UNIT 1: FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

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1. A TV FAMILY
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VOCABULARY PRACTICE
1.Combine these words and part-words to form at least ten more family words.

best mother brother nephew second

in-law man ex- step- single
sister child father son cousin
half- parent daughter aunt husband
niece first uncle grand twin
wife only bride groom god
fiancé fiancée

2.Use as many of the words as you can to describe your own family relationships.

3. Put brackets around the family members you live with

• Underline the relatives that live nearest.
• Cross out the relatives you see least.
• Circle the relatives you see more frequently.
• Put an asterisk by the oldest relative and two asterisks by the youngest.
• Mark the relative you get along with the best.

READING AND SPEAKING PRACTICE

AN AMERICAN TV FAMILY

The American series Pacific Heights is set in Pacific Heights, California. Max Dalton and Phil
Turner, his son-in-law, run a large cosmetics corporation, DCC, which has been in the family for
over 150 years. Max became managing director of Dalton Cosmetics Corporation five years ago
when his father died and soon afterwards took Phil on as his junior partner. Together they have
transformed DCC from a small family business into a successful multinational company.
Max’s second wife, Sarah, is a dynamic woman in her early fifties who runs her own business.
Max has two daughters by his first marriage. There’s a big age gap between them: Penny is in her

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 late thirties and Lou is just 21. The two girls both take after their mother with their blonde hair and
blue eyes.
As well as a daughter called Amy, Sarah has two sons from a previous marriage. Dave, 28,
and his 27-year-old brother, Daniel, look alike with their brown hair and dark brown eyes. Dave
works as a sales manager for a computer company and is married to Claire. Daniel works as a sound
engineer for a recording company and recently got engaged to Annick, whose father runs a French
distribution company which is about to sign an important contract with DCC. Daniel met the
beautiful young Frenchwoman soon after his ex-girlfriend, Katy, had left him for John, Daniel’s
best friend. At the time, Daniel was heartbroken.
Katy and Annick are both in their mid twenties, but they are very different. Annick is
classically beautiful with her long thick dark hair and fine Mediterranean features. Katy’s got long
blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a flirtatious smile. She works as a set manager for a film
company, while Annick works for her father’s company.
Edith, Max’s mother, holds the whole family together. At the age of 78 she is still very active
and everybody confides in her when they have a problem.
TV Gazette
4.Refer to the text and answer each of the following questions with one name:
• Who is Penny’s grandmother?
• Who is Max’s son-in-law?
• Who is Max’s youngest step-son?
• Who is Daniel ex-girlfriend?
• Who is Max and Sarah’s future daughter-in-law?
• Who are Edith’s grandchildren?

5. Read these children’s definitions of a mother and choose the one you like best:
o A mum is a person who cares for you and tucks you in at night. When you’ve made a
mistake she says it’s all right. (Jan, age 13)
o Mothers are people who sit up worrying about you and when you come home they
yell at you. ( Gary, age 13)
o A mum is a woman who says “go to bed’ and when she says that, you stay very quiet
and she forgets about you.(Aishling, age 9)
o A mother is a superwoman who can be in two places at once. (Judy, age 10)
o A mum is a person who cries when you do something bad, and cries even harder
when you do something good.(Robin, age 14)

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 o A mum is someone who always knows when there is something wrong even if you
don’t tell her.(Lisa, age 14)
o Mothers are people who are angry when you’re at home and sad when you’re away.
(Vinay, age 12)

6. Read this passage. What sort of father does Beverly have?

What are dads for?

In the home a dad is very important. He is the person who provides us with money to feed and
clothe ourselves. He can decorate your bedroom, mend your radio, make cages for your pets, repair
a puncture in your bicycle tyre and help you with your maths homework. A dad can be very useful
for taking you in the car to and from parties, music lessons, and dancing lessons. A dad is the
person whom you ask for pocket money. He is the one who complains about the time you spend
talking on the telephone, as he has to pay the bills. Dad is someone who will support you in an
argument, if he believes you to be right. He is someone who reads your school report, and treats you
if it is good. A dad likes to come into a nice happy home in the evening, and settle back in his chair
with a newspaper. He likes to recall his National Service days…
(Beverly, Age 13)

7. In your opinion, what are the roles of a father or a mother? Make a list of the things they
should do. Do you think these roles should be different?

