B) Find words in the text which mean the opposite

married –

argue –

spend money –

boring –

close relatives –

c) Imagine you are Dave, Sandy’s brother. Write a short text about yourself and your family.

A) Read the text and complete the sentence.

This text is about …………………………………………………………………………

The average English family lives in a semi-detached house with a garden in the south of England. They own their house, which is situated in the suburbs of a large town. The house has three bedrooms. On average they have two children and a pet. Mr. Average works in an office 40 hours a week. He starts at 9.00 in the morning and finishes at 5.30 in the evening. He goes to work by car, which takes him 20 minutes. He doesn’t particularly like his job, but there are chances of promotion.

Mrs. Average works locally in a service industry three days a week and doesn’t earn as much as her husband. She quite likes her job as it gets her out of the house, she meets people, and it is close to the children’s school.

The most popular evening entertainment is watching television or video. After that, the next most popular activity is visiting friends, going to the cinema or a restaurant, or going to the pub. The most popular hobby is gardening and the most popular sports are fishing, football and tennis.

B) Answer the questions.

1. Where does the average English family live?

2. How many children are there in the family?

3. When does Mr. Average start and finish his work?

4. How does he get to work?

5. Where does Mrs. Average work?

6. Why does she like her job?

7. What do they like doing in the evening?

8. What are their favourite activities?

C) Write a similar text about the average Russian family. Use the underlined words and phrases.

6. a) Work in pairs. Think about your childhood and talk about:

- your earliest childhood memories

- your first vacation

- your favourite toys

- your first day at school

- your first home

- your first friend

- your favourite games

B) Read the interview with Sanna about children and childhood. Write the questions the interviewer asked.

Interviewer: (1) …………………………………………?

Sanna: Most families have two children.

Interviewer: (2) …………………………………………? Is it just the parents, or the grandparents as well?

Sanna: I’d say just the parents. Grandparents help out in the holiday times normally, but it’s unusual for them to look after babies.

Interviewer: (3) …………………………………………?

Sanna: I think that happens more often. My family – my dad’s parents – gave my parents a lot of advice and help in bringing us up.

Interviewer: (4) …………………………………………?

Sanna: Personally, I see them once a week, twice a week. Most people work, so it’s not really possible to see them every day, but at least once a week if I live nearby.

Interviewer: (5) …………………………………………?

Sanna: With my family, we would just sit and chat, we could go and do sports, go for walks, but it very much depends on the family.

C) Work in pairs and talk about your answers to the questions in the interview.

WRITING A LETTER

Study the following example of an informal letter to a pen friend. Note the structure. Write your own letter to an imaginary (or real) friend living abroad.

38 Clifton Gardens London NW6 27 September 2012   Dear Maria   I’m very pleased that we’re going to be pen friends. I’ll tell you a little about myself.   I live in an area of London called Maida Vale. It’s quite near the centre, but there are parks nearby where I take my dog, Mickey, for a walk. I live with my parents and my younger brother, Paul. My father works for the post office and my mother has a part-time job as a nurse.   I go to the local college, where I have a lot of friends. I like most subjects, but not all of them! In the evenings I sometimes visit friends or stay at home and listen to music and at the weekends I like going swimming or horse-riding.   At the moment I’m working very hard because I have exams soon, so I’m spending a lot of time in the library!   I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Write soon!   Best wishes, Francis Jones.

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