VIII. Read the dialogue, answer the questions and act the scene. Family Life in England.

Anna: Is family life in England very different from fam­ily life in your country, Maria?

Maria: No, I don't think so. But I have noticed a few differences.

Anna: Oh, such as what?

Maria: Well, for you the family is simply Mum, Dad and the children.

Anna: You have a more extended family circle, do you?

Maria: Yes. It's quite common in Spain to a grand­mother and an unmarried aunt or uncle living in as part of the family. And we wouldn't dream of sending an elderly relative to an old persons' home, for instance.

Anna: You take care of the elderly relatives yourselves, I gather.

Maria: Oh yes. It's the family's duty to look after an elderly parent.

Anna: What about hospitality? Do you think English families do a lot of entertaining?

Maria: Yes, but in a rather formal way. You don't like people to "drop in" without a previous invitation, do you? In my country it's quite usual to drop in on friends and relatives almost any time.

Maria: I suppose that in England family life has changed a lot in the last fifty years, hasn't it?

Anna: Oh yes, very much so. I think families used to be much larger. My grandmother was one of fourteen children! Very few people nowadays care to have such large families.

Maria: I suppose that's why in those days very few women took up careers outside the home. They were too busy bringing up their families.

Anna: Yes, women weren't as free as they are today. They often had to

marry men they didn't like and they were financially dependent on their parents or their husbands.

Maria: I think family life is more pleasant today because it's freer and more informal. At least today we're free to marry whoever we like and to take up a job, if we wish.

Anna: That's true.

Questions on the dialogue.

1. Who is the dialogue between?

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2. What problem are Maria and Anna discussing?

3. Are they both English?

4. Is it quite common in England to have a grandmother living in as part of the family? And in this country?

5. Do you think that English people have a less extended family circle than we do?

6. Who takes care of the elderly relations in England? And in this country?

7. Do English people do a lot of entertaining?

8. Is it customary to "drop in" without a previous invitation in England?

9. How has family life changed in England in the last fifty years?

10. Have people large families nowadays?

11. Why couldn't women take up careers outside home in those days?

12. Who were women dependent on?

13. What changes have occurred in women's life today?

IX. Read the dialogue and answer the questions. Make your own dialogue on the topic “The Family Photo Album”.

Mary and Peter decide to look at the family photograph album.

Peter: Where's the photo album, Mary?

Mary: It's in the left-hand drawer in the sideboard.

Peter: Ah, here it is. Now shall we start at the begin­ning?

Mary: Here's an old photo of Mother and Father. They were rather a nice couple, weren't they?

Peter: It's a pity people get old, isn't it?

Mary: And that's you, when you were a child isn't it?

Peter: I suppose so.

Mary: You were a funny little thing! And this again at the age of five, playing with a dog.

Peter: Look! That's you, isn't it? You weren't very beautiful yourself - a fat little girl with short pig­tails and a sailor hat.

Mary: Look at this photograph! Do you recognize any­body?

Peter: Here's aunt Margaret and uncle John. And that's their son David.

Mary: Where is David? Which is he?

Peter: That one there. He's very tall, taller than his father.

Mary: Oh yes. And this is his younger brother Dick. He has long curly hair.

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Peter: Yes. And that's his sister Helen, next to him. She's holding a big doll.

Mary: Where's Tom? Is that Tom?

Peter: Oh yes. He's standing behind aunt Margaret.

Mary: And that's Alice, isn't she?

Peter: Yes, she's sitting on a little stool.

Mary: But where is Aunt Margaret's elder son John?

Peter: He's probably taking the photograph.

Questions on the dialogue.

1. What do Mary and Peter want to do?

2. Where do they keep the family photo album?

3. Whose photo is placed first in the album?

4. What does Mary say about their parents?

5. What is Peter's remark to Mary's statement?

6. How old is Peter in the first photograph? And in the second? Describe Peter's photo at the age of five.

7. What does Mary look like in the photo where she is still a little girl?

8. Whose family photo do Mary and Peter look at next?

9. Have aunt Margaret and uncle John a big family?

10. How many children have they? How many daughters and sons?

11. Describe the family photo of aunt Margaret and uncle John.

12. Why isn't their elder son John in the photo?