Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones

1. 
   Family patters are common in all the countries of the world.
   
2. 
   The most typical type of family in the US is a traditional one.
   
3. 
   Single-parent families are families only with father at the head.
   
4. 
   A stepparent is a person who joins the family by marring either a mother or a father.
   
5. 
   Single people can easily adopt children in the United States.
   
6. 
   Half of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce nowadays.
   
7. 
   Unlike their parents, many single adult Americans today are getting married after finishing school.
   
8. 
   Families serve many functions, such as: giving money and food to children.
   
9. 
   The most important job for the family is to give emotional support.
   

2. 
   Put each of the following words into the gaps.
   

bride reception consent toast propose accepted

civil bridegroom engaged wedding honeymoon ceremony

3. 
   Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.
   

Over half the people in Britain live in their own houses, about a third live in property rented from the local council and one eight live in privately-rented accommodation. The total number of dwellings is more than 22 million and houses are much more common than flats.

Although the number of houses built during the 1980s went down (especially in the public housing sector traditionally provided by local authorities