III. Read the text. Explain and memorize the words in bold.

The American Family

Most American families consist of a mother, a father and two or three children living in a house. There may be relatives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws in the same community, but American families usually maintain separate households. This familial structure is known as the “nuclear family”. It is unusual for members of the family other than the husband, wife and children to live together. Occasionally an aging grandparent may live with the family, but it is usually not considered desirable. Although the nuclear family unit is economically independent of the rest of the family, members of the whole family group often maintain close kinship ties. Visiting between parents and their married children and between married sisters and brothers is frequent when they live close to each other. If they live in different communities, they keep in touch by writing letters and by telephone.

In the American family the husband and wife usually share important decision making. When the children are old enough, they participate as well. Foreign observers are frequently amazed by the permissiveness of American parents. The old rule that “children should be seen and not heard” is rarely followed, and children are often allowed to do what they wish without strict parental control. Some people believe that American parents carry this freedom too far. Young people are expected to break away from their parental families by the time they have reached their late teens or early twenties.

This pattern of independence often results in serious problems for the aging parents of a nuclear family. The job-retirement age is usually 65. The children have left home, married, and set up their own households. Elderly couples feel useless and lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family group. Many communities and church groups sponsor social centers for “ senior citizens”. At these centers older men and women can make friends and participate in a variety of planned activities, including games, trips, lectures, and discussion groups. These programmes may help some old people, but they don’t provide the complete solution to the problems of old age. 

 

 

IV. Read the text

 

       Long ago (like 1960), the rhythm of the average American housewife's life was fairly standard no matter where you went. Each day had its own task, and so the work got done in a logical, orderly fashion as the week progressed. It went like this:

Monday: Wash Day

Tuesday: Ironing Day

Wednesday: Sewing Day

Thursday: Market Day

Friday: Cleaning Day

Saturday: Baking Day

Sunday: Day of Rest

       With a few variations (some folks had a gardening day instead of a separate ironing day, or the days were not quite in this order), this is the way everyone kept house for more than a hundred years.

       There was logic behind this. Laundry was far and away the heaviest task a housewife faced, requiring a great deal of strength and fortitude to hand-wring clothes and carry big baskets of wet laundry to the clothesline from the basement washtubs. Monday was the day to do it, when you were still fresh and rested from Sunday. Tuesday's ironing followed Monday's wash. Mending and sewing on Wednesday made sense when you'd just been through the clothes and noticed what needed a button or a patch. And so on.

V. Read the text. Explain and memorize the words in bold.

Domestic Chores

 

For centuries domestic work has been women’s domain. Practically housework has been always done by women. Women cooked, peeled vegetables and cut meat to make dinner. Women had to stand for hours near the stove stirring the contents of the pans. Men came home, and ate all the food, leaving piles of dirty dishes.

After a good meal women had to clear away the table and wash up. Washing up is, actually, one of the most hateful domestic chores. Scraping the scraps of solid food from the dishes and then monotonously rubbing them with a soapy sponge will bore anyone. Plates can be put on a dish-drainer, but glassware and crockery should be dried with a tea-towel. Otherwise there remain spots on them. Time to waste.

To do something with this evil in the course of time men invented food-processors, microwave ovens and dishwashing machines. Of course, they are nice things, especially the last two. Food-processors are not bad either, but if a woman doesn’t need big amounts of cut vegetables or freshly squeezed juice, a food processor doesn’t save time at all. It takes too much time first to adjust it and then to wash it.

Women have forever washed piles of linen. Hand washing left them exhausted and ruined their hands, because they has to pour out hot water into the basin and wash, then rinse the laundry in cold water. Delicate hands couldn’t stand the procedure. Men invented automatic washing machines. This is a real labour-saving device until you use a wrong detergent and it gets broken. And anyway, it can spin-dry the laundry, but can’t hand it out and iron it. Women iron the linen on ironing boards as they always have done.

