Answer the following questions.

1. What is a family?

2. Why do some people prefer living together without any official registration ceremonies?

3. What things can help the family members become closer?

4. What problems does a happy family face?

5. Is it important to have a good family? Why/ Why not?

Choose the right variant.

A 1  Family…

1) is the group of people who live under one roof

2) consists of parents and children

3) is the group of people who aren't closely related

4) consists of grandparents and grandchildren

A 2 Most of the families…

1) start with divorce

2) are very large

3) are one-parent families

4) start with marriages

 

A 3 Every masterpiece is…

1) a product of its time

2) born in happiness

3) to be appreciated

4) born in pain

A4 The main unit of social organization is associated with the …

1) nuclear family

2) single-parent family

3) family consisting of many relatives

4) agrarian family

 

A 5 The most important function of the family is…

1) to provide its members with affection and emotional support.

2) to provide its members with education, work, recreation and socialization.

3) to perform economic production, education, religion, and recreation.

4) to be the basic unit of social organization.

 

A 6 Choose the statement which best reflects the content of the text.

1) As to the structure of the family, there are three different family units in the society.

2) The modern family has the same functions as earlier traditional forms.

3) The nuclear family consists of two adults, their children, and other relatives.

4) One of the main functions of the modern family is to provide children with education.

A 7 Select the main idea of the text:

1) The functions of the family, its composition, structure, life cycle and the roles of husbands and wives have been thoroughly studied in all societies.

2) Earlier traditional families usually performed many of the functions which are now performed by specialized institutions, such as education, religion, recreation, etc.

3) All societies have regarded the family as a basic unit of social organization to provide its members with protection, companionship, security, and socialization.

4) In all societies the family as a basic social group must pay particular attention to the emotional support of infants and young children and their socialization.

Part 2.

Read the text.

The Unhappy Man

A London newspaper recently published a case of suicide, in which the reasons that moved the unhappy man to lay violent hands upon himself were found in the shape of a letter in his left boot. In this letter he wrote:

“I married a widow who had a grown-up daughter. My father visited us frequently, fell in love with my step-daughter and married her. Thus my own father became my son-in-law, and my step-daughter, being the wife of my father, became my mother. After some time my wife presented me with a son, - of course, he was my father’s brother-in-law and my uncle, for he was the brother of my step-mother. My father’s wife, that is my step-daughter, had also a son, - of course, he was my brother, but at the same time he was also my grandson, for he was the son of my daughter. My wife was also my grandmother, being the mother of my mother.

I was the husband of my wife, but at the same time also her grandson, and since the husband of my grandmother is naturally also my grandfather, I am my own grandfather.... I should like to see the man who could bear all this.”

2. Are these statements true (1 - True), false (2 - False) or is the information not given (3 – Not Stated)? Circle the correct answer for questions A1 –A 8.

A1   The man was single.

 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 2 His wife had a daughter and a son.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 3 The man fell in love with his step-daughter.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 4 The man’s father had two sons.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 5 His stepdaughter was a widow.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 6 He was a man of fifty, and his wife was a year or two younger.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 7 His stepdaughter had no family of her own.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

 

A 8 The man’s aunt was unmarried.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

3. Fill in the blanks with the words given below:

Widow, wife, stepchildren, fiancé, distance, brother, got engaged, grandparents, widower, name, younger, spinster, get married, cousins, bachelor, close, stepmother, uncle, cousins (х 2).

My... is Tom Smiles. I’m the eldest of all the children. My second... is Jack. The youngest is Michael. My... sister is two years younger than me. Some time ago she …. Her... is Mr. Brown. They are going to... next month.

I have many relatives. My … are dead. But I have a number of... and …relatives: two uncles, four aunts and about a dozen…. One of my... has lost her husband. She is a.... An … of mine has been a... for many years, but he married recently. His … is very kind to his... and treats them as a real mother would do. They love and respect their.... My second aunt has remained unmarried and therefore she is what the English call a... or a single lady. An uncle of mine has also remained single. He is an old....

Part 3.