Ex. 2. Comment on the advice the following proverbs give to those who are choosing their spouse.

· Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards.

· Take a vine of a good soil, and the daughter of a good mother.

· Choose a wife by your ear rather than by your eye.

· Marry not an old crony, or a fool, for money.

· In choosing a wife, and buying a sword, we ought not to trust another.

· Marry first, and love will follow.

· Marry your like.

· Like blood, like good, and like age, make the happiest marriage.

 

Ex. 3. Marriage has always been argued about! Below are statements about marriage which express different opinions. Agree or disagree with them.

1. Society would not exist without marriage.

2. Marriage is unnecessary.

3. Marriage is important for children.

4. Marriage keeps couples together.

5. A marriage license is a worthless piece of paper.

6. Marriage restricts freedom.

7. A lot of married people get divorced.

8. Marriages at later ages are more stable.

 

Ex. 4. Look through the proverbs. Express your opinion on them.

1. He that marries for wealth, sells his liberty.

2. Go down the ladder when you marry a wife; go up when you choose a friend.

3. A young maid married to an old man is like a new house thatched with old straw.

4. Honest man marries soon, wise man not at all.

5. Maids want nothing but husbands, and when they have them they want everything.

 

Ex. 5. Discuss the problem of marriage and cohabitation:

One can agree that each step in courtship is laid down in social ritual. But what is bad about it? Can you give any arguments for the establishment of marriage now that the divorce rate is rising, the number of couples living together without a marriage licence is increasing?

Here are some keywords to use in your discussion. Contribute ideas of your own.

 

FOR MARRIAGE

1. A family is the basic unit of society.

2. Divorce should be harder to get.

3. A good marriage contributes to personal development.

4. It is not marriage that fails, it is people that fail.

5. Cohabiting parents are three times more likely to split up than married parents. Children are the main victims.

 

AGAINST MARRIAGE

1. Social attitudes and behaviour are changing. There’s no such thing as society. Only men and women.

2. The divorce rate is rising.

3. One cannot write love into a legal document.

4. Marriage is not a word, it’s a sentence.

5. The birth of a child to a single woman gives her a purpose in life.

 

Ex. 6. Make reports on wedding customs (see Appendix, Unit 3).

Writing an Essay

Ex.1. Study the following information about writing an essay.

An argumentative essay is a formal, impersonal piece of writing in which you are expected to consider a topic from opposing points of view and give a balanced consideration or your opinion.

Structure:

Introduction includes a statement of the problem. You are to give comments on the way it is to be treated.

Main body comprises arguments for (advantages) and arguments against (disadvantages). The main ideas should be supported with details or examples.

Conclusion is a summary of the main points including your own views and opinions.

Points to remember while writing an essay:

1. Make a list of points for and against before you start to write.

2. Never write an argument for or against without supporting it with justification.

3. Start each paragraph with a key sentence which summarizes what the paragraph is about.

4. Do not use the short forms (e.g. I’m, he’ll) or strong personal expressions. I think or I believe should only be used in the final paragraph where you can give your opinion.

5. Make use of suitable connectives:

To introduce points: Firstly / To begin with / in the first place; One point in favour of (against) …/ One advantage of …is / One disadvantage of …is, etc.

To add more points: Secondly / what is more / Further more / A further advantage of …is, etc.

To make contrasting points: However / on the other hand / Although / in spite of / Conversely, etc.

To conclude: To sum up / In conclusion / on balance / All things considered, etc.

6. Paragraphs are either indented from the left margin or a line of space is left at the end of a paragraph and the next paragraph is started on the left margin.

Ex. 2. Write an essay on any of the following subjects using 180-200 words.

1. Marrying young.

2. Marriage of convenience.

3. “Old-fashioned” marriages have a better chance of success.

Unit 4. FAMILY LIFE

Vocabulary Practice

Ex. 1. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words.

свекровь, свекор, теща, тесть, зять (муж сестры), невестка (жена брата), сноха (жена сына), зять (муж дочери), вдова, вдовец, старая дева, холостяк

 

Ex. 2. Fill in the blanks stating the relationship among the various members of the family.

1. My father’s sister is my mother’s....

2. My father’s mother is my mother’s....

3. My father’s father is my mother’s....

4. My mother is the... of my father’s parents.

5. My father is the... of my mother’s parents.

6. My mother is my father’s... and my father is my mother’s....

7. Nina is married to Victor, so Victor’s parents are Nina’s....

8. We are good friends with my brother’s wife, my....

 

Ex. 3. Give words or phrases for the following definitions.

1. the man to whom a woman is married;

2. the mother of a person’s husband or wife;

3. the wife of someone’s son;

4. the wife of one’s brother or the sister of one’s husband or wife;

5. a person lacking one or usually both parents;

6. a man whose wife has died, and who has not married again;

7. to take (someone else’s child) into one’s family and to take on the full responsibilities in law of a parent;

8. an unmarried man;

9. an unmarried woman, esp. an older one;

10. a very distant relative.

 

Ex. 4. Explain the difference between pairs of words:

baby – toddler	mother – mother-in-law
sister – cousin	bride – fiancee
nick name – pet name	spouse – cohabitant
birthday – nameday	marriage – wedding
grandparents – great grandparents	to be engaged – to be married