Women have always tidied up the house, its cleanliness being a law. They swept up the dirt, watered the pot plants, and washed the floors, dirty with foot-marks because little children forgot to wipe their feet. They dusted the furniture and put things in their places. Floor-mops and wet cloths in their turn ruined the delicate hands. Lifting heavy buckets with water and shifting the furniture gave them backaches. Men invented vacuum-cleaners. These can only vacuum, but can’t do a thorough cleaning.

Men try somehow to help women. Drilling walls, driving in nails, and doing all kinds of repairs are specifically men’s duties. And still neither electrical appliances, nor men’s help can substitute for women’s hands. Without a housewife a home becomes forlorn. A story told once by one efficient housewife is quite remarkable in this way.

She went on a business trip for a month and her husband had to run the house himself. On her return she saw her house in a mess: all the things were scattered around, the carpet was stained and there was a thick layer of dust on the shelves. The kitchen was the worst: dirty dishes in a filthy sink, potato peelings and banana skins on the kitchen table, the kitchen floor smeared with some sticky stuff in one corner and littered with some scraps in the other, and a dustbin full of rubbish. He husband, happy that the wife had come back, said proudly, ‘I have cleaned everything. Have you noticed?’

 

VI. Read the text.

       Don't ask your spouse for help around the house. Asking for help gives the impression that the household chores are only your job and responsibility. Instead, ask your spouse to do his/her share. Chores around the house should be shared responsibilities.

       Set your priorities as a couple. What is truly important to each of you? Discuss how you both feel about home cooked meals versus quick meals or eating out now and then. Find out your feelings about dusting, cleaning the toilet, making the bed, mowing the lawn, paying bills, etc.

Sit down together and make a list of the chores that each of you absolutely hates to do. What one hates, the other may be able to tolerate. If both of you detest the same chore, then figure out a way to compromise in getting this particular unpleasant task done. Or perhaps you could tackle the horrid chore together, as a team. You could also find some money in your budget to hire someone to do that task.

       It is important, too, to be considerate of one another's body clocks. Some folks are morning people and some folks are night owls. Forcing one another to do a project or chore when they really aren't ready to do it only creates tension. Timing is important. So is sharing expectations.

       Let one another know what the coming week is going to be like. Meetings, special occasions, things that need to be done, etc. Then decide who is going to do what, make a list, post the list, and then let it go. Don't nag one another about what he/she volunteered to do. Some people dawdle more than others. If the task hasn't been done by the following week, when you next sit down to share expectations, that's the time to bring it up and talk about the undone chore or task.

       If one of you doesn't follow through on promises to do his/her share of the work around your home, try and discover together why there is such reluctance. Some husbands may view household chores as woman's work and not manly. Blaming your spouse for what hasn't been accomplished or finished is just wasting energy.

       Don't nag. Keep lists of chores written and posted if this is an issue in your home. After a while, the written lists probably won't be necessary.

       Be flexible and allow your spouse to accomplish a task in his/her own way. If having the towels folded a certain way is super important to you, then you fold the towels.

Many couples find they look at the division of chores differently. Domestic disorder simply doesn't bother some people. If talking it over with your spouse doesn't improve the situation, then do what many people do. Hire someone else to do it.

       If after discussing the situation, your mate absolutely refuses to share equally inhousehold chores, and you're tired of carrying the load yourself, then you have some choices to make. Bottom line, you can't change your spouse. You can hire some outside help, or you can quit doing some tasks that you don't want to do any more. The roof won't fall in just because you don't cook a 3-course meal every night, or you don't clean the bathroom on a daily basis.

        Look at some areas of your house and yard that you may want to cut back on to save both time and money. Try to get your home organized so it runs more efficiently. Ask yourself if some chores even have to be done on a regular basis. For instance, I'm a firm believer that if you don't stick to the kitchen floor, it doesn't need scrubbing. If mowing the lawn is taking too much time, sprinkle wildflower seeds out there and let nature do her thing. If you hate ironing, give the clothes away that need ironing and toss the iron. Do the windows have to always sparkle? With this type of downsizing, and an examination of your standard of housekeeping, your domestic chores may become less draining emotionally and physically.

