Kate Brown. About Her Family

Let me introduce myself. My name is Katherine. My surname is Brown. But you may call me simply Kate. I am 17 years old. I am from England. You see, I was born in Liverpool. This is my native town. But now I live in London, because this year I have finished school and I have entered The Pedagogical University. So, now I am a freshman of a Psychological Department. I am a future psychologist, you know. I go home not very often (I mean Liverpool). That’s why I miss my family very much. Now I would like to tell you about the members of my family. You see, as any other person, I have relatives: aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law of my parents, my grandparents, my cousins and so on and so forth. There are so many of them, that it would be impossible to characterize each of them. So, I shall tell you about my dearest and nearest. As far as you have already guessed, I mean my father, my mother and my younger sister. There are four of us. Quite an average family, isn’t it? We all live together in a flat in our native town.

First of all, some words about my parents. My mother’s name is Jane. She is 40 years old. But I think she looks young for her age. Besides, she is a good-looking woman with dark hair, regular features and a beautiful smile. My mother is slim and has an upright carriage. What is more, I am the living image of my mother. We are as like as two peas.

As for my father, his name is Nick. He is 43. He looks his age, I think. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man. He looks athletic. The most charming thing in my father’s appearance is his kind eyes. Upon the whole, my father is rather handsome.

My parents have been married for 19 years. They have much in common, but they are quite different at the same time. For example, they are both fond of reading historical books and traveling. They have nearly the same tastes in music and films. But they are rather different people (I mean their characters). My mother is a manager. She is energetic and talkative, very sociable and sometimes fussy. Мy father is a calm and quiet man. He is a driver, by the way. That’s why he is always as busy as a bee. They say extremes meet. It is really so, as far as you can see. As I have said, I resemble my mother in appearance, but I take after my father in character. People say, I am an easy-going person that makes me pleasant to deal with. Besides, I am very honest and generous. These are my strong points. No wonder! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. To tell you the truth, I am proud of my parents. My mother is intelligent, patient and always ready to help. I have got good relations with my mum. She is always interested in what I do. I can always rely on her and ask her for advice. I love her very much. But on the other hand, I love my father not less. I respect him for his kindness and sense of humor. He can always cheer me up!

Now some words about my younger sister Helen. She is 14 years old. She is a pupil of the eighth form. She studies at school number 21 in our home town. She is a good-looking girl with long curly hair, a lovely complexion and pretty dimples on her cheeks. She looks like my father. That’s why we are as different as chalk and cheese. Sometimes people even don’t believe that we are sisters. As for her character, I don’t know whom she takes in character after, because sometimes she is stubborn or selfish. Perhaps, it is connected with her awkward age. Frankly speaking we quarrel sometimes. But, certainly, in spite of everything I love her dearly. And I know that she loves me. She wants to resemble me.

And in conclusion I want to say, that our family is very united. We are deeply attached to each other and we get on very well. Of course, it is not as good as all that. Sometimes we do quarrel, but it happens very seldom. Usually we like to spend time together and help our mother about the house. In the evenings we watch TV, read books and newspapers, listen to music or just discuss everyday problems. Our parents don’t always agree with us, but they take into consideration our opinion. All of us like to spend our weekends out of town. Besides, we like to gather all our relatives at our place for a New Year Party or for somebody’s birthday. We are happy when we are together.

To make the long story short, it is really very important to have a good family, where all people are tactful, helpful and respect each other. In such families children get on well with their parents. They willingly share domestic duties, joys and difficulties, views and opinions. It’s nice to have a good family. And I am happy that I have!

 

4. План пересказа текста и фразы для реферирования:

I. Вступление.

II. I have (just) read the text about… - Я (только что) прочитал текст о…

And now I want to retell it. – И сейчас я хочу пересказать его.

III. It is a story. – Это рассказ.

It is an extract from… - Это отрывок из…

It is an article from… - Это статья из…

IV. The title of the text is… - Название текста…

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I fully agree with it. – Я полностью согласен с ним.

It suits here very well. – Оно подходит здесь очень хорошо.

It helps the reader to understand the main idea. – Оно помогает читателю понять основную идею.

It reflects the main problem. – Оно отражает главную проблему.

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I fully disagree with it. – Я полностью не согласна с ним.

