Vocabulary and Speech Exercises

UNIT 1

MY FAMILY

Scan the text and answer the questions.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Alexander, Alec for short. My full name is Alexander Sergeyevich Orlov. Orlov is my surname, Alexander is my first name and Sergeyevich is my patronymic. I am nearly nineteen – next Thursday is my birthday.

Now I am a first-year student of a law department of South Ural State University. I have been waiting for this moment since I was a little boy. I am so happy! I passed my exams! My results were at the 3rd place in the whole list of applicants! I am a student now! I will gain the new special knowledge I need to be a human rights protector. My studying at one of the best Universities in Russia will give me an opportunity to continue my science work on the problem of human rights, which I have started at school. I will reach the new level of research.

My life is so busy again! I have a lot of classes at my faculty, and then I go to the different departments to attend my course of English. I am going to get a diploma of translator. My knowledge of foreign languages will help me in my job, because I will cooperate with colleagues from different countries. In spite of my busy study at the university I have time for my science and social work. I participate in every student conference; my reports take prize-winning places. Now I work at the law consultation as an assistant of barrister and give free consultations to people.

My parents have two more children besides me. Thus I have got an elder brother and a younger sister. My sister Helen is just out of school. She is seventeen. She is very fond of music and her dream is to become a pianist.

My brother, whose name is Michael, is eight years my senior. He is twenty-seven already. He is a builder. He is married and has a family of his own. They are four in the family. He has a wife and two children – a son and a daughter. They are twins. His wife`s name is Nina. She is a surgeon by profession. They are not in Chelyabinsk. They are in the Far East.

My parents are not old at all. Father is fifty, and Mother is three years his junior. My grandfather is not a pensioner, though he is over seventy. He is still full of life and energy. Our grandparents are fond of us.

1. What is your full name?

2. How old are you?

3. How many are you in the family?

4. What are your parents?

5. How many brothers and sisters have you?

6. What is your sister`s name?

7. Is she your senior or junior?

8. How many years is she your senior (junior)?

9. What is your brother`s occupation?

10. You are not married, are you?

11. Is your grandfather a pensioner?

DIALOGUE

A.: Tell me, who is that little boy?

B.: That boy? There?

A.: Yes. Who is he? What`s his name?

B.: He`s my little brother; his name is Tom.

A.: And the big girl? Who is she?

B.: She`s my big sister; her name is Ann.

A.: Is that man, there, your father?

B.: That little man! Oh, no! My father is that very big man standing over there.

A.: Oh, yes! Yes! And that woman sitting there is your mother?

B.: That`s right. Let`s go there.

Grammar Exercises

Plural Number

Most nouns form their plural by adding -s

Singular Plural

one book two books

Nouns ending in:

Consonant + y → ies but vowel (a, e, i, o) + y → s

Singular Plural BUT Singular Plural

baby babies boy boys

s, ss, sh, ch, x, o → es

Singular Plural

bus glass bush church box tomato buses glasses bushes churches boxes tomatoes

BUT:radio – radios; piano – pianos; photo – photos

f / fe → ves

Singular Plural

leaf housewife leaves housewives

Irregular Plurals

tooth	teeth
man foot woman child fish	men feet women children fish

I. Change to the plural as in the example:

1. book – books 2. cat 3. bird 4. glass 5. baby 6. star 7. photo 8. bush 9. chair 10. tree 11. radio 12. dress 13. piano 14. potato

15. leaf 16. knife 17. foot 18. child 19. brush 20. man 21. woman 22. girl 23. flower 24. policeman 25. boy 26. bus 27. orange 28. student

II. Fill in “a”, “an” or “---”

1. an aeroplane 2. …….car 3. …….chairs 4. …….glass 5. …….bus 6. …….animal 7. …….men 8. …….armchair 9. …….birds 10. …….tree

11. …….flower 12. …….umbrella 13. …….shoes 14. …….hand 15. …….foot 16. …….apple 17. …….eye 18. …….books 19. …….star 20. …….lady

21. …….knife 22. …….girls 23. …….eagle 24. …….schools 25. …….teacher 26. …….boy 27. …….house 28. …….gardens 29. …….pen 30. …….brothers

III. Fill in “I”, “you”, “he”, “she”, “it”, “we”, or “they”

1. Greg – he 2. you and I 3. cat 4. man 5. Steve and I 6. policeman 7. car 8. Eva and I 9. John 10. John and Charlie

11. Farther and I 12. skirt 13. dog 14. hat 15. David 16. Joanna 17. books 18. tooth 19. girls 20. houses

21. Ben 22. woman 23. Tom and Sally 24. men 25. Tom and I 26. boy 27. policemen 28. she and I 29. flowers 30. orange

The verb “to be”

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Long form	Short form	Long form	Short form
I am You are He is She is It is We are You are They are	I`m You`re He`s She`s It`s We`re You`re They`re	I am not You are not He is not She is not It is not We are not You are not They are not	I`m not You aren`t He isn`t She isn`t It isn`t We aren`t You aren`t They aren`t	Am I? Are you? Is he? Is she? Is it? Are we? Are you? Are they?

Short answers:

Am I / Are youtall? Is he / she / it in the garden?	Yes, I am. Yes, he / she / it is.	No, I`m not. No, he / she / it isn`t.
Are we / you/ they students?	Yes, we / you / they are.	No, we / you / they aren`t.

IV. Write “is” or “are” as in the example:

Peter is eighteen years old.

