Part a text. An English family

The Cornfords live in Rugby at 28 Coronation Street. John Cornford is a rich businessman of about fifty. He's tall and dark. He wears dark suits but at weekends he wears casual clothes. He usually gets up at six, does some exercises and goes to the office. He never gets back before ten o'clock at night, so he doesn't see much of his family. He is interested in collecting

pictures of horses. At the moment he is travelling on business in America because he's opening an office over there next year.

Sarah, Mr Cornford's wife, is forty-five. She is an attractive woman with blond hair and soft blue eyes. She is kind and gentle, very practical and full of common sense. Sarah is a house­wife. She looks after the house and the family.

The Cornfords have two children: a son and a daughter. Their son's name is Steve. He is 22. He is a clever young man. He works at a design office. He is a very outdoor person — he is a keen sailor and a member of the local yacht club. When he has a chance Steve and his friends get down to the coast for the weekend, camping there and sailing in competitions. He plays football sometimes for a Rugby team, but prefers watching the game, either on television or at the local ground where he goes with his father sometimes.

Steve has a number of close friends and a beautiful girl­friend, Pauline, by name. Pauline studies at a teacher's training college. Steve and Pauline often go out for the evening to the cinema or else they go skating at the Rugby skating rink. Pauline is a very good skater and she is trying to teach Steve how to skate well. Both Steve and Pauline are very friendly and sociable. Sometimes Steve takes Pauline to a pub where they meet some of their friends and sit and chat for an hour or so and sometimes they go dancing at the Mecca Ballroom. Steve is very fond of Pauline. They are going to get married in a year.

Steve's sister, Alice, is a lovely, quiet, serious girl. She goes to grammar school. She is a bright girl and does very well at school. Alice reads a lot, she is fond of music. She is good at draw­ing. She takes lessons in drawing at the local art school.

Sarah's mother, Grandma, as the children call her, also lives with them. She is in her late sixties. Her kind face is wrinkled, her hair is grey, but she is still quite young in spirit. She likes reading and gardening and she often goes for long walks. She's a very active person. Either she's making something or mending something or doing something to entertain herself. She's extremely generous, but not very tolerant with the people who don't agree with her.

Comprehension

/. Listen to the text "An English Family" and answer the questions:

Is the Cornford family large? How many are they? Where do they live?

//. Listen to the text again and answer more detailed questions:

What does Mr. Cornford do? What does he look like? What is he interested in? What is he doing in America at the moment? What is Mrs Cornford like? What does she do? How old is Steve? What's his job? Is Steve married? Do Steve and Pauline often go out? What is Alice like? What is she fond of? How old is Sarah's mother? What does she look like? What kind of woman is she?

///. Read the text and analyse the language peculiarities of the text. Do some exercises in the next section to remember them.

Special Difficulties

/. Paraphrase using:

a) be interested in

e.g. Betty is fond of tennis.

Betty is interested in tennis.

1. I am fond of classical music. 2. Roger is fond of fishing. 3. Are you fond of gardening? 4. Mike isn't fond ofchess. 5. Betty isn't fond of detectives. 6. Jack is fond of history. 7. Is your daughter fond of reading? 8. My father isn't fond of travelling. 9. Are you fond of collecting coins?

b) be good at

e.g. Mike can skate well.

Mike is good at skating.

1. Robert plays chess very well. 2. Mary can swim well. 3. Do you cook well? 4. Does Jane know Spanish well? 5. Mike can draw well. 6. Does Betty play tennis well? 7. Does Peter know maths well? 8. Can you ski well?

c) full of

e.g. There are a lot of books on Mr West's shelves.

Mr West's shelves are full of books.

1. There is a lot of wine in the bottle. 2. There are a lot of apples in the basket. 3. There's a lot of milk in the jug. 4. There are a lot of oranges in the bag. 5. There's a lot of tea in the box.

d) the gerund

e.g. I like to play tennis. I like playing tennis.

1. Jane likes to shop. 2. Mary likes to knit. 3. I prefer to travel by train. 4. She likes to swim. 5. Jim likes to drive a car. 6. Victor prefers to rest in the south. 7. My brother likes to fish. 8. Helen prefers to collect stamps. 9. Jack likes to play cards. 10. John pre­fers to watch football on television.

//. Respond to the following statements. Use:

a) either or

e.g. — When are you going to the country?

— Either on Saturday or on Sunday.

1. When are you going to have your English exam? 2. When does the meeting start? 3. Who is going to do this work? 4. Where are the Pavlovs going to spend their holidays? 5. Who is going to help her? 6. When does the shop open?

b) the infinitive

e.g. — Will you please type this letter for me?

— I'm sorry but I don't know how do type.

1. Will you please repair the iron? 2. Will you please polish the floor? 3. Will you please start the engine? 4. Will you please drive the car? 5. Will you please switch on the TV set?

c) a lot

e.g. — Betty doesn't read much. And Mike?

Mike reads a lot.

1. Jane doesn't swim much. And her sister? 2. Helen doesn't skate much. And Alice? 3. John doesn't drive much. And his father? 4. We don't work hard. And you? 5. Mike doesn't earn much. And Nick? 6. Mr. Robinson doesn't travel much. And his son?

