Text A: MY FAMILY.

 

I am Alex Lebedev. Alex is my first name and Lebedev is my surname. I am seventeen years old. I want to tell you a few words about my family. My family is large. I have got a mother, a father, a sister, a brother and a grandmother. There are six of us in the family.

First of all, some words about my parents. My mother is a teacher of Biology. She works in a college. She likes her profession. She is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four, but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim.

My father is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six. My father often sings and when we are at home and have some free time, I play the guitar and we sing together. My father knows all about new radio sets and likes to repair the old ones. He is also handy withmany things. When he was small, he liked to take everything to pieces. My grandmother told me a story that once my father tried to repair their kitchen clock. He managed to put all the wheels and screws back again, but the clock did not work. They had to give it to a repairman. But that happened a long time ago. Now he can fix almost everything: a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a fridge and what not. He's got a few shelves where he keeps everything he needs. On the table there is always a radio in pieces.

My parents have been married for 26 years. They have much in common, but they have different views on music, books, films, sport. For example, my father likes horror films and my mother likes soap operas. My father is fond of tennis. My mother doesn't go in for sport. But my parents have the same opinion about my education and upbringing.

My parents are hard-working people. My mother keeps the house and takes care of me and my father. She is very good at cooking and she is clever with her hands. She is very practical. My father and I try to help her with the housework. I wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.

My grandmother is a pensioner. She lives with us and helps my mother to run the house. She is fond of knitting.

My sister Helen is 25. She is married and has a family of her own. She works as an accountant for a joint venture company. Her husband is a scientist. They have got twins: a daughter and a son. They go to a nursery school.

My brother Boris is eleven. He is a schoolboy. He wants to become a doctor but he is not sure yet. Three months ago he dreamed of being a cosmonaut.

I am proud to be a student. I study at the Foreign Language Faculty of the Kursk State University. I think I took after my father. I'm tall, fair-haired and even-tempered. I always try to be in a good mood.

We have got a lot of relatives. We are deeply attached to each other and we get on very well.

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

 

first name, middle name to be broad-shouldered

last name/surname with fair hair and grey eyes

to be 17 years old to play the guitar

first of all to play the piano

to work in a college to repair old radio sets

to like one's profession to be handy with many things

to be a good-looking woman to take everything to pieces

to look much younger to put all the wheels and screws back

to be tall and slim to give smth. to a repairman

to be experienced to fix almost everything

a vacuum cleaner to keep the house

a washing machine to run the house

a fridge to help smb with the housework

a radio in pieces to help smb about the house

to be married for 26 years to take care of smb

to have much in common to be good at doing smth

to have different views on smth to be clever with one's hands

horror films and "soap operas" to be practical

to be fond of smth to go shopping

to go in for sport to tidy /to clean one's flat/

to have the same opinion about smth to be a pensioner

education and upbringing to have a family of one's own

to be hard-working people to work as (an accountant)

to be even-tempered to go to a nursery school

to be in a good mood to be not sure of smth

to be deeply attached to smb to dream of being a cosmonaut

to get on very well foreign languages

to take after smb

to work for a joint-venture company

 

I. Answer the questions :

1. How old are you?

2. Are you married?

3. Have you got a family of your own?

4. Do you live together with your parents?

5. Is your family large or small?

6. What are your parents?

7. Are you the only child in the family?

8. Is you sister (brother) older or younger than you?

9. What is your sister's (brother's) occupation?

10. Do you help your mother to keep the house?

11. Have you got grandparents?

12. Where do they live?

13. Have you any other close relatives?

14. Do you often visit them?

15. What do you usually do in the evenings?

16. Do you spend your week-ends together with your parents or with your friends?