Interview with 17-year-old son David
Interviewer: How do you get on with your parents?
David:I look up to them because I know they've worked hard to bring us up properly.
Interviewer:How strict are your parents?
David:They can be very strict at times, I told my Dad I wanted a motorbike, but he said it was out of the question - it was too dangerous. My mother is strict about keeping things tidy. I can't get out of doing the washing up and things like that, unless I'm very busy.
Interviewer:How do you get on with your sister?
David:I never agree with what she says, so we are always arguing. We've never been very close, but I get on all right with her. I think I'm much closer to my mother.
Interview with Mother
Interviewer:What's it like being a parent?
Mother:Bringing up children is very difficult. You always worry about them. You have to be very patient and put up with a Sot - like noise and even criticism. And you can't always get through to them - sometimes they just won't listen. But the advantages of being a parent outweigh the disadvantages. The main thing is to enjoy your children while they are young because they grow up so quickly nowadays.
Interviewer:How strict are you with your children?
Mother:I suppose I'm reasonably strict. They can't do what they like and get away with it, and I tell them off when they do something wrong.
Interviewer:And what is the secret of being a good parent?
Mother:I think you have to give them confidence and let them know you love them. And you have to set a good example through your own behaviour, otherwise they won't look up to you.
Interviewer:And what do you want for your children in the future?
Mother:I want them to be happy, and I want them to look back on their childhood as a very happy time in their lives.
Exercise 1. Try to work out from the context the meaning of the phrasal verbs in the table below. Then match the verbs in A with the definitions in B.
| 1. to get round someone | a. to respect and admire someone, to have a very good opinion of someone |
| 2. to take after someone | b. to escape being punished for something |
| 3. to tell someone off | с. to think about something that happened in the past |
| 4. to look up to someone | d. to reprimand, to speak severely to someone because they have done something wrong |
| 5. to bring someone up | e. to persuade someone to let you do or have something, usually by flattering them |
| 6. to get out of doing something | f. to raise a child, to look after a child until it is adult and try to give it particular beliefs and attitudes |
| 7. to get through to someone | g. to resemble a member of your family in appearance or character |
| 8. to grow up | h. to avoid having to do something |
| 9. to get away with something | i. to succeed in making someone understand the meaning of what one is saying |
| 10. to look back on something | j. to become adult and mature |
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Exercise 2. Paraphrase the sentences using the phrasal verbs.
1. I have always admired and respected my father.
2. The little boy said he wanted to be a train driver when he was older.
3. She's very similar to her mother- they are both very intelligent.
4. I often think about my childhood.
5. I can't make her listen to me or understand what I'm trying to say.
6. When her mother died, she was raised by her aunt.
7. How can we avoid going to my brother's party?
8. He was not punished for using bad language at home.
9. At first her father wouldn't let her go to the all-night party, but in the end she persuaded him to let her go.
10. She reprimanded him for breaking the window.
Exercise 3. Fill in the gaps below.
a) to dis / approve … someone / something
b) to confide … someone
c) to rely … someone
d) to compare … someone / something … someone / something
e) to dis/agree … someone / something
f) to argue… someone … something
g) to worry … someone / something
h) to listen … someone / something
Exercise 4.
A. What do you think the following idiomatic expressions mean?
1. to see eye to eye (with someone) (on something)
2. to have/to get one’s own way
3. to be close to someone
4. to be the black sheep of the family
5. to take someone’s side
B. Now decide which expressions you could use in the sentences below.
1. The problem is that her parents never stop her doing anything that she wants to do. She's become a very spoilt child as a result.
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2. My family is very ashamed of my brother and never talk about him. He was expelled from school and has been in prison twice.
3. Whenever I had an argument with my mother or father, I could always rely on my grandparents to support me.
4. My father and I usually agree about most things, but when it comes to politics we have completely different views.
5. I can talk to my sister about my problems because I know she will understand me and share my feelings.
Text 12
American family
Most of American families consist of a mother, a father and three or four children living at home. There may be relatives – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws in the same community, but they usually maintain separate households. Occasionally an aging grandparent may live with the family, but it's not considered desirable.
Marriage in the US is considered a matter of individual responsibility and decision. It is preceded by dating, that is, young men and women are going out together.
After their marriage the young couple is free to decide where to live and when to start a family. They plan the number of children and the practice of limiting the size of families has general approval. The birth rate has been declining steadily in recent years.
If the couple finds their marriage was a mistake, they are free to get a divorce.
In the American family the husband and the wife usually share important decision making. When the children are old enough, they participate as well. Young people are expected to break away from their parental families by the time they have reached their late teens or early twenties. Indeed, not to do so is often regarded as a failure, a kind of weak dependence.
This pattern of independence often results in serious problems for the aging parents. Elderly couples feel useless and lonely.
There are some problems concerning equality of men and women. Many members of the women's liberation movement believe that equality of men and women requires changing the traditional roles of women and men in the home. They say that men should take on some of the responsibilities of child care and household work. They believe that men should perform some of the home-making duties that women have traditionally performed.
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