Notes: Favourite – Pet

favourite: a person or thing that is liked most.

e.g. This novel is a great favourite of mine.

pet: 1. a darling; 2. an animal kept as a companion and treated with affection.

e.g. The youngest daughter has always been her father’s pet.

I have two pets: a dog and a parrot.

Relative – Relation

relative: a person who is connected by birth or marriage.

e.g. He is a relative of mine on my wife’s side.

relation: 1. any connection between two or more things or persons, or the way in which they are connected;

e.g. The relations between the Smith family and the Green family were unfriendly.

2. a person who is connected by birth or marriage.

e.g. Is Jim any relation to you?

Bride – Fiancee

bride: a woman on her wedding day and through the honeymoon.

e.g. The bride looked very nice in her white wedding dress.

fiancée: a woman to whom one is engaged.

e.g. My fiancée and I are going to the pictures today.

Older (oldest) – Elder (eldest)

older: more advanced in years than someone else.

e.g. Is your brother older than you?

oldest: older than others.

e.g. Who is the oldest student in your group?

elder: born earlier (of two in the same family; never followed by than).

e.g. Which is the elder of the two brothers?

eldest: the oldest or first-born (of a family of brothers and sisters; more than two).

e.g. The eldest girl taught her two little sisters.

Stage a Approaching the Topic

Read, intone, learn by heart and reproduce in class the following text about Betty Smith’s family.

Betty Smith

I am Betty Smith. My full name is Elizabeth Louise Smith. I am twenty-two. I am a college graduate. I am a writer, just a beginner, you know. I have a lot of friends. Most of them are my school-mates. My best companions are two girl-friends. They are very kind, jolly and well-bred.

My brother-in-law, Henry Sandford is married to my elder sister Helen. I am a member of her family. My brother-in-law is a doctor. He has a mother, but he has no father. My sister is a house-wife. They have only one child, Benny. And there are no boys or girls in the family for him to play with. Benny is my nephew, he is four, sometimes he is naughty. He is fond of birds and animals. We have white mice, a hedgehog and a parrot in the house. Now Benny is eager to have a rabbit. But his mother is against it, we have no peace because of all Benny’s animals and birds.

a college graduate – выпускник колледжа

just a beginner – новичок

school-mate – однокашник

to be against smth – быть против

peace – покой

Reading Skills

Read the text and reproduce its contents as much closely to the text as possible.

The Grey Family

There are six people in the family: John Grey, his wife Helen, John’s parents Jim and Margaret and their two children – a son and a daughter, Robert and Lucy.

John is the head of the family. He is 36 years old. So is Helen. Their birthdays are late in September. John didn’t want to take after his father in profession. He became a skilful lawyer working with the Panasonic company. As his salary is rather high it’s enough for the family’s good living standard.

Helen is at work only three days a week. She earns less money but she has more time for her family. Helen is a computer engineer by education. She is good at sewing, painting, cooking. She is not fond of staying in the kitchen for long hours. She usually cooks on holidays when the Greys receive guests. Margaret, John’s step mother, helps her a lot about the house. She can cook well. She is up and about since early morning.

Jim Grey is 65. His wife Margaret is 17 years his junior. She is his second wife. Susan, John’s mother, died when he was at the age of 5. Jim is a retired aircraft officer of the British air force. He was a very experienced pilot of transport aviation for many years. Now Jim spends a lot of time in their country house and kitchen garden taking care of the sheep, cows, pigs, hens, ducks. He is also keen on growing vegetables. Jim is a sociable, good-natured and hardworking man, still full of life and energy.

Margaret is a former school cooking teacher. After finishing her teacher’s college she taught music at a small elementary school. At 25 she married a 37 year-old handsome and merry military pilot who soon perished in an air crash. Margaret became a widow with a two-year-old son. She saw Jim Grey for the first time at the restaurant where she had her birthday party. Jim was among her guests, very joyful and bright. They got acquainted while dancing.

Robert and Lucy are schoolchildren. They respect their parents and grandparents greatly. The children are treated with love and kindness.

Robert is a tall manly fellow of 15. He is 7 years older than his sister. He does well at school and his dream is to become a chemist. He is a clever, diligent pupil, a first-class footballer, and a good runner. He is strong, quiet and thoughtful like his father.

Robert’s sister Lucy is a pretty-looking girl with dark blue eyes and chestnut hair. Like her mother she is good at folk dances and can play the piano. Lucy goes to primary school in London and is going to enter the University.

The Greys are a friendly family. They always give each other moral support in a difficult situation. Their most popular evening entertainment is reading books and magazines. Lucy’s favourite book is “Alice in Wonderland”. Jim and John prefer scientific literature. Helen is interested in “Burda” and “Cosmopolitan”. Robert enjoys reading articles on sports in various newspapers and magazines. Sometimes they visit friends, go to the cinema or theatre.

Answer the questions on the text:

1. Is the Grey family large or small?

2. Who provides for the family?

3. What do Mr. and Mrs. Grey do?

4. Are John and Helen the same age?

5. What kind of job does Helen do about the house? Is she fond of it?

6. Who shares Helen’s household chores?

7. On what occasion did Margaret meet her future husband Jim?

8. What does Lucy look like?

9. How many years is Robert older than Lucy?

10. What are Robert’s hobbies?

11. Who is fond of music in the family?

12. What is Robert’s dream?

13. Does Robert study well at school?

14. Describe Jim’s character.

15. Can we call the family united?

16. What is the family’s most popular entertainment?

17. Would you like to have such a family of your own? Why?

18. What makes an ideal family?