Study the following example of an informal letter to a pen friend. Note the structure. Write your own letter to an imaginary (or real) friend living abroad.

 

38 Clifton Gardens London NW6 27 September 2012   Dear Maria   I’m very pleased that we’re going to be pen friends. I’ll tell you a little about myself.   I live in an area of London called Maida Vale. It’s quite near the centre, but there are parks nearby where I take my dog, Mickey, for a walk. I live with my parents and my younger brother, Paul. My father works for the post office and my mother has a part-time job as a nurse.   I go to the local college, where I have a lot of friends. I like most subjects, but not all of them! In the evenings I sometimes visit friends or stay at home and listen to music and at the weekends I like going swimming or horse-riding.   At the moment I’m working very hard because I have exams soon, so I’m spending a lot of time in the library!   I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Write soon!   Best wishes, Francis Jones.

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Translate the sentences from Russian into English. Use the Active Vocabulary.

1) У моего лучшего друга очень большая семья. Он живет в большом доме с родителями, бабушкой, дедушкой и двумя сестрами.

2) Старшая сестра Джона замужем и у нее есть сын. Джон проводит много свободного времени со своим племянником, они играют в баскетбол на школьной спортивной площадке.

3) Твои дальние родственники живут с тобой в одном городе? – Нет. Тетя моего отчима работает в международной компании и живет в Германии.

4) Анна каждое лето ездит в США навестить свою племянницу Кейт, которая живет в Лос-Анджелесе.

5) Твоя бабушка на пенсии? – Да, она не работает. Она занимается садоводством.

Draw your family tree. Write sentences about your relatives. Include information about their age, profession, daily activities and free time. Use the Active Vocabulary.

Exchange your family trees with a partner. Ask questions to find out more information about your partner’s relatives. Then write a paragraph about his/her family.

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

Family relatives husband / wife father/ mother/ parents daughter/ son sister/ brother uncle/ aunt cousin grandfather/ grandmother/ grandparents niece/ nephew mother-in-law/ father-in-law sister-in-law/ brother-in-law close/ distant relatives stepfather/ stepmother stepbrother/ stepsister	Work accountant doctor assistant secretary technician nurse work for a company work hard earn money work in an office get to work by car/ bus/ metro
Activities keep the house look after somebody spend free time together go skiing/ skating take long walks play outdoor/ indoor games leave school baby-sit go horse-riding go swimming/ fishing listen to the music play football/ tennis do gardening go to the cinema/ restaurant/ pub visit friends entertainment	Additional vocabulary adult middle-aged person elderly person teenager retired person/ retiree old man/ old lady single/ married/ divorced/ widowed get on well bright good fun

 

TOPIC 2. APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER

Put the following words into the correct groups.

pretty beautiful tall old young slim handsome short thin beard medium height ugly overweight moustache plain elderly fat dark blonde middle-aged attractive straight curly plump wavy

Height:

Weight:

Hair:

Age:

Looks:

Fill in the gaps in the sentences.

1. He’s only one metre 52. He’s quite …………

2. Very ………… people are often good at basketball and volleyball.

3. Models are usually …………

4. She’s only twelve. She’s very …………

5. If I eat too much I’ll be …………

6. My grandmother is in this hospital. It’s a hospital for ………… people.

 

3. Write down the names of three people you know. Then write about:

- their height

- their hair

- their eyes

- their looks

Complete the sentences with the adjectives from the box.

generous hard-working lazy mean nervous popular relaxed unpopular

 

1) You’re …......... if you never do any work.

2) ………… people often give things to other people.

3) Everybody likes her. She’s very …………

4) ………… people are always busy.

5) You’re ………… if you worry about everything and can’t sit still.

6) ………… people don’t worry or get excited about things.

7) John’s ………… He keeps everything for himself and doesn’t share.

8) ………… people don’t have many friends.

Work with a partner. Tell about your family. Use these words.

 

confident fit friendly intelligent lazy pretty tall young

 

Compare yourself and your family members/ your friends. Make sentences.

Example: My sister is more confident than me. Maria isn’t as tall as I am.

 

7. a) Read and translate the text.

The British character

People say that Irish people talk a lot. They say that the Welsh are great singers. The Scots, they say, are not a very happy or fun-loving nation, and they are also very careful with money. Generally these descriptions are not true! But it is true that there are some very good Welsh actors and singers like Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Jones.

Foreigners have ideas about what is “British”. But some of these things are not part of most ordinary people’s everyday life. The great English breakfast and afternoon tea, for example, are mostly found in hotels and “bed and breakfast” places for tourists. And the British do not only drink tea these days. Coffee is popular, too. They drink, on average, 3.39 cups of tea each day and 1.65 cup of coffee.

