My father is an engineer in computers. He is considered to be an experienced engineer. We are very proud of him

The things for sale are on the counters so that they can be easily seen.

In a food supermarket we can also buy many different things at once: sausages, fish, sugar, macaroni, flour, cereals, and tea. At the butcher's there is a wide choice of meat and poultry. At the bakery you buy brown and white bread, rolls, and biscuits.

The methods of shopping may vary. It may be a self-service shop where the customer goes from counter to counter selecting and putting into a basket what he wishes to buy. Then he takes the basket to the check-out counter, where the prices of the purchases are added up. If it is not a self-service shop, and most small shops are not, the shop-assistant helps the customer in finding what he wants. You pay money to the cashier and he gives you back the change.

My parents do most of the shopping in our family. They usually drive to the supermarket where they go to the grocery, greengrocery, meat and fish departments and buy all the food we need for our family. They usually do it once a week.

Shopping is also a chore for me. There is a small supermarket near our house so when my mum asks me I go there to buy bread or milk or something we’ve run out.

Sometimes shopping is a kind of pastime and even entertainment for me and my mother. We can spend hours walking from one shop to another in search of something special.

2. Do you like shopping? Why (not)? I like shopping because modern shopping centres do their best to prove to you that shopping may be fun. That’s why they tend to combine shopping and leisure. Besides a great variety of stores, shops and outlets one can find there theme parks with rides, amusements and games. If you are tired you can enjoy delicious food in a restaurant or just have a snack in a cafeteria or a café.

3. What questions will you ask a shop assistant to help you to choose a purchase? What goods can I purchase in you shop? Are there any discounted goods to buy there? Have you got a dress of my size?

4. What can you advise a person who wants to buy many things (clothes, foodstuffs, etc.) but has little time? To buy much in little time you should make a list of what you need and run through familiar stores.

5. Parents usually give pocket money to their children. How do you usually spend your pocket money? I usually spend them on something really tasty in my school canteen. But I usually go there only when I’m starving and could eat a horse.

2.

FAMILY TRADITIONS

1. Let’s talk about family. What role does it play in each person’s life? The family is very important as a unit in our society. Nothing else but family can be an emotional center of people's life. Every mother feels great affection for her children and tries to bring them up in a proper way. Understanding between the members of the family and consideration for others are very important in family relationship. Tenderness, warm-heartedness and respect must always be present in the family to make it friendly. A lot of activities help members of the family to be on friendly terms: discussing all the family plans together, going on trips hikes together, visiting museums, theaters, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them, sharing the same joys and sorrows.

Now I’d like to tell you about my family. Our family is not large. We are a family of four: my father, my mother, my younger brother and I.

My name is Olga. I am seventeen. I am a school leaver. My younger brother is ten. He is a pupil of the fifth form. He looks like our father. As for me everybody says I look like my mother. I am an ordinary girl of 17.

Our family lives in Vitebsk. We have a nice three-roomed flat on the fourth floor of a multistoried building. My mother is about 40. She looks pretty well. My mother is an economist. The firm she works in deals with trading.

My father is an engineer in computers. He is considered to be an experienced engineer. We are very proud of him.

My younger brother also has his duties about the house. He helps mother to set the table and wash the dishes. On Saturdays Dad joins us in our work about the house. He likes to make or repair something. We don't have such problems as misunderstanding between the members of the family. I think that it is due to the age of my parents and their character.

2. Do you have your own family traditions? In my view, traditions don’t need to be expensive. So in our family it is usually a walk in the park or a lazy Saturday morning sipping coffee and chatting.

3. What will you ask your British friend about his/her family? Have you got a big family? Have you got any family traditions? Do you like to spend your free time with your family?

4. What can you advise people who want to have a close and happy family? First of all I can advise for anyone to try to understand the feelings of your parents and show respect to them. Even if you don’t agree with their thinking, try to make them understand politely, don’t use harsh words with them which may hurt. It’s important to celebrate your parents’ and grandparents’ birthdays. It will make them realize that you care for them.

5. Why are there many one-parent families? How does the state help such families? It’s sad that families are getting smaller these days. One-parent families are those where one of the parents is no longer part of the family unit. Of course such families have support on behalf of the state. There are special financial programs to help the families with low income. Children may have free meals at school or they may have an opportunity to go to a summer camp.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

1. Let’s talk about your family. What is family for you? The family is very important as a unit in our society. Nothing else but family can be an emotional center of people's life. Every mother feels great affection for her children and tries to bring them up in a proper way. Understanding between the members of the family and consideration for others are very important in family relationship. Tenderness, warm-heartedness and respect must always be present in the family to make it friendly. A lot of activities help members of the family to be on friendly terms: discussing all the family plans together, going on trips hikes together, visiting museums, theaters, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them, sharing the same joys and sorrows.

Now I’d like to tell you about my family. Our family is not large. We are a family of four: my father, my mother, my younger brother and I.

My name is Olga. I am seventeen. I am a school leaver. My younger brother is ten. He is a pupil of the fifth form. He looks like our father. As for me everybody says I look like my mother. I am an ordinary girl of 17.

Our family lives in Vitebsk. We have a nice three-roomed flat on the fourth floor of a multistoried building. My mother is about 40. She looks pretty well. My mother is an economist. The firm she works in deals with trading.