Ex.11. Read the essay and write your own, using pros and cons
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Living
in the Same House as Your Grandmother?
I cannot speak about all grandmothers but just about my own. She is 78 and she has lived with us for five years.
The main problem with living with my grandmother is the generation gap She criticisesmy choice in clothes, music and television programmes. I often feel embarrassed when she makes comments in front of my friends. Also, because she is old, she has some disgusting habits. She sniffs and when she eats she often makes a mess like a child.
On the other hand, in spite of her annoying habits, she is a wonderful person to live with. Although she often criticizes my behaviour, she always stands up for me in family arguments.
In conclusion, I cannot imagine life without my grandmother. Although the disadvantages of living with an old woman sometimes seem unbearable, the advantages are really far more important.
Ex.12. Read the puzzle and fill in the table
Anna, Patric, Mike, Diana and Rod are a family. The two textbook writers are fair. The father and the daughter are dark. Diana’s children are an editor ( she lives in Oxford), a computer programmer and a textbook writer. Rod is a professor. Mike is dark. What is Patrick’s job?
| Name | Anna | Patrick | Mike | Diana | Rod |
| Family relation | |||||
| Hair colour | |||||
| Job |
Ex.13. Choose the proper preposition
A family is a group of human beings who care ( for/ of/ about) each other … and feel comfortable (-/ for/ with) each other… and who will stand up (for/ to/ -) each other.
A family shares (with/ - /about) things.
Families care ( about/ for/ of) us when we need it and give us a swift kick in the behind when we need it.
A family is a group sitting and watching ( at/ -/ on) a good TV show together.
For still others, family has more to do ( about / -/ with ) friends than it does ( about/ -/ with) bloodlines. (New Millennium English/10 Student’s Workbook, Unit 5. – Обнинск: Титул, 2001)
Ex. 14. Form the word of the suitable part of speech.
MY REAL PARENTS
People tell me I take after my mother. We have ( exact) the same blue eyes. Actually, I don’t know whether there is any ( similar) between my birth mother and me. I have no ( know) of her because I was adopted as a baby. The fact that I am adopted is of no ( important) to me. I don’t want to look for ( inform) about my birth parents. Your real parents are the ones who love and look after you – that’s what I (belief). My mother is a (law); she works very hard and often comes home late. She sometimes worries (necessary) that this makes her a bad mother. She says her children (bright) her life and she would like to spend more time with us. My father is a ( profession) artist and works at home. They are the best parents in the world. It was the (luck) day of my life when they adopted me.
(First Certificate Avenues. Cambridge Univescity Press, 1997)
Ex.15. Read and retell the text:
WHAT MAKES A FAMILY?
Christina Michel is 24 years old. She recently got married. However she, and her husband still live with her parents. And the household doesn’t finish there. Also sharing the family home are Christina’s grandparents, uncle, and a younger brother. Every night the whole of the extended familysits down to eat together round the table in the bright and cosy kitchen.
More and more families will turn to this kind of one-for-all-and-all-for-one-style existence in the new millennium. According to researchers, households of three or even four generations will become typical.
It’s a trend that suits Christina perfectly. She finds living in a multi-generation home normal because of her Greek background,and the rest of the family are equally enthusiastic about the arrangement. Christina’s grandparents, who are getting old, can be looked after, as can her uncle, who is mentally handicapped.
Christina’s mother Adriana Pappos, 47, runsher own hairdressing salon and finds many advantages in this style of living.
Christina’s husband, Kupros, 25, a technical consultant, only laughs when he is asked about living with his in-laws , as he is sure that most people wouldn’t believe he is happy with the arrangement too.
Christina’s father, George, 51, is a fishmonger. He is up every day at 3 a.m. to buy fish at Billingsgate Market, and he insists that the family sits down together to eat each evening.
According to John King, deputy managing director of general insurance in one of the most popular British banks, plenty of families will soon find themselves forced into this lifestyle by rising house prices, the cost of childcare , and the cost of caring for elderly relatives.