UNIT I. MY FAMILY

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Hello! My name is Olya Smirnova. I am seventeen years old. I am from Lypetsk but now I live in Tambov as I entered Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin. I am a first-year student. My future profession is a psychologist. I want to understand people better and help them in difficult situations. Here in Tambov I live in a youth hostel and share a room with another girl Nadya Popova. She studies in the University too. She is a future culturologist. We are best friends now.

I have a large family. It consists of my father, mother, elder sister, younger brother and me. My father’s name is Oleg Victorovich. He is a lawyer. He is very understanding, calm and hard-working. He is fond of making models of airplanes. My mother’s name is Natalia Ivanovna. She is an accountant at a big firm. She is very smart, friendly and open-hearted. She likes theatre and goes on every first-night performance in our city.

My elder sister’s name is Tatiana. She is twenty. She studies to be a translator. She is a fourth-year student at the faculty of Foreign Languages at Moscow State University. She is very clever and communicative. She is married. Her husband’s name is Anton, he is my brother-in-law. Anton is a physician and works at a hospital. He is 25. They have a two-year old daughter Elena who is my niece. Their family likes going in for sport, they prefer volleyball. In winter they play volleyball at gym and in spring, summer and autumn they play outdoors. Tanya is also a born singer. She sings very well.

My younger brother is a school-boy. His name is Kolya. He is fifteen. He is very easy-going. He wishes to become the President of our country and takes part in every conference or meeting connected with school management. He participates also in city and regional meetings. He is very active, serious, intelligent and sometimes firm. He is also strong because he goes in for wrestling.

There is one more member of our family. It is a cat Boris. We like him very much.

Our family is very friendly. We have a lot of friends and relatives. I love my family very much.

Task 2. In the text pick out equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases:

1) поступать в университет; 2) студенческое общежитие; 3) старшая сестра; 4) юрист; 5) бухгалтер; 6) студентка четвертого курса; 7) врач; 8) общительный; 9) спортзал; 10) предпочитать.

Task 3. Give Russian equivalents for the following English words and word combinations:

1) psychologist; 2) to consist of; 3) younger brother; 4) my father’s name; 5) to be fond of; 6) first-night performance; 7) brother-in-law; 8) school-boy; 9) hard-working; 10) to be firm.

Task 4. Connect the words and their right definitions:

1. psychologist	a) my mother’s daughter to me
2. University	b) the leader and often a ruler or chief governing official of modern states that do not have a king or a queen
3. sister	c) a person whose business is to advise people about laws, write formal agreements, or to represent people in court
4. lawyer	d) a person who is trained in psychology
5. open-hearted	e) a group of similar subject departments in a university
6. faculty	f) a sport in which two people fight in a ring, trying to hold or throw each other against the ropes or onto the floor
7. president	g) a place of education at the highest level, where degrees are given
8. wrestling	h) generous, freely giving or given

Task 5. In the text find the synonyms:

1) big; 2) jurist, notary; 3) intelligent, clever; 4) drama; 5) doctor; 6) fall; 7) communicative; 8) to want; 9) to love; 10) dormitory.

Task 6. In the text find the antonyms:

1) to finish; 2) to misunderstand; 3) worse; 4) easy; 5) the worst; 6) small; 7) younger; 8) lazy; 9) summer; 10) indoors; 11) weak; 12) nervous; 13) light-hearted.

Task 7. Answer the questions:

1) How old is Olya Smirnova?

2) Where does she live now?

3) Is Olya a sophomore?

4) Does she share a room in the hostel?

5) How many people are there in Olya’s family?

6) What is her father’s name?

7) What can you say about her mother’s character?

8) What does her father like doing?

9) How old is her elder sister?

10) Where does her sister study?

11) What is her brother-in-law’s profession?

12) Has Olya got a niece or a nephew?

13) Do Tatiana and Anton play volleyball all the year round?

14) What is Kolya’s hobby?

15) Are there any pets in the family?

Task 8. Say whether the statements are true or false. Correct false statements. Use the phrases of agreement and disagreement:

1) Olya is from Ryazan.

2) Olya entered Moscow State University.

3) She wants to be a psychologist.

4) Katya Ivanova is Olya’s best friend.

5) Olya has got a younger sister and an elder brother.

6) Olya’s mother is an accountant.

7) Olya’s mother is a theatre-goer.

8) Olya’s sister is single.

9) Tatiana is a fifth-year student.