8. Explain the meaning of these words:

aunt; uncle; cousin; grandfather; grandmother.
Example: aunt – my mother’s sister or my father’s sister

9. Look at the following words and discuss:

1. the meaning of each one
2. the significance of each one when people get married
a wedding; a registry office; a church; the aisle; a vicar; the bridesmaids; the ring; the reception;
the organist; the choir; a bouquet; a veil; a honeymoon.
10. Translate into English:
1.Familia lor este foarte numeroasă. 2. Familia ei locuieşte în Bucuresti; unde locuieşte a ta?
3.Fratele ei mai mare este student în anul I. 4. Inelul lui de logodnă este aici; unde este al tău? 5.
Această tânără este fata cumnatului nostru şi nepoata mea. 6.Acestea sunt darurile de nuntă pe care
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 le primesc tinerii căsătoriţi de la bunica lor. 7.Aceste verighete sunt pentru nunta lor de argint. 8.
Cumpăr florile acestea pentru soacra mea, este ziua ei de naştere. 9. Dacă mama ei se căsătoreşte cu
tatăl lui, ei devin fraţi vitregi. 10. Cum îl cheamă pe logodnicul ei?

2. STEREOTYPES

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
1.Read and explain the following words:
shopping cooking washing-up/cleaning up driving ironing family accounts
cleaning vacuuming make decisions keep in touch make up one’s mind
Thanksgiving dinner turkey pie miss dish

2.According to an article in the Daily Mail, these are some of the things you’ll never hear men
say:
♦ Let’s ask that woman for directions.
♦ Hi, Mum, I just rang for a chat.
♦ Where’s the toilet cleaner?
And these are some of the things you’ll never hear women say:
♦ Would you please stop sending me flowers? It’s embarrassing.
♦ Do you think I’d look better if I put on a few kilos?
♦ I’ve just killed that enormous spider In the bath.
Do you / don’t you agree? Why?

3.Do or make? Complete these expressions using one verb for all the expressions in Column
A and one verb for all the expressions in Column B:
A B
…the shopping …the beds
…the cooking …dinner when there are guests
…the washing up …an effort to keep in touch
…the important decisions with family and friends
…the odd jobs around the house …family appointments to see
…most of the driving doctors or teachers
…arrangements for baby-sitters …the biggest mess in the
…the washing kitchen

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 …the ironing …the longest phone calls
…the family accounts …the most noise
…the vacuuming

4. What kinds of stereotypes of men and women could you make ? If you are a woman,
complete the sentences in column A; if you are a man, complete the sentences in Column B:
A B
Men are good at…
Men like…
Men never…
Men aren’t very good at…
The best thing about being a man
is…
The worst thing about being a man
is…
- women are good at…
- women like…
- women aren’t very good at…
- women never…
- the best thing about being a
woman is…
-the worst thing about being a
woman is…

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 5. Think of your own family. Who makes / does things in it?
For example:
My mother does the shopping and cooking, but we take it in turns to do the
cleaning-up.
We make all the important decisions together.

READING AND WRITING PRACTICE

THANKSGIVING PLANS

Americans celebrate this holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.

Jane: Today’s November fifteenth. It’s almost time for Thanksgiving.
Richard: What are your plans for Thanksgiving Day?
Jane: The same as usual. My aunts and uncles and cousins come to our house for
dinner.
Richard: Do you cook the turkey?
Jane: My mother cooks it. But I prepare the vegetables. My aunts usually bring the
pies.
Richard: My father and I go to my married sister’s every year. When my mother was
alive, the whole family came to our house. The women cooked the meal, and the men
washed the dishes.
Jane: In our family the kids wash the dishes. The whole thing is a lot of work.
Richard: Yes, but I like Thanksgiving. I was out of the country last year, and I really
missed it. That’s one time in the year when families get together.

1. Complete the following sentences with one of the words below:

turkey, alive, country, bring, meat, miss, out of, cousins, wash, prepare, dinner.
Jane’s aunts and uncles and … always come to her house for Thanksgiving …
Richard was … country last year.
Jane’s aunts usually … the pies.

