Pripiat, the Desna, the Siverskiy Donets and there are many small rivers in all parts of the country.

There are many lakes in our country, too. Lake district Shatsk is famous not only in Ukraine but also abroad.

Ukraine is rich in mineral resources: coal, oil, gas, and different ores. Many of them are of industrial importance. There are rich deposits of iron and coal in the south of Ukraine. The deposits of oil and gas are in the Carpathians, but oil lies deep and it is difficult to extract it. Different mineral waters make one more wealth of Ukraine.

Ukraine has a very large heavy-industry base and is one of the largest producers of metallurgical products in Eastern Europe. However, the country is also well known for its production of high-technological goods. It produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecrafts. Antonov airplanes and KrAZ trucks are exported to many countries. The majority of Ukrainian exports are marketed to the European Union and CIS (The Commonwealth of Independent States). Since independence, Ukraine has maintained its own space agency, the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU). Ukraine became an active participant in scientific space exploration. Between 1991 and 2007, Ukraine has launched six self made satellites and 101 launch vehicles, and continues to design spacecraft. Well known Ukrainian brands include, amongst others, Antonov, Naftogaz Ukrainy, AvtoZAZ, PrivatBank, Roshen, Yuzhmash, Nemiroff, Motor Sich, Khortytsa, Kyivstar, and Aerosvit. The growing sectors of the Ukrainian economy include the information technology (IT) market, which topped all other Central and Eastern European countries in 2007, growing some 40 percent.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas. At the same time, 85 percent of the Russian gas is delivered to Western Europe through Ukraine.

Ukraine is famous for its black fertile soil. No wonder Ukraine was called the granary of Europe for centuries. The country also grows sunflower, sugar-beet barley etc.

The geographical position of Ukraine is favourable for maintaining close economic relations with all European countries. Ukraine is regarded as being a developing economy with high potential for future success, however such a development is thought to happen only when new economic and legal reforms are carried out.