10) Tatiana and Anton have got a three-year old son, Kolya.

11) Tatiana and Anton are fond of cycling.

12) Kolya is easy-going but sometimes lazy.

13) The Smirnovs have got a cat Boris and a dog Rupert.

14) The Smirnovs are very friendly.

Phrases of agreement:

I quite agree with the statement	Я совершенно согласен с утверждением
Quite right	Совершенно верно
That’s right	Верно
Exactly	Именно так
It goes without saying	Безусловно
It is true	Это правда

Phrases of disagreement:

Nothing of the kind	Ничего подобного
I don’t agree with the statement	Я не согласен с утверждением
That’s wrong	Это неверно
It is false	Это не правда
On the contrary	Как раз наоборот
Just the other way round	Как раз наоборот

Task 9. Do you know what a hobby is? What hobbies do you know? What hobby are you involved in? Read the passages about different people’s hobbies and answer the questions:

a) Hello! My name is Artyom. I am from Moscow region. I have a lot of interests in life but the most important is cycling. It started many years ago when I was a kid. Almost everybody in our yard had a bike. We often had competitions who was faster or stronger. When I grew up I didn’t forget this kind of sport. Now on the weekends we go cycling to the country-side together with my friends and relatives. I can’t imagine my life without a bicycle. It’s sport and hobby and even the way to see the world. This summer I plan to go cycling around Spain for a week or so. And it’s no need to take a bicycle with you through the customs, you can hire it in Spain. And cycling in Europe is very comfortable because there are special roads for cyclists. Cafes and hotels are not far away from the roads. There are even special tours for cyclists when the tourists and their guides are on bikes. They group together, go from one place to another and have a good time. A lot of people spend their free time this way.

b) Hi! I am Sergey. I have an extreme hobby as some would say. It’s parachuting. How did it start? One day when I was a school-boy an instructor from a parachuting society came to our school. He was interested whether anybody in the class was fourteen. I was. So he suggested me to jump with parachute. I was interested in the offer. So the next day I came to the society, went through a period of instructions and then… I jumped. I was afraid before the jump and extremely proud of myself after. This jump affected all my life. I entered a military institute and now I am a military pilot and a parachutist as well.

c) I’m Mary. From early childhood I’ve been collecting something. When I was seven or eight I collected all sorts of toy-pigs. Later I collected post-cards and stamps. After school I collected coins. After University I collected books. Then different candles. Now I’m a pensioner but I still collect. Now – flowers. I am a gardener, you know. I look through specialized magazines and book seeds of rare plants, then I grow them in my garden. That’s my hobby. It presupposes my work in the open air which is very good for health. I do exercises while gardening: planting, watering, you know. And at the same time I am preoccupied with the much beloved activity: I collect flowers.

Questions:

1) Who of the speakers tell about his place of living?

2) Whose hobby started in the early childhood?

3) Who speaks about plans for the nearest future?

4) Who has an extreme hobby?

5) Who speaks about the development of the hobby?

6) Whose work is connected with the hobby?

Task 10. Read aloud all the sentences from the text with numerals. What are the rules of numeral formation in the English language? Check yourself looking through the table:

Числительные могут быть порядковые и количественные. Образование количественных числительных представлено в таблице. Порядковые образуются от количественных путем прибавления окончания th. Например: four – the fourth, thirty-seven – the thirty-seventh. Исключения: one – the first (один – первый), two – the second (два – второй), three – the third (три – третий), five – the fifth (пять – пятый).

1 – one	11 – eleven	10 – ten	21 – twenty-one
2 – two	12 – twelve	20 – twenty	22 – twenty-two
3 – three	13 – thirteen	30 – thirty	23 – twenty-three
4 – four	14 – fourteen	40 – forty	24 – twenty-four
5 – five	15 – fifteen	50 – fifty	25 – twenty-five
6 – six	16 – sixteen	60 – sixty	26 – twenty-six
7 – seven	17 – seventeen	70 – seventy	27 – twenty-seven
8 – eight	18 – eighteen	80 – eighty	28 – twenty-eight
9 – nine	19 – nineteen	90 – ninety	29 – twenty-nine
10 – ten	20 – twenty	100 – one hundred

Task 11. Read aloud the sentences with numerals:

a) 1) Nine plus three is twelve.

2) Fifty-three plus thirty-two equals eighty-five.

3) One hundred minus forty-one is fifty-nine.