 

V. Read the text. Explain and memorize the words in bold.

       It all starts with a proposal. Traditionally the man goes down on one knee to pop the question. If he receives a "yes", the couple are engaged. It is customary for the man to buy his fiancee an engagement ring, most commonly a diamond ring. Engagements can last for years, and if neither of the couple breaks off the engagement, the next step is marriage.

       Most weddings in the UK take the form of either a civil ceremony (conducted at the Registry Office) or a traditional white wedding, held in a church. (There are other ceremonies for different religions.) If the couple chooses a church service, the planning can become quite complex. The church must be booked, the service has to be chosen, flowers arranged and so on. Other arrangements (for both traditional and civil) are to draw up a guest list, send out invitations, book a reception venue (for after the ceremony), choose bridesmaids (the girls who traditionally accompany the bride in the church) and the best man (the bridegroom's friend who accompanies him to the ceremony), buy the wedding dress, arrange a honeymoon (the holiday after the wedding), compile a wedding list (a list of presents that guests can choose to buy the couple) and of course, to select the wedding ring (s).

                   The groom and best man arrive at the church first, and then the guests arrive. Last to arrive is the bride, normally dressed in a long white wedding dress with a train (material from the dress that covers the floor behind her), her face covered in a veil, carrying a bouquet of flowers, and accompanied by a couple of bridesmaids in matching dresses. Usually the bride's father walks her down the aisle until they reach the priest / vicar at the altar. The church organ plays the Wedding March, and the guests rise to their feet to watch the procession. Once they reach the altar, the bride stands with the groom, and the service begins. The service lasts for about half an hour, and contains readings (extracts from the Bible) and a couple of hymns (religious songs). The priest always asks if there are any objections to the marriage (someone can speak or forever hold their peace = never have the opportunity again to object), and at the end of the service, the couple exchange rings and are proclaimed “man and wife”. At that point, the groom is allowed to kiss his wife. The guests leave and the couple then sign the marriage register. When they come out of the church, the guests often throw confetti (small pieces of coloured paper), and the photographer takes various formal photographs.

       Next in the big day is the reception, which is often a formal lunch in a hotel. After lunch there are various speeches. The bride's father normally gives a speech, then the best man gives a speech (which is often a funny speech designed to embarrass the groom), and the bridegroom and / or the bride give a short speech to thank their guests

Some couples also arrange an evening reception, and hire a disco or band to play music for their friends.

       At the end of the day, the happy couple traditionally leave on honeymoon.

 

VI. Read the text. Explain and memorize the words in bold.

 

       The Russian wedding usually lasts for 2 days. The bridegroom and the bride have their family and friends with them. The bridegroom's company meets at the bridegroom's place and the bride's company meets at the bride's place. The bridegroom comes to pick up the bride and they go to the registry office where the official ceremony takes place. Usually it is only the immediate family and closest friends who accompany them. The rest of the guests join at the reception. The best friends of the bridegroom and bride usually act as their " witnesses ".

       The bridegroom and the bride go in the same train but in different cars. All cars are decorated with ribbons and balloons, often the bride's car has a doll on the bonnet, or two golden rings on top of the car (one bigger and one smaller), or both. Two crossed golden rings are a symbol of marriage that may also be seen on wedding invitations.

       At the registry office the bridegroom and bride will be asked if they want to marry each other, and they are supposed to answer "Yes", then they exchange the wedding rings, then they kiss each other, then they sign in the registry, then the witnesses sign. The official representative of the registry office says a few words of greeting, and then the official hymn of the marriage ceremony is played – the march of Mendelssohn. The guests who are present give flowers to the bride, and drink a bottle of Champagne.

       Nowadays many couples opt for a marriage in church but church marriages still do not have official status in Russia, and the church requires a civil marriage certificate to arrange the ceremony for the couple.

       After the marriage ceremony the couple leaves the guests for a tour around the city. Usually it is only the couple and the witnesses in one car but sometimes it may be two cars and the closest friends. The couple visits memorials to people who died in the Second World War and lays flowers there.