It doesn’t suit here at all. – Оно здесь совсем не подходит.

It doesn’t help the reader to understand the main idea. – Оно не помогает читателю понять основную идею.

It doesn’t reflect the main problem. – Оно не отражает главную проблему.

I would give another title for this story, for example… - Я бы дал другое название этому рассказу, например…

V. The author of the text is… - Автор текста…

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He (she) is a famous American (English, …) writer. – Он (она) известный американский (английский, …) писатель.

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Perhaps, he (she) is a famous American (English, …) writer. – Возможно, он (она) известный американский (английский,…) писатель.

But, sorry to say, I have never heard of him (her). – Но, к сожалению, я никогда не слышал о нем.

VI. As for the genre, it is a psychological drama (a historical novel, a love story, an adventure story, a detective story, fantasy, …) – Что касается жанра, это психологическая драма (исторический роман, любовный роман, приключенческий рассказ, детектив, фантастика).

VII. The main characters of the story are… - Главные герои рассказа…

The secondary characters are… - Второстепенные герои…

VIII. The action takes place in… - Действие происходит в…

IX. The main problem of the story is… - Главная проблема рассказа…

The main idea of the text is… - Главная идея текста…

The author wanted to show… - Автор хотел показать…

The author tells about… - Автор рассказывает о…

The author describes… - Автор описывает…

The reader may learn about… - Читатель может узнать о …

X. The plot. – Сюжет.

XI. In conclusion I want to say that… - В заключение я хочу сказать, что…

- your opinion about the text (interesting, difficult, boring…) – ваше мнение о тексте (интересный, трудный, скучный)

- your opinion about the situation, the characters, the problem… - ваше мнение о ситуации, героях, проблем

Текст

Stepmother.

(After J. Greenwood)

I was at Number Nineteen, Tummill Street, London. My mother died when I was five years old. She died fifteen minutes after my sister Polly was born.

As my father worked from morning till night, he had no time to look after Polly and me, so he married again soon. He married Mrs. Burke, who was much younger and more good-looking than my mother.

But I did not like my stepmother and she did not like me. So we began to hate each other; but she did not show her hatred when my father was at home. She beat me very often and she made me work very hard. From morning till night she found work for me to do. I looked after the baby. When she was awake, I took her for a walk, carrying her in my arms, and she was very heavy. I cleaned the rooms, went shopping, etc. There was always work for me to do.

One day a woman came to see my stepmother and they drank a lot of gin. All the money that my father had left for our dinner was spent. When the woman went home, my stepmother said to me in tears, “Oh, what shall I do, Jimmy, dear, what shall I do? Your father will come home soon, and there’s no dinner for him. He will beat me cruelly! What shall I do, what shall I do?”

I was sorry for her, she had tears in her eyes, and she called me “Jimmy, dear” for the first time. I asked her if I could help her and she said at once, “Oh, yes, you can help me! When tour father comes home in the evening, Jimmy, dear, tell him that you lost the money he left for our dinner.”

“How could I lose it?” I asked in surprise.

“Уou can tell him that I sent you to buy some food. Suddenly a big boy ran against you and the money fell out of your hand and you could not find it. That will be very easy to say, Jimmy, dear, please, say it to your father!”

“But he’ll give me a good beating for it!” “Oh, no, he won’t! I shall not let him beat you, you may be sure! Here is a penny for you, go and buy some sweets with it!”

So I went off and spent my penny on sweets. When I came back and opened the door, my father was at home waiting for me with his waist-belt in his hand. I wanted to run out of the room, but he caught me by the ear.

“Stop a minute, young man!” he said. “What have you done with the money?”

“I lost it, father,” said I in fear and looked at my stepmother.

“Oh, you lost it! Where did you lose it?”

“In the street, Father. Ask Mrs. Burke, she knows!”

I told him what my stepmother had asked me to tell him. I was not much surprised that he did not believe my story. But my stepmother’s words surprised me very much.

“Yes, he told me the same thing,” she said, “but he is a liar! He has spent your money on sweets. I can’t beat him, he is your child, but you can give him a good beating!”

And she stood by while my father beat me with his belt till the blood showed. I hated my stepmother so much now that I wanted to see her dead.

 

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