About my family. Vocabulary

About my family.

I am … and I want to tell you some words about my family. It is neither large nor small. There are four of us: my mother, my father, my sister and me. It is an average Belarusian family.

My mother’s name is  … . She is in her early forties, but I must say she looks young for her age. I like her brown eyes, her soft voice and the way she smiles. I hope we are alike. My mother is patient and warm-hearted. She works as a … and likes her profession very much.

My father, … (full name), is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is 46. I admire my father for his strong character. He is always quiet but there is strength under his quietness. He has bright witty mind and he is also handy with many things, as he can fix almost everything.

My parents have been married for … years. They have much in common, but they have different views on music, books and films. 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 sports. But my parents have the same opinion about my education and upbringing.

My sister … (name) is … (age). She lives with us and helps to run the house. My sister is an accountant for a joint venture company. / She is married and has a family of her own. Her husband is a scientist. They have got twins: a daughter and a son. My nephew is a spitting image of my sister and my niece takes after her father. They are funny and curious and they go to a nursery school.

We have many relatives. My aunts, uncles and cousins live in different parts of Belarus. On holidays they often come to our place. We have a very good time together.

Ex. 1. Find English equivalents in the text.

Ни большой, ни маленький; чуть за сорок; быть похожими друг на друга; опытный; восхищаться; уметь делать руками;  заниматься спортом; воспитание; помогать по дому; совместное предприятие; точная копия; проводить хорошо время; полагаться на кого-либо.

Ex. 2. Find synonyms in the text.

An ordinary, forty odd, skilled (qualified), repair, don’t agree, like, agree, a bookkeeper, resembles, visit.

Ex. 3. Make the following sentences negative and interrogative.

1. It is an average Belarusian family.  2.  My mother is patient and warm-hearted. 3. He likes his profession very much. 4. They have much in common. 5. She lives with us and helps to run the house.

Ex. 4. Answer the questions.

1. Is your family large? 2. Have you got any brothers or sisters? 3. What are your parents?     4. How long have you been married? 5. Do you spend much time with your family? 6. Do you go out with your parents? 7. Who keeps your house? 8. What are your parents’ hobbies? 9. Will you describe your mother and father? 10. Have you got any other relatives?

VOCABULARY

Name: name/first name/Christian name/given name; last name/surname/family name; full name; middle name/patronymic name; maiden name; namesake; nickname; pet name; call; call smb after; change one’s name back.

Age: to be born; birthday; to be sixteen years old/to be a sixteen-year-old boy/to be a man of sixty; nearly fifty; about twenty; twenty odd; in one’s early (late) forties; to be of military age; teenager; to be in one’s teens; to be of age (under age); to age (fast/slow); middle aged person; to be of the same age; to look one’s age; to carry one’s age well; to die (of an illness, for the country); to outlive smb by twenty years; childhood; grown-up; adulthood; OAP-old age pensioner; youth.

Family: husband/wife; mother-in-law/father-in-law; daughter-in-law/son-in-law; to adopt; to bring up/raise; widow/widower; to get widowed; orphan; spinster; bachelor; to be pregnant with fifth child (to carry a child, to expect a baby); to give birth to a child.

Relations: to be related to smb on mother’s/father’s side; relative; distant relative; parents; mother (mum)/father (dad, daddy); cousin; nephew/niece; baby/kid/toddler; baby-sitter; nanny; stepson/stepdaughter; children by first/former marriage; twins; to take after smb; to resemble; to be the image/replica of smb; to inherit smth.

Marriage: date; to date smb/to go out with smb; to make a date; boyfriend/girlfriend; to fall in love with smb (at first sight); to fall out of love; to propose to smb; to be engaged to smb; to break the engagement; fiancé/fiancée; bride/bridegroom; to marry smb (for love); to get married; marriage; marriage certificate; marriage of convenience; illegal marriage; misalliance; wedding; civil marriage; silver/golden wedding; bride’s maids; best man; honeymoon; to divorce; to get a divorce; to file for a divorce; ex-wife/ex-husband.

Ex. 1. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. He was in his late eighties. 2. They were long past forty. 3. He didn’t look his age. 4. Roma was two years my senior. 5. He was seven years her junior. 6. Bob is gone. 7. He had a steady girl-friend at the moment. 8. I don’t have relations on my mother’s side. 9. He had a daughter by his first marriage.   10. Everyone said that Tom was the image of my mother.

Ex. 2. Match the English words and phrases with their Russian equivalents.

Christian name, teenager, twenty odd, look one’s age, come from, native tongue, be good at languages, nickname, be of age, speak broken English, bring up children, widower, old maid, stepmother, call smb after, halfbrother.

Прозвище, назвать чьим-либо именем, достичь совершеннолетия, родом из, говорить на ломаном английском языке, вдовец, мачеха, сводный брат, воспитывать детей, хорошо владеть иностранным языком, выглядеть не старше своих лет, двадцать с лишним, подросток, имя, родной язык, старая дева.

Ex. 3. Give words or phrases for the following definitions.

Your mother’s sister to you; your father’s brother to you; your sister’s son to you; your brother’s daughter to you; your husband’s/wife’s parents to you; your parents’ parents to you; unsuitable marriage; a woman whose husband died; a woman who has never been married; to take a child into one’s family; a man who has never been married; to raise children; to put an end to a marriage by law; man (woman) to whom one is engaged; a circular band (often of gold) given as a symbol of love.