       After 2 or 3 hours of the city tour the couple arrives at the reception. The first thing to start the reception with is a toast. The first toast is to the new couple. One of the witnesses proposes the first toast, and then the parents have their say. For the first toast people usually drink champagne, and after the first sip somebody says "Gor'ko!" ("Bitter!"); it means the wine is bitter. All guests together start to shout "Gor'ko! Gor'ko!" To make the wine sweet, the newlyweds must kiss each other. They must stand up and kiss each other for as long as possible, and all the guests start counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." while they are kissing. This happens after almost every toast, so the couple has lots of kissing during the wedding.

       Usually when a person proposes the toast, he gives his gift to the newlyweds. Traditionally money is considered to be the best gift, and is given in an envelope. Then people have time to dance.

       On the following day the party is given at the place where the newlyweds are going to live. It starts in the morning or early afternoon. The couple wears different clothes but it must be something new bought specially for the occasion. The number of guests on the second day is smaller; actually anyone from day one can attend the party but it is usually only the closest friends and members of the family that do.

 

TOPICAL VOCABULARY                                                                             (* optional words)

 

1. adolescence 2. adult 3. alarm goes off 4. altar* 5. artist 6. aunt 7. be born 8. beautician* 9. behave 10. bride 11. bridesmaid 12. builder 13. campus 14. catch the bus/train 15. childhood 16. clubbing 17. cook 18. couch potato 19. cut the grass 20. date smb 21. dentist 22. develop 23. doctor 24. dormitory 25. do one’s homework 26. do the cleaning 27. do the ironing 28. do the shopping 29. do the vacuuming 30. do the washing 31. do the washing-up 32. driver 33. dust the furniture 34. early twenties 35. electrician 36. empty the dishwasher 37. empty the rubbish 38. engineer 39. expect a child 40. fall asleep 41. fall in/out of love 42. feed pets 43. flirt with smb 44. freedom 45. gardener 46. get dressed 47. get pregnant* 48. get up/get out of bed 49. give birth to a child 50.  go/come home

51. go shopping 52. go to bed/go to sleep 53. go to/come back from school/work 54. go to the cinema (movies)/theatre 55. go to the gym 56. go out with smb 57. great-aunt 58. great-grandmother 59. great-great-grandfather 60. grow up 61. groom 62. hairdresser* 63. half-brother 64. have a baby 65. have a bath/shower 66. have breakfast/lunch/dinner 67. have classes 68. hen night * 69. hit snooze* 70. honeymoon 71. household chores 72. keep fit 73. lad * 74. late twenties 75. laundry 76. lawyer 77. listening to music 78. lose weight 79. make the bed 80. married 81. mead * 82. mid-twenties 83. misfortune 84. mop the floor 85. move 86. nationality 87. nephew 88. niece 89. nuclear family * 90. nurse 91. pageboy * 92. parental consent 93. play tennis /football/basketball 94. play the piano/the guitar/the drums 95. play (video) games 96. policeman 97. polish furniture

98. propose 99. raise a family 100. receptionist * 101. relative 102. retire 103. rollerblading * 104. sales assistant 105. secretary 106. see smb 107. separate 108. settle down 109. share a room 110. siblings 111. single 112. single-parent/one-parent family 113. skateboarding 114. skiing/skating 115. snowboarding 116. spell 117. split up 118. spouse 119. squat * 120. stag party * 121. step-mother 122. step-sister 123. stuntman * 124. surf the Internet 125. surname 126. sweep the floor 127. switch on/off 128. take the dog for a walk 129. teacher 130. threshold * 131. throw out the garbage 132. tidy up 133. tragedy 134. trend 135. turn on/off the light 136. uncle 137. vacuum the floor 138. wake up 139. wash the clothes 140. wash the dishes 141. watch TV 142. water the flowers 143. wedding 144. wedding cake/ ring/ vows/ ceremony 145. widow

RELATED READING II

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