Text c. Alex sidorov’s family

We are a large and friendly family. There are six of us: grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, my younger sister and I. I have an elder sister, too, she is 22 years old, but she does not live with our family. She is married. She has a little family of her own: a husband and twins: a daughter and a son. They go to a nursery school. My sister works as an accountant for a joint venture company. Her husband is a scientist.

Our grandfather is a scientist too. He is on the wrong side of sixty, but he does not want to retire. He works at the university. He works part-time. He goes to the university two or three times a week and delivers lectures to students and does scientific work. On the days when he is at home, he works in his study, preparing for his lectures and writing a book.

Our grandmother is retired. She was a teacher and worked at school. She is the recognized head of the family. She keeps house. Of course we help her about the house: all of us do our share in daily household chores. My sister washes the dishes, sweeps and washes the floor, washes the sink in the kitchen. My work is emptying the dustbin, beating the carpets, dusting and vacuum cleaning. Our mother and father do most of the shopping. My mother and sister also do washing. But most of the cooking is done by grandmother. She is a wonderful cook, and all our family likes her cooking very much.

My father is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six. He works at a large company. My mother is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim. Mother is an economist and she works at a bank. Both our parents are very busy. Father has a car. In the morning he drives mother to work, then he goes to the office. Father also always drives grandfather to work on his university days.

My parents have been married for twenty-six years. They have much in common but they have different views on music, books, films, sports. For example, my father likes horror films and my mother likes "soap operas". My father is fond of tennis. My mother doesn't go in for sports. But my parents have the same opinion about my education and upbringing.

My younger sister goes to school. She is a senior former, so naturally school takes up a lot of her time. As you already know, I am a first-year student of the Technical Academy. I think I take after my father. I'm tall, fair-haired and even-tempered. We spend most of the afternoons and evenings doing our homework.

At the weekend we are not so busy as on week days, and we can relax: visit or receive friends or relations or just go for a walk. I also enjoy quiet Saturday evenings, when all the members of our friendly family are at home and nobody is in a hurry, and we are quietly sitting in our large and comfortable living-room, talking, joking, discussing our everyday affairs and drinking nice hot cups of tea with something delicious prepared by grand­mother.

I always try to be in a good mood. We have got a lot of relatives. We are deeply attached to each other and we get on very well.

Exercise 17. Answer the questions about your family.

1. What is your first name? What is your surname?

2. How old are you?

3. When is your birthday?

4. Is your family large? How many are you in the family?

5. Have you got any brothers or sisters?

6. What are your parents? Where do they work?

7. How long have your parents been married?

8. Do they have much in common?

9. Do you spend a lot of time with your family?

10. What sort of things do you do together?

11. Do you go out with your parents?

12. Who runs the house in your family?

13. What are your household duties?

14. What is your father's hobby?

15. Can you describe your mother?

Exercise 18. Using the material of the above story speak about your family.

Exercise 19. Communicative tasks.

A Ask Liz questions. (Look at her answers before you write the questions.)

1. (where / from?) ...Where are you from? 2. (where / live / now?) … 3. (married?) … 4. (how long / married?) … 5. (have / children?) … 6. (how old / they?) … 7. (what / your husband / do?) … 8. (he / enjoy his job?) … 9. (arrest anyone every day?) … 10. (how often / go / on holiday?) …

Liz answers: 1. From London originally. 2. In Manchester. 3. Yes, I am. 4. 12 years. 5. Yes, three boys. 6. 4 and 9. 7. He's a policeman. 8. Yes, very much. 9. I don't know. 10. Usually once a year.

B Tony is being interviewed for a job. Look at the interviewer's notes and Tony's answers, and then write the questions she is asking Tony.

1. age? …… How old are you? 2. live locally? 3. address? 4. when / leave school? 5. which school / go? 6. work / now? 7. who / work for? 8. how long? 9. enjoy / present job? 10. why / want / leave?

Tony’s answers 1. I am 18 2. Yes, I do. 3. Flower Close. 4. Last year. 5. Benham School. 6. Yes, I am. 7. Millers Limited. 8. For six months. 9. Yes, I do. 10. The pay isn't good.

Exercise 20. a) Learn the following proverbs and sayings and explain them.

1. Every family has a black sheep. В каждой семье есть своя черная овца.

2. There is no place like home. Нет места лучше дома.

3. Like father like son. Каков отец, таков и сын.

4. Men make houses, women make homes. Мужчины создают дома, а женщины – домашний очаг.

5. Не got out of bed on the wrong side. Он встал с кровати не с той стороны.

b) Think of situations or short stories to illustrate each of the above proverbs and sayings.

Exercise 21. Read and translate the text below, then give a summary of the text and speak about your own hobby.