2. Что бы Вы ответили, если:

- Вы принимаете приглашение;

- Вы отказываетесь от приглашения;

- Вас спрашивает о месте встречи;

- Вас не устраивает предлагаемый день и время встречи;

- Вас устраивает время и место встречи.

C. Передайте содержание следующих диалогов на английском языке.

I’M HAVING A LITTLE PARTY

Стив собирает друзей посмотреть видеофильм о Великобритании и приглашает Марию.

- Привет, Мария! Как поживаешь?

- Привет! У меня все нормально. А как ты?

- Прекрасно! Никаких проблем! Чудесная погода, не так ли?

- Да, действительно, прелестно. Весна – тепло, солнечно.

- Ты занята в выходные? (Are you doing anything special at the weekend?)

- Нет, а что?

- Я организую небольшую вечеринку и хочу пригласить тебя.

- Спасибо. Это было бы неплохо. В котором часу?

- С половины восьмого до восьми.

- Прекрасно, договорились. До встречи.

- Увидимся. Не опаздывай.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO THE CONCERT?

Конец недели. Впереди выходные дни. Можно отдохнуть и развлечься. В городе на гастролях много известных артистов. Почему бы не пригласить девушку на концерт?

- Прекрасная погода, не так ли?

- Прелестно, льет как из ведра.

- Англичане говорят: «Какая бы ни была погода, мы вынесем любую погоду».

- Они – англичане. Хорошая погода или плохая, но завтра выходной.

- Замечательно! Почему бы нам не встретиться и не пойти на концерт?

- Хорошая идея! С большим удовольствием!

- Я зайду за тобой, ну, скажем, часов в 5. Подойдет?

- Да, это мне подходит. Буду ждать встречи с большим нетерпением.

D. Что бы Вы сказали в следующих ситуациях:

Ваш новый приятель Стив Грин оказался очень хорошим парнем. Он учится в университете и у вас много общего. Вы хотите пригласить Стива провести выходные дни вместе. Погода чудесная. Почему бы не поехать на побережье? Хорошая идея! Вы договариваетесь встретиться с субботу утром около общежития.

Роберту Фоксу нравится Мария. Они проводят много времени вместе. У Роберта есть прекрасные записи современных американских ансамблей. Он приглашает Марию послушать музыку и посмотреть слайды. Мария благодарит и принимает приглашение с большим удовольствием. Но когда? Сегодня вечером. Нет, она занята. Может быть завтра? Завтра она также не может. Может быть в выходные? В субботу всех устраивает. Итак, договорились: в субботу в 7 часов Роберт зайдет за ней. Он с нетерпением ждет встречи.

Тема 2. Family Life

BRITISH FAMILY

A “typical” British family used to consist of mother, father and two children, but in resent years there have been many changes in family life. Some of there have been caused by new laws and others are the result of changes in society. For example, since the law made it easier to get a divorce, the number of divorces has increased. In fact one marriage in every three now ends in divorce. This means that there are a lot of one-parent families. Society is now more tolerant than it used to be of unmarried people, unmarried couples and single parents.

Another change has been caused by the faсt that people are living longer nowadays, and many old people live alone following the death of their partners. As a result of these changes in the pattern of people’s lives, there are many households which consist of only one person or one adult and children.

You might think that marriage and the family are not so popular as they once were. However, the majority of divorced people marry again, and they sometimes take responsibility for a second family.

Members of a family – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – keep in touch, but they see less of each other than they used to. This is because people often move away from their home town to work, and so the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions. Although the family group is smaller nowadays than it used to be, relatives often travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together.

In general, each generation is keen to become independent of parents in establishing its own family unit, and this fact can lead to social as well as geographical differences within the larger family group.

Отметьте данные ниже предложения как истинные (T) или ложные (F):

1. Some of the changes in British family life are the result of new laws. ¨

2. Two marriages in three end in divorce. ¨

3. People are not living longer. ¨

4. Members of the family see each other more often. ¨

5. Relatives often spend Christmas together. ¨

6. Parents want to be independent of their children. ¨

AMERICAN FAMILY

A family may include parents and their children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as more distant relatives. But when British and American people use the word family they often mean only a mother, father and their children.

Society in Britain and the US is traditionally based on a nuclear family living in the same house and closely involved in each other’s lives. Fifty years ago, the typical family was a husband and wife, and two or three children. The father spent all day at work and made most of the decisions about how the money he earned was spent. The mother stayed at home to manage the house and look after the children. Children were expected to obey their parents.

Many modern families live rather differently, and because of this some people think that the family unit is dying and society is being weakened. Many couples still get married, but others live together without getting married. Another trend is for people to get married later in life and to have fewer children, so the size of the average family is shrinking.

Americans often move from city to city, so it is common for members of the extended family (=grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) to live far away. Families try to stay in contact with each other by writing and telephoning, and the Internet, by visiting occasionally, and sometimes by holding big family reunions. In Britain members of the same family may live close to each other and see each other regularly, but many do not.

Family loyalty is still important, and many people feel they have a duty to care for members of their family when they need it. But it is not part of British or American culture for old people to live with younger members of their family. Most elderly people live in their own homes and, when they cannot care for themselves, move into an old people’s home or a nursing home.

Some families are very child-centred (= put the children’s interests first). The closest families eat meals at the same time and spend their free time together. Some families, however, only see each other for a short time in the evening.

At the weekend families may go to sports games together, go shopping or go on trips to museums, parks, etc. In school holidays/vacations they may visit other family members or go to the beach.

American families are often criticized for they way they do things separately, though many people believe that it is good for children to learn to be independent. From an early age children are encouraged to decide what they want to do, eat or wear, and their parents try respect their opinions.