///. Change the position of "both" in the sentences:

e.g. Both (of) the boys are going to swim.

The boys are both going to swim.

1. Both the sisters are pretty. 2. Both the boys are fond of tennis. 3. The friends are both going to the country. 4. The brothers are both interested in fishing. 5. Both the bottles are empty. 6. The women are both wearing hats. 7. Both the glasses are full of wine. 8. The children are both in the country now.

IV. Combine two sentences into one. Use:

a) Both... and

e.g. — Jack likes football. His brother also likes football.

— Both Jack and his brother like football.

1. Mary is going to come to the party. Her sister is also going to come. 2. Jack wants to go fishing. His father also wants to go fishing. 3. Mary travels a lot. Jane also travels much. 4. Jack speaks French. His friend also speaks French. 5. Mary plays tennis. Lucy also plays tennis. 6. Jane can dance well. Her sister is also good at dancing. 6. Jim plays tennis. He also plays golf. 8. Helen is fond of music. She is also fond of art.

b) the infinitive

e.g. — I'm going to the library. I want to take some books.

— I'm going to the library to take some books.

1. Mr. Smith is flying to Moscow. He's going to take part in a conference. 2. Mike is going to the station. He is meeting his

mother. 3. Mary is hurrying to the bus stop. She's going to take the 5 o'clock bus to the University. 4. Mike is buying roses. He's going to give them to his wife for her birthday. 5. Lucy is phoning her friend. She wants to invite her to the party. 6. Mr. Black is buying a newspaper. He wants to read it in the tram.

V. Ask your friends questions. Use: a) "fond of»,» interested in". e.g. your brother/hockey

— Is your brother interested in (fond of) hockey?

— No, he isn't. (Yes, he is)

1. you/pop music; 2. Jack/fishing; 3. your friend/football; 4. you/collecting stamps; 5. your brother/boating; 6. you/reading; 7. your father/politics; 8. Jane/art; 9. Dick/medicine; 10. Jane/fi­gure skating; 11. Mike/football; 12. Your brother/chess; 13. Jack/ foreign languages; 14. Betty/dancing; 15. John/detectives; 16. you/poetry

b) the word combinations with gerund: "go dancing" (swim­ming, boating, skating, skiing, fishing, shopping) e.g. — Do you often go shopping?

— Twice a week.

VI. Answer the questions. Use the preposition "for": e.g. — How long do you stay at work?

— I stay at work for eight hours.

1. How long do you do your English homework? 2. How long do you usually watch TV? 3. How long do you stay in the country in summer? 4. How long do your English classes last? 5. How long are you going to stay abroad?

VII. Read and reproduce the dialogue. Pay attention to the use of the word combination "look after":

— Where are you going to spend your holidays this year, Harry?

— We may go abroad but I'm not sure. My wife always worries too much. Who's going to look after the dog? Who's going to look after the garden? Who's going to look after the house? We have this problem every year. In the end we stay at home and look after everything.

VIII. Translate into English (self check):

1. Ты интересуешься футболом? — Да, но редко хожу на ста­дион, предпочитаю смотреть футбол по телевизору. 2. Мой брат очень способный. Он хорошо учится в школе, прекрасно рисует и играет на пианино, увлекается спортом. Через неделю он едет в Москву, чтобы принять участие в соревнованиях по теннису. 3. — Когда ты хочешь пойти на рыбалку? — Или во вторник или

в среду. 4. — Пожалуйста, включи телевизор.— Но я не знаю, как его включать. 5. Николай часто ездит в командировки, и я редко вижу его. 6. Моя жена сейчас не работает, она присматривает за ребенком. Она собирается на работу через три месяца. 7. — Ты много читаешь? — Да, мой книжный шкаф полон книг, но сейчас я очень занят, а обычно читаю два часа по вечерам. 8. Мой отец возвращается домой с работы в 6 часов, ужинает, отдыхает около часа, а затем идет на прогулку или в парк, или к реке. Он любит прогуливаться по вечерам. 9. И я, и мой брат увлекаемся спортом. Зимой по выходным мы часто катаемся на лыжах, а ле­том любим рыбачить и кататься на лодке.

Text Exercises

/. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give addi­tional information to prove your agreement or disagreement.

1. John Cornford is a driver. 2. John Cornford is married. 3. Steve isn't a very outgoing person. 4. Steve is going to get mar­ried. 5. Steve is the only child in the family. 6. Sarah's mother lives with the Cornfords, too.

//. Ask questions about: a) Mr Cornford (his age, appearance, daily routine, hobbies, present occupation); b) Mrs Cornford (her appearance, character, occupation); c) Steve (his age, job, charac­ter, hobbies, friends); d) Alice (her character, abilities); e) Sarah's mother (age, appearance, character, likes)

///. Speak on:

a) the Cornfords, husband and wife; b) Steve, his friends and hobbies; c) Alice, her character and abilities; d) Sarah's mother.

IV. a) Imagine you are Mrs Cornford. Tell about your family, b) Imagine you are Steve. Answer your friends' questions about your family.