4) Seventy-six minus eleven equals sixty-five.

b) 1) 5+38=43

2) 81+13=94

3) 26+61=?

4) 37+44=?

5) 98-12=86

6) 74-61=13

7) 44-39=?

8) 87-19=?

c) 1) Mary is 13.

2) Olya’s brother is 27.

3) When P. Picasso was 15 his father confessed that he could not teach him painting any more as Pablo knew everything that his father did.

4) Jane will receive a high-school diploma at the age of 21.

5) You can be elected a member of Parliament if you are 25.

6) Y. Gagarin was the 1^st person on the Earth’s orbit.

7) Who was the 22^nd president of the USA?

8) It’ll be the 3d time when I go to France.

9) There are 34 people in the turn, you will be the 35^th.

10) At 14 you can receive a passport.

11) People can live up to 100 years and even more.

12) There are 5 books and 7 magazines on the shelf.

13) She is 70 but she does not look her age.

14) He is 75 but he feels as if he was 40.

Task 12. Correct the sentences with numerals:

1) W. Scott is first of the outstanding British writers.

2) Fourty-five plus three is fourty-eight.

3) Eighty-nine minus thirteen equals seventy-seven.

4) I’ve got a sister and third brothers.

5) This is the five hour I’ve been writing a composition.

6) Americans try to launch their space shuttle for the two time because of the thunderstorm.

7) My grandfather is very old he is eighteen.

8) John is a sixth-year old boy.

9) Jack is sixth years old.

Task 13. In the text choose the sentences with possessive case of the nouns. Translate them into Russian. Give the rules of formation of possessive case of nouns in the English language. Look through the theory and check yourself:

Форму притяжательного падежа могут иметь, как правило, только одушевленные существительные. Притяжательный падеж показывает на принадлежность одного лица или предмета другому лицу. Другими словами, существительное в притяжательном падеже обозначает живое существо, которому принадлежит какой-либо предмет, качество или признак. В русском языке соответствует родительному падежу и отвечает на вопросы «кого?, чей?, чья?, чьё?». Например: girl’s bag – сумка девочки, the children’s voices – голоса детей.

Притяжательный падеж образуется путем прибавления окончания ’s к существительному в общем падеже. Если существительное во множественном числе оканчивается на –s, то в притяжательном падеже оно прибавляет только ’ (апостроф). Существительное, не имеющее окончания –s во множественном числе, для образования притяжательного падежа использует ’s.

Например: the child’s toys – the children’s toys (игрушки ребенка – игрушки детей), the boy’s books – the boys’ books (книги мальчика – книги мальчиков).

Кроме одушевленных существительных притяжательный падеж может употребляться с существительными:

а) обозначающими названия стран, городов, кораблей (Titanic’s captain, Moscow’s streets);

б) обозначающими единицы времени и расстояния (two kilometres’ trip);

в) обозначающими вес, стоимость, место (five dollars’ banknote);

г) с собирательными существительными (family’s budget).

Task 14. Translate the sentences from English into Russian:

1) Their daughter’s name is Olya.

2) Olya Smirnova’s future profession is a psychologist.

3) Oleg Victorovich’s daughters are Olya and Tania.

4) Kolya is Tania’s and Olya’s brother.

5) Tanya is Anton’s wife.

6) The Smirnovs’ family is large.

7) Olya’s pet is a cat.

Task 15. Translate the sentences from Russian into English:

1) Её маму зовут Наталия Ивановна.

2) Мужу её сестры 25 лет.

3) Олин младший брат увлекается борьбой.

4) Отец этих детей – юрист.

5) Олины очки лежат в сумке.

6) Колин кот поймал мышь.

7) Словари этих студентов лежат на полке.

8) Письмо фермеров дошло до президента.

9) Стихотворения молодых поэтов пользуются успехом.

10) Картины Сальвадора Дали побуждают к размышлениям.

11) Решение суда было в пользу истца.

12) Профессиональные заболевания бухгалтеров связаны с сидячим образом жизни.

13) Предложение студента получило одобрение в деканате.

14) Вы читали книгу нашего директора?

15) Школьный оркестр выступил на вечере памяти ветеранов Великой Отечественной войны.

Task 16. Correct the sentences using possessive case where possible:

1) The copybooks of these students are on the table.

2) The flat of Smirnovs is large and cozy.

3) The walls of the room are white.

4) The kids of my brother are in the kindergarten.

5) I’ve lost the notebook of my friend.