It takes time to know a British person well. British people are generally quite shy, and they do not make friends with strangers easily. Perhaps this is because they live on an island!

British people spend less money on clothes than the people of other European countries. Most of them are not very interested in clothes. Many British people wear suits to the office during the week, but at weekends they prefer to wear jeans.

 

b) Answer the questions.

1. Are there any good Welsh actors?

2. Do all British people have their afternoon tea every day?

3. How much coffee does an average British person drink every day?

4. Why don’t British people make friends easily?

5. What do they wear to work?

 

8. a) Several teenagers answered the question: “Do you worry about your appearance?” Read their answers.

George, United States

Do I worry about my appearance? Yeah, I do. In high school I didn't worry about it at all, but coming to college I really became self-conscious about my image and I tried to reinvent myself in a way.

Jess, England

Yes, I do. I wish I didn't but I do. I spend quite a lot of time shopping, choosing clothes, doing my hair, fixing my make-up, getting my nails done, so yeah, I spend quite a lot of time on my appearance.

Christophe, Belgium

Well, actually, I don't really worry about my appearance. I've already been telling myself to go to the hairdresser's for two months, and I still didn't go, so maybe I should worry a little bit more because my hair really looks awful right now.

Chrystal, United States

I don't. I think I'm OK. I used to be really worried when I was a kid because I've been called “four-eyes” when I was in school by boys and I used to be bullied. But right now I like my glasses, and I like my appearance, so I'm not that worried anymore.

Hanna, Australia

I think everybody worries about their appearance to some extent. I don't worry about my appearance a lot but I think even in our society you're often judged by the way you look, so to be part of society at least you have to worry about your appearance.

b) Do you worry about your appearance? Why (not)? Write a paragraph in your notebook.

 

9. a) Translate the signs of the zodiac. Learn to pronounce them correctly.

Aries [ˈeəriːz]

Aquarius [əˈkweəriəs]

Cancer [ˈkænsə]

Capricorn [ˈkæprɪˌkɔːn]

Gemini [ˈdʒemɪnaɪ]

Leo [ˈliːəʊ]

Libra [ˈliːbrə]

Pisces [ˈpaɪsiːz]

Sagittarius [ˌsædʒɪˈteəriəs]

Scorpio [ˈskɔːpiəʊ]

Taurus [ˈtɔːrəs]

Virgo [ˈvɜːɡəʊ]

 

b) Read the information about the signs of the zodiac. Fill in the gaps with the correct zodiac signs.

The signs of the zodiac

Some people believe that the time of year that you were born has an effect on your character because of the positions of the stars and the planets. They divide the year into 12 periods of time, and these are known as “signs of the zodiac”.

People born under different signs are thought to have different characteristics.

 

……………………. (21 March – 19 April) People born under the sign of …………… are extremely energetic and adventurous. They can also be aggressive.

 

……………………. (20 April – 20 May) People with the sign of ………… are always calm and patient, but also very materialistic.

 

……………………. (21 May – 20 June)   People born under the sign of ………… are very witty, but they tend to be a bit impatient.

……………………. (21 June – 22 July) People with the sign of ………… are very kind and helpful. But they can sometimes be very moody.

 

……………………. (23 July – 22 August) People born under the sign of ………… are very sociable, but may often be vain as well.

 

……………………. (23 August – 22 September) People born under the sign of ………… tend to be hard-working, but also a little fussy and very critical.

 

……………………. (23 September – 22 October) People born under the sign of ………… are usually artistic. But they also tend to be indecisive.

 

……………………. (23 October – 21 November) People born under the sign of ………… are often passionate, but sometimes a little cruel.

 

……………………. (22 November – 21 December) People born under the sign of ………… are always cheerful and optimistic, but they often tend to be reckless.

 

……………………. (22 December – 19 January) People with the sign of ………… are sensible and organized, but are sometimes conceited.

 

……………………. (20 January – 18 February) People born under the sign of ………… are very loyal, but they can be a little insensitive at times.

 

……………………. (19 February – 20 March) People with the sign of ………… can be very romantic, and are always sympathetic if you have a problem. But they can also be extremely pessimistic.

 

c) Which of the character traits from the descriptions are positive, negative and neutral? Complete the table.

Positive trait

Negative trait aggressive

Neutral trait

 

d) What zodiac sign are you? Do you agree with your sign description? Why/ why not? Discuss with a partner.

I agree. I think I’m organized because …

I don’t agree. I don’t think I’m indecisive. I always …

I disagree. I am not …

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