Ex.7. Choose the correct word to complete the following sentences.

1. The typical American family of the past used to include grandparents or other relatives who were living with the parents and children; this was called the (extended/ nuclear/ blended) family.

2. With the industrialisation of American society, the (extended/nuclear/blended) family became more common.

3. Foreigners are often amazed by the (strictness/ permissiveness/ rudeness) of American parents.

4. At present, nearly one out of every (two/three/four) marriages in the USA ends in divorce.

5. A family composed of parents with children from previous marriages is called a (extended/nuclear/blended) family.

6. Nowadays, there is an (increase/decrease) in the number of childless marriages.

Ex.8. Look through the definitions of different types of families and say which type your family belongs to.

Ex. 9. Look through the following text and note down the reasons why:

A) the author thinks it must be awful to be the only child;

B) the author supposes there are some advantages too;

C) the author thinks big families are better.

Text C

I Prefer a Big Family

I've got one brother – Roland. He's all right, I suppose, but I wish I had more brothers and sisters. I think it must be awful to be an only child. An only child is often spoilt – they get everything they want from their parents all the time. And then sometimes they’ re a bit shy or at least not very sociable because they're not used to being with other people. Well, I suppose there are some advantages too, I mean, you get lots of attention and time from your parents and you don't have to share everything with the other children. But I think big families are better. A big family teaches the older children how to look after the younger ones and that's a good thing. All the big families I know are always friendly and good fun. Of course, it's more expensive to look after a big family – so money can be a problem. Personally, I think the ideal family size is four. I'd like to have a sister and two brothers. That would be nice. Roland's OK though. He's nineteen now – two years older than me. He's tall, dark with black wavy hair and brown eyes. Some of my friends say he's good-looking but I don't know about that. He's very quiet and rather serious. He reads a lot and likes fishing. Last year, he started helping in our local youth club. The younger children like him very much. He organized two summer trips for them.

The person in my family who I get on best is my cousin Ellie.

She's really great. She's a year older than me –18. She's got long, straight, fair hair. She's medium height and quite slim. She's very pretty too. I stay with Elite's family in the summer. We go cycling a lot – round the countryside. We go dancing too, sometimes – Ellie likes the same kind of music as I do. She had to take her exams again last year– but she passed them the second time. Then she left school and she got a job in a bank. She's changed quite a bit since she started working at the bank. She's made a lot of new friends and she goes out a lot more in the evenings now.

Ex. 10. Choose the sentence that doesn’t contradict the sentence from the text.

1. Some of my friends say he's good-looking but I don't know about that.

a) The author doesn’t find his bother good-looking.

b) Roland’s brother has never thought of his brother’s appearance.

c) The author doesn’t know what good-looking people look like.

2. She had to take her exams again last year– but she passed them the second time.

a) Ellie didn’t take her exams only once.

b) Ellie wanted to take her exams again last year.

c) She passed exams twice.

Ex. 11. Fill in the missing parts of the sentences.

1. _____ I think _____ family size is four.

2. He is _____ now, _____ years, _____ than me.