1. Helen ……. from Madrid. 2. Joanna …….a teacher. 3. Peter and Helen ……. students. 4. Helen ……. Spanish. 5. Greg ……. from Athens. 6. Joanna ……. English. 7. Peter ……. from Los Angeles. 8. Greg ……. thirty years old. 9. Helen ……. a student. 10. Joanna and Greg ……. thirty years old.

11. It ……. a bus. 12. He ……. a doctor. 13. I ……. a student. 14. It ……. a bicycle. 15. We ……. friends. 16. I ……. a policeman. 17. She ……. a dancer. 18. They ……. books. 19. It ……. an orange. 20. Tom ……. a lawyer.

1. I ….. a pupil.

2. My father ….. not a teacher, he ….. a scientist.

3. ….. your aunt a doctor? – Yes, she ….. .

4. ….. they at home? – No, they ….. not at home, they ….. at work.

5. My brother ….. a worker. He ….. at work.

6. ….. you an engineer? – Yes, I ….. .

7. ….. your sister a typist? – No, she ….. not a typist, she ….. a student.

8. ….. your brother at school? – Yes, he ….. .

9. ….. your sister at school? – No, she ….. not at school.

10. My sister ….. at home.

11. ….. this your watch? – Yes, it ….. .

12. She ….. an actress.

13. This ….. my bag.

14. My uncle ….. an office-worker.

15. He ….. at work.

16. Helen ….. a painter. She has some fine pictures. They ….. on the walls. She has much paper. It ….. on the shelf. The shelf ….. brown. It ….. on the wall. Helen has a brother. He ….. a student. He has a family. His family ….. not in St. Petersburg, it ….. in Moscow.

V. Change to the plural as in the example:

It is a pen. They are pens. 1. It is an apple. 2. She is a girl. 3. He is a child. 4. He is a teacher. 5. It is a bicycle. 6. He is a man. 7. She is a woman. 8. I am a dancer. 9. She is a student. 10. It is a fox.

11. You are a policeman. 12. It is a house. 13. You are a teacher. 14. It is a bus. 15. He is a doctor. 16. It is a book. 17. It is a fish. 18. She is a friend. 19. It is an orange. 20. It is a radio.

Vocabulary and Speech Exercises

I. Complete the following sentences:

1. I`m about 20, and my brother is 22, so he is … . 2. My cousin is married, so she has … . 3. Nina is a distant relative of yours, isn`t she? – No, she is … . 4. My father is married for the second time; so you are … . 6. My father`s first name is Vladimir. So Vladimirovna is … .

II. Answer these questions. Follow the model:

Model: Helen`s daughter is just out of school, isn`t she?

No, she isn`t. She is still a schoolgirl.

1. His father isn`t a pensioner, is he? 2. They have got twins, haven`t they? 3. You are not yet 21, are you? 4. Kate and Jane are of the same age, aren`t they? 5. Their grandmother is still full of life and energy, isn`t she? 6. You have got an elder sister, haven`t you? 7. Nelly`s parents are not old at all, are they? 8. Your mother is six yers your father junior, isn`t she? 9. You are four in the family, aren`t you? 10. He is an engineer by profession, isn`t he?

III. The following statements are not true to fact. Correct them. Begin your own sentence with one of the following: I`m afraid you are wrong; That`s not quite right; That`s not so; You are mistaken; On the contrary.

Model:Her brother has a family of his own.

You are mistaken.He is not yet married.

1. Your birthday is on the fifth of January. 2. His cousin is married to a surgeon. 3. Nina`s uncle is an engineer by profession. 4. Helen is two years her husband`s junior. 5. Your mother has no grandchildren yet. 6. His son-in-law is a painter. 7. Kate`s nephew and niece are in the Far East. 8. His granddaughter`s dream is to become a pionist. 9. Your wife has a lot of relatives in Kiev. 10. His father-in-law is not yet a pensioner.

Scan this text.

MY FRIEND`S FAMILY

Carmen Darrow is my best friend. I often come over her house and know all her family. She lives with her parents and younger brother. But I can’t say that it is an ideal American family, because they do not get along well with their Dad.

Carmen often says that she doesn’t really know her father. He isn’t easy to get on with, I have always found him difficult to talk to. He is a bit reserved, but he loves to be recognized and asked for his autograph.

Carmen remembers that her Dad couldn’t have been home much when she was a small child, because she simply doesn’t remember him. His work always came first, and he was often away from home making films. Carmen wasn’t surprised when her parents often had quarrels in the kitchen about it.

He must have wanted the best for her, but the best was always what he wanted. He chose Carmen’s school and she hated it. She had no friends there; she felt miserable and didn’t do well, so she was asked to leave. He must have been very disappointed, but he said nothing to her. He wanted her to be an actor like him. And she tried it for a while, but she couldn’t make it, it was not for her. She always wanted to be a lawyer, she was dreaming about it, and he didn’t approve her choice. They had a huge scandal at home, after which she applied for a law school. They hadn’t been talking to each other for a long time because of that. But she got what she wanted, her dream came true. And now she is a successful lawyer.

Carmen’s father and she have always been so different. She loves animals and he loves books and music, and above all opera, which she hates. They still don’t see much of each other. He wanted her to marry a famous film star or something, but she fell in love with a regular guy from the neighborhood. She thinks that she is too young to have children yet and wants to make a career first. And he pushes her to give birth to his grandson. Isn’t that crazy? I think it is! Why do our parents always consider us as babies and decide for us!

Carmen’s mom is different though. She never argues with her and they are very close friend. They can talk about everything and understand each other perfectly. But she is not happy with Carmen’s dad and Carmen is secretly hoping for their divorce. Sad as it is but Carmen’s dad is like a stranger for their family. It’s hard to believe, but it happens.

UNIT 2

DAILY ROUTINE