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 After dinner the kids always… the dishes.
Richard really … Thanksgiving when he was out of the … .
When Richard’s mother was …the whole family came to their house.
Jane’s mother cooked the … , and Jane … the vegetables.
Turkey is a kind of … .

2. Answer the following questions using complete answers:

When is Thanksgiving?
How does Richard usually spend Thanksgiving?
What are Jane’s plans for Thanksgiving day?
Why does Richard like this day?
What does the Thanksgiving meal consist of?

3. Read the following article and decide what you think is the most appropriate
title:
a. Twins reunited after a lifetime apart.
b. Twin sisters trapped in a single mind.
c. Bringing up twins – the parents’ story.

At first it’s hard to believe. They speak in unison, walk in step, dress identically to
the last button and match each other mouthful for mouthful at the dinner table. But this is
no trick with mirrors. This is everyday East London where everyone knows Greta and
Freda Chaplin, the identical twins.
The twins do everything together. Whether they are out shopping or doing the
housework they mirror each other’s actions and mannerisms down to the finest detail.
They do everything at the same time – clean their teeth, eat, drink; if they’re having fish
and chips, they will pick a chip up at the same time. To vacuum the floor both twins
grasp the handle of the hoover at the same time and they guide it slowly around the carpet
together. When they make tea, both their hands are on the bottle as they pour the milk.
Listening to them talk is like hearing one person with a slight echo a split second later.
They have two black coats, but one came with green buttons and one black. They

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 swapped the buttons around so that each twin has two green and two black buttons on
each coat. The sisters themselves say that they feel like one person not two. Sometimes
it’s almost as though they inhabit the same mind.
The sisters, now 48, live in a flat in Hackney, East London. They are a familiar sight
in the area, where they are often seen out shopping together in their long clothes and
waist-length hair. Some people are frightened of their strange telepathic bond, other laugh
at them. The twins realize this and don’t like it, so they avoid crowds.
Little is known about the childhood of the sisters, ecept that they grew up on a
housing estate in York. From babies their mother treated them as one and encouraged
their dependence on each other. Everything in their life was identical down to the twin
dolls they played with. “She told us always to stick to each other”, say Freda and Greta in
unison. “She said when you go to the shops always ask for two of something and if
they’ve only got one, don’t take it.”
As one of their few friends remark, “they do have different personalities, although
they won’t admit it. Greta is the softer, more sensible one. Freda is the one who tends to
dominate her sister and lose her temper more quickly. In the last few years they have
become quieter and much more intelligent company. All they want is love, friendship and
understanding, which they never had.”
Dr. Elisabeth Bryan, Director of the Multiple Births Foundation says: “These two are
an extreme case, but I’m quite sure there is often telepathy between twins. If you shared
the womb and your life together, there is bound to be.”
Having dealt with more than 3,000 sets of twins, she says: “My concern is to help
parents with the emotional stress of having two babies or more at the same time. The
mother of Freda and Greta Chaplin tried to bring them up as a single child and didn’t give
them the chance ever to be separated. So they never had the opportunity to develop as
individuals.”

4. Read the article again and decide if the following statements are True or False.
- Greta and Freda live in England.
- They speak nearly at the same time.
- They feel the need to look exactly the same.

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 - Local people are generally very kind and supportive towards the twins.
- Their mother tried to help them grow up with their own identities.
- They have different characters.
- Dr. Bryan isn’t surprised by the idea of telepathy between Greta and Freda.
- Dr. Bryan is concerned with the psychological aspects of multiple births.

5. Find words or phrases in the text you have just read with the following
meanings:
• at the same time
• to hold tightly
• a very short time
• to exchange
• part of your body, above your hips.
• to agree that something is true
• to become angry suddenly
• part of a woman’s body where a baby develops before it is born.
• certain, sure
• anxiety, pressure

6. Explain the meaning of the following phrasal verbs:

1. to grow up
2. to bring (someone) up
3. to look after
4. to get on (with someone)
5. to look up to (someone)
6. to take after (someone)
7. to get up to (something)
8. to tell (someone) off

7. Use the phrasal verbs above in sentences of your own, or to describe yourself and
your family situation.

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