Text c. Nuclear family, extended family

Ex. 1. Read and translate the text.

In the Far, Middle and Near East and in parts of Africa, South America and Europe, the first thing most Western people notice is the respect everyone has for the old. Older men and women live with their married children and are important members of the family. They look after the children, help with the 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, his sister or his 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 the 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 her children and grandchildren grow up. She is needed and loved. The nuclear family is the 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 strange-someone who looks after them as a job, for money. If there is a divorce or separation the child s life will change completely.

As for the old, too many older people 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 old people die of cold or from falls in the house -because there is no one to look after them. Nobody cares.

In the USA many old people go to Florida when they retire and live in large parks. Often these parks are for old people only. Neither children nor pets can live there.

In the nineteenth century in the United States, it was not usual for extended families of uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandchildren to live together in the same home. Then, in this century nuclear families become popular. Only the parents and their children live together. Recently, in the USA, many parents and children have begun living with grandparents again. Often parents and children don’t want to send their parents and grandparents to a special nursing home for older people, they think it is better to take care of the elderly person at home.

Of course, there can be problems when people of three generations live in the same house. Grandparents are often more permissive than parents, and they let children do what they want. But most American parents feel that it is better to be strict, they feel that children should follow rules. Parents think that grandparents who don’t make children obey will spoil them. Then the children won’t obey anyone as they are growing up.

But having grandparents in the home can also be fun. For example, everyone enjoys the stories the older people tell and the interesting things that they can teach the other family members. Americans are learning that having elderly people in the home can be a wonderful experience

Ex. 2. Answer the following questions.

1. In what kind of family do you live? Is it an extended family?

2. Is it usual to have extended families in our country?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living with parents and grandparents?

4. Would you like to have an extended family in future and live with your parents?

5. Why do nuclear families become so popular in the USA nowadays?

6. What model of family would you like to have in future?

7. Will you send your parents to nursing homes for old people?

Ex. 3. Agree or disagree. Say whether these statements are true or false. Use the following conversational formulas:

a) agreement - I agree… I fully agree… No doubt it’s true... Yes, certainly… By all means, that is right…

b) disagreement - I disagree… I don’t think so… Why on earth, it can’t be true… I suppose that it is a mistake…

c) doubt - I doubt it. Is that so? It‘s too good to be true. It must be a joke! I shouldn’t say so.

1. Old people should live with their children.

2. Old people should live in special places (nursing homes) with other old people.

3. Everyone can learn a lot from older people.

4. Young couples must live away from their parents.

5. Nuclear families will also be popular in our country soon.

6. Old people spoil the life of young couples.

7. Old people may be of great help to young couples.

Ex. 4. Speak on nuclear and extended families.

Ex. 5. Retell the text.