II. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. Why, according to Sally, is it not good for children to hear conflicting opinions?

2. What does a typical education-at-home day begin with?

3. Who recommends the children which subjects from the list they should select?

4. Why was Victor uneasy about home education at first?

III. Исправьте предложения в соответствии с содержани­ем текста.

1. At week-ends the children often attend the local cinema.

2. Going to a conference made Victor feel uneasy about home education.

№23

Прочитайте текст два раза и выполните следующие задания.

Bert Rogers has two sons. His younger son, Howard, is an artist; he is married and has two small daughters.

BERT: «I missed out on quite a big part of Howard's childhood. When he was little I was working very long hours. I had to be content with seeing my children at week-ends.»

«From an early age he was always working with paints and pencils. He had a natural talent for it — all I needed to do was guide and encourage him. We used to draw together because I, too, had always enjoyed painting and drawing.

«By the time he was 13, Howard had made up his mind that he wanted to be an artist. I would have preferred him to have followed a more academic career, but he left school at 16 and went to art college; I was disappointed, but I had no choice but to support him and try to take pride in his achievements.

«Even now, we still argue. Howard is impulsive and volatile¹; temperamentally, he's far more like his mother than he is like me. He has quite strong left-wing views and we often clash. When we're arguing he gets quite emotional, but I respect him for his views, even though I think he's often wrong.

«As an artist and a man who's expressing himself, he's on top of things. In a way, I envy him because he was able to do what he wanted to do. I'd hoped to train as an engraver², but my father wouldn't support my apprenticeship³. I suppose because my own talent was wasted I made a point of encouraging Howard's, and I think it has been well worthwhile.»

HOWARD: «My childhood memories of my father are pretty vague. He wasn't a powerful presence because he wasn't at home much. It's only now that I'm a father myself that I can understand what sort of person he is. He's kind and very understanding. I can talk to him more openly than Г ve ever done.

«Since my children were born, I've seen much more of Dad than I used to. I love to see the pleasure he gets from them. The children have bridged some of the gap between us.

«Despite all the difficulties we've had in the past, I do love my father very much, and I think it's only quite recently that I've realised this.»

Test № 23

I. Определите, верны (True) или неверны (False) сле­дующие утверждения.

1. Bert used to draw together with his son to teach him to use paints and pencils.

2. Howard takes after his mother in character.

3. Bert failed to become an engraver because he was less talented than his son.

4. Father and son have been seeing less of each other since the birth of Howard's children.