6) The handle of the door is broken.

7) The car of my brother is red.

8) Tell me the name of your son-in-law.

9) The career of this actress was very fast and successful.

10) The uniform of soldiers is green and the uniform of policemen is grey.

Task 17. Read the definitions and guess the words denoting relatives. Who are considered close and distant relatives?

1) My mother’s daughter to me. 2) My father’s son to me. 3) My father’s sister to me. 4) My mother’s brother to me. 5) My aunt’s or uncle’s children to me. 6) My sister’s or brother’s son to me. 7) My sister’s or brother’s daughter to me. 8) My mother’s or father’s mother. 9) My mother’s or father’s father. 10) My grandmother’s mother. 11) My grandfather’s father. 12) Husband’s or wife’s mother. 13) Husband’s or wife’s father. 14) Husband’s sister. 15) Wife’s brother. 16) Son’s wife. 17) Daughter’s husband. 18) Granddaughter’s husband. 19) Mother’s husband who is not my father. 20) Father’s wife who is not my mother. 21) A woman who baptized me. 22) A man who baptized me.

Task 18. In the text find the sentences with the verb “to be” in the present tense. What forms of this verb are there in the Present Past and Future Simple tenses? Look through the table and check yourself:

Present Simple Tense

Местоимения	Утвердительная форма	Отрицательная форма	Вопросы
I	am (I’m)	am not (I’m not)	Am I?
He, she, it	is	is not (isn’t)	Is he (she, it)?
We, you, they	Are (we’re)	are not (aren’t)	Are we (you, they)?

Past Simple Tense

I, he, she, it	was	was not (wasn’t)	Was I (he, she, it)?
We, you, they	were	were not (weren’t)	Were we (you, they)?

Future Simple Tense

I, he, she, it, we, you, they

will be (I’ll be)

will not be (won’t be)

Will I (he, she, it, we, you, they) be?

Task 19. Choose correct variant of sentences:

1) a) I am a student.

b) I is a student.

2) a) It are not cold today.

b) It isn’t cold today.

3) a) How much are these post-cards?

b) How much these post-cards are?

4) a) Mr. Brown’s grandson am six years old.

b) Mr. Brown’s grandson is six years old.

5) a) Their flat is not large.

b) Their flat not is large.

c) Their flat isn’t large.

6) a) Copenhagen is in Denmark.

b) Copenhagen is not in Denmark.

7) a) Her sisters are a pianists.

b) Her sisters are pianists.

Task 20. Study the phrases with the verb “to be”:

To be back – вернуться, to be in – прийти к власти, to be off – уходить, to be on – происходить, идти (о спектакле), to be going – собираться, to be in time – быть вовремя, to be late – опаздывать.

Task 21. Translate the following sentences, pay attention to the phrases with the verb “to be”:

1) He will be back tomorrow.

2) The labour candidate is in.

3) The train is off.

4) What is on at the Bolshoi Theatre today?

5) How are you?

6) The clock is going to strike.

7) You should be in time for the meeting otherwise you won’t be let in.

8) You are always late for your classes.

Task 22. Form the nouns denoting professions from the following root-words:

a) a farm - farmer

law, jury, pension, design, bank.

b) to conduct – conductor, to teach – teacher

to work, to manage, to act, to direct, to paint, to drive, to investigate, to translate, to write, to sing, to dance, to instruct.

c) science - scientist

piano, psychology, culture, art, chemistry, defectology, physics, sociology.

d) mathematics – mathematician

music, history, policy, academy.

e) violin, ballet, shoe, parliament, sport, police, sale, shop, business, football.

Task 23. Translate the sentences:

1) Жена моего брата – актриса.

2) Моя бабушка – поэтесса, а бабушка моего друга просто пенсионерка.

3) Свекровь Мэри работает в госпитале, она – медсестра.

4) Двоюродные братья Джона – студенты первого курса, их будущая профессия – менеджер.

5) Дядя Ивана работает в милиции, он – следователь.

6) Моя крестная – химик, а крестный – водитель.

7) Сестра ее мужа – дирижер. Это очень редкая профессия для женщины.

8) Много ли судей-женщин в нашей области?

9) Дюма-отец был талантливым писателем, глядя на отца, его сын тоже стал писать романы.

10) Зять Ивановых – выдающийся футболист. Он играет за мадридский «Реал».

Task 24. Speak about yourself and your family. Use the phrases and constructions from the text “My family”.