5. Questions on the topic

1. What are the main forms of address in the Russian language?

2. What is the most common form of address in your language?

3. Are Russians sensitive about titles and names?

4. What do the forms of address a person uses depend on in your language?

5. What differences are there in the way the British address strangers and the way people do it in your language?

6. Are the forms of address used by people in your culture in official situations the same as they use speaking to friends?

7. Do people in your culture quickly shift to a first name basis?

8. What about occupational vocatives? Do they exist in your language?

9. Are the forms of address used by older people the same as those used by the younger generation?

10. Do you know a person that you address in different ways at different times?

11. “What’s in a name?” Shakespeare once wrote. If you had to answer the question “What’s in a title?”, what would you say? Give examples from your language.

Jokes and fun

Read the stories and anecdotes.

«How To Meet Men».

A very amusing and intelligent writer went to work for a large magazine in New York. She loved her job and only one complaint: she had no opportunity to meet any of the other writers. Most of them were men, and they behaved as if they didn’t know she was there.

One day she was having lunch with Ellen, an old friend who knew about her problem.

«How are things going at the office?» asked Ellen.

«Just fine,» she answered.

«Have you met any interesting men?» she asked.

The writer smiled and answered, «I’ve met every man in the office.»

«Really!» said Ellen. «How did you do it?»

«It was easy,» said the writer. «I just put a sign on my office door.»

«A sign?» said Ellen. «What did it say?»

«Oh,» said the writer, «it was just three letters, M-E-N.»

The activities

Find someone who...

Procedure: Brief pair conversations. You have 2 minutes to walk around the room and find at least one person in the group who was born in the same month as you were: you get one point for every person you find in the time. Then you have to find someone who was born on the same day of the month. Give further similar tasks for as much time as you have. At the end, see how many points each student has.

Find someone who...

1. Was born in the same month as you.

2. Was born on the same day of the month as you.

3. Has the same number of brothers as you.

4. Has the same number of sisters as you.

5. Ate at least two of the same things as you for the breakfast.

6. Has the same favorite color as you.

7. Got up at the same time as you did this morning.

8. Likes to play football.

9. Has studied English for more than 5 years.

10. Would like to visit the moon.

11. Dreams in English.

12. Has ridden on an elephant.

13. Gets up before 6 o’clock every day.

14. Has never ridden on a bicycle.

15. Talks to plants.

Role play

Act out one of the following situations.

1. Tom and his friend are walking through the park when Tom meets an old friend of his, Alan. They greet one another and Tom introduces Alan to his friend. Alan asks Tom and his friend to have a cup of coffee with him.

2. Your fellow – student and a friend of yours are at a disco. Your fellow – student introduces you to a British student. Greet him/her and introduce your friend to him/her.

3. Your friend’s uncle has just arrived at the airport. You’ve never seen him before. It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Act out the situation.

Unit 2.

FAMILY

Introduction

Read the following English proverbs, think of their Russian equivalents

1. Marry first and love will come afterwards.

2. Marriage is lottery.

3. Marriages are made in heaven.

4. Men make houses, women make homes.

Vocabulary to Text 1

to respect – уважать

to look after – присматривать

separation разлука – раздельное проживание

extended family – расширенная семья

to grow up – расти

nuclear family – малая семья, состоящая из детей и родителей

to consist of – состоять

hardly – едва

Text 1

1. Read and translate the text. Do the task following it

The Family

The first thing most Western people notice in the Far, Middle and Near East is the respect everyone has for old people. Elderly men and women live with their married children and are important members of the family. They look after the children, help with cooking, give advice and often rule family life. Living in an extended family has advantages for everyone. A small child, for example, knows many people from the very beginning, not just his mother and father. When his mother goes out, it doesn’t matter. He’ll stay with someone who loves him – an aunt, sister or grandmother.

For a young mother and father there are also advantages. They can go out to work, and grandmother will look after the house and children. This is especially important in farming communities, where both men and women work in the fields.

And the older woman, for example, has something important to do. She sees how her children and grandchildren grow up. She is needed and loved.

The nuclear family is a product of the West. The typical family consists of mother, father and two children. If the mother goes out to work, she must leave them with a stranger – someone who looks after them as a job, for money. If there is a divorce or separation, the child’s life will change completely.

And as for the elderly people, too many of them live alone – in special flats or homes. They hardly ever see their children and grandchildren. They have nothing important to do. They are often poor and lonely. In the winter many elderly people die of cold or from falls in the house, because there is no one to look after them.