VOCABULARY PRACTICE
Exercise 1.
a) Read and say which of these activities may unite the people in the family and make them a friendly, strong unit and which do not unite them. Explain your answers.
· Discussing all the family plans together.
· Going on trips (hikes) together.
· Visiting museums, theatres, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them.
· Showing no interest in what the others like.
· Helping each other in everything.
· Sharing the same joys and troubles.
· Remaining indifferent to what happens to the others.
b) Say what can unite the members of a family.
Exercise 2. Choose 5 things you think are important in family relationships and make a list of 5 things that should not exist in family relationships:
consideration for others
tenderness
indifference
impatience
selfishness
attention
warm-heartedness
patience
unfriendliness
respect
understanding
hypocrisy
rudeness
insincerity
love
tolerance
Exercise 3. Work in pairs. Exchange opinions with your classmate about what you appreciate in family relationships. Discuss these questions:
1. What relations must exist in every family to make it a unit of friendly and loving people?
2. Why is it important to think of the others in the family? Can you hurt people if you are selfish, inattentive and insincere?
3. How can you show love, kind-heartedness, tenderness and attention in everyday life?
Exercise 4.
There are different opinions in families and between parents in the same family on how children should be treated when they disobey their parents and when they break the rules accepted in the family, do forbidden things, do not keep their word or promises, and thus cause a lot of trouble.
Some people are sure that parents should be patient with their children, always kind and understanding. They believe that kindness, understanding and patience are the only ways to bring up children and to make them understand what wrong things they have done. The rules and the children's behaviour are discussed in the family.
Others believe that children ought to obey their parents and if they do not, they should be punished. The rules in these families are as follows: "Do as I say", "Do as you think is right."
Which side would you take? Express your point of view on the problem.
Exercise 5. Answer the following questions about your family:
1. What are the occupations of all the members in your family? Which members of the household work? Who attends school?
2. Who does the household repairs? Who prepares meals? Who keeps the house? What responsibilities does each member in the family have?
3. When does your family have time to talk things over? During meals? In the evening? What topics and problems are usually discussed in your family?
4. Do all the members of your family get along with each other? Do you argue or tease one another?
5. What terms are you all on? What is the attitude of your parents to you and yours to them?