Family fortunes Are you a first child, a middle child, the youngest, or an only child?

First-born children. If you are a first-born child, you are probably self-confident and a good leader - you came first, after all. You may also be bossy and even aggressive if you don't get what you want. You are ambitious, and good at communicating, because you learned to speak from your parents, not from brothers and sisters. On the other hand, you are the oldest and so you have to be the most responsible, and this can make you the kind of person who worries a lot.

Middle children are usually independent and competitive. You had to fight with your brothers and sisters to get what you wanted. You are also co-operative as you always had to negotiate with either your older or your younger brothers and sisters. You are 25 sociable, as you always had someone to play with. On the other hand, you may be jealous and insecure or moody if you felt that your parents preferred your older brother or sister.

Youngest children are often very charming. You learned very quickly that you could get exactly what you want by being charming - and this can make you manipulative. You are usually affectionate and relaxed because when you arrived your parents were more relaxed themselves. But you are often not very independent, as you always had so many people to help you. This makes it hard for you to take decisions. And you may be lazy, because your parents probably pushed you less and were less strict with you than with your older brothers and sisters.

Only children are often quite selfish. You had the wonderful luxury of not having to share your parents' attention with anybody else. In fact, you received so much attention as a child that you find it difficult to be interested in other people. On the other hand, you are usually organized and responsible, and often imaginative. But you may find it difficult to communicate with others, and are very sensitive to criticism.

E xercise 4. Answer the questions:

1. What's your position in the family?

2. Are you the oldest, the youngest, in the middle, or an only child?

3. Do you like your position? Why (not)?

4. How do the middle children behave themselves?

5. How do the youngest children behave?

6. What is only children’s position in the family?

G RAMMAR COMMENT [1. P.122]

Comparatives the…the , like as

the…the… + comparatives The more illegible your signature is, the less assertive you are as a person. Use the + comparative adjective or adverb to show that one thing depends on another, e.g. The sooner you do it, the easier it'll be — how easy it with be depends on when you do it. The colder it is, the more clothes you need to wear.

When we want to talk about two things that are similar or the same we can use like and as. Like Like is used as a preposition and should be followed by a noun: 1."It's hot in this room. It's like an oven!" – (Both an oven and this room are hot) 2. "She works in a hotel, like me." - We both work in a hotel. As As is used to compare something that is the same as something else, or in the same condition. Use a subject and a verb after as. 1. "As I told you, the meeting started at 3pm." 2."It rained all weekend as we thought it would."

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in brackets.

1 The more you worry about it, the worse you’ll feel. (worry, bad)

2 The ________________ we leave , the ________________ we’ll get there. (early, soon)

3 The _________________ you are, the ___________________ he’ll be, (late, angry)

4 The ________________ my English, the __________________ I’ll speak. (practice, good)

5 The ________________ it gets, the _________________ it is to sleep. (hot, difficult)

Complete the sentences with either like or as:

1.This cocktail is disgusting. It tastes ___ shampoo!

2. You can do ___ you like, I don't care if you come or not.

3. I've never met anyone ___ you.

4. I was sure, ___ was everybody else, that you would finish first.

5. You must do it ___ this.

E xercise 5. You're going to listen to Jane describing her visit to the psychic (fortune-teller), Sally Morgan. After each part, discuss the questions with a partner.

[Part III p. 164] [1, T 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 p. 121].

Part 1 Answer the questions.

1. What was Jane's first impression of the room and of Sally?

1. What are the first questions Sally asked her?

2. Why is Jane surprised by two things Sally mentions?

Part 2 True or false?

1. Jane lived in Ireland when she was a child.

2. The psychic (fortune-teller) says Jane will meet someone new.

3. Jane is above average height.

4. S he thinks Jane will be attracted to him by his looks.

5. Jane thinks she knows who the man is.

Part 3 Choose a, b, or с

1 Sally says that, in the future, Jane __________.

a) will have the same health problems as her mother

b) will live longer than her mother

с) should have plastic surgery

2 According to Sally, ___________ is good at reading and writing.

a) Jane

b) Conor

с) Caroline

3 What Sally says about Jane's children makes Jane feel?

a) convinced that Sally is a genuine psychic

b) less sceptical about Sally being a psychic

с) sure that Sally is not a genuine psychic

Exercise 6. Now listen to Jane talking a few weeks later. [1.9] What was her final opinion about Sally's psychic (fortune-teller) abilities? What has happened since she went to see Sally?

E xercise 7. Match two parts to make well-known sayings. Try to explain what each saying means and which one suits your personal way of life most of all.

1) Better late 2) A bird in the hand is 3) Life is not always 4) make hay while 5) Since we cannot get what we like, 6) either I will find a way, 7) More haste 8) First come 9) An early bird

a) the sun shines. b) or I will make one. c) catches the worm. d) let us like what we can get. e) less speed. f) worth two in the bush. g) first served. h) than never. i) a bed of roses.

Exercise 8. Describe one of your group mates. What type of person is he or she? Use adjectives of personality.

1. Complete the sentences with the correct “the…the…+comparatives”.

The ______ about it, the ________ you’ll feel. (worry, bad)

a) worrier/ worst

b) more you worry/worse

c) worrying/be worst

d) will worry/will be worst

2. Choose the right variant. The new shopping centre is very big-it’s _____ an airport terminal.

a) as

b) like

c) __

d) such

3. Choose the right variant:

My boss is rather a cold …….. I don’t even know if he likes me or not

a) rain

b) weather

c) snow

d) fish

4. Choose the right variant:

She has a heart of ______. She’ll always help anyone with anything

a) platinum

b) gold

c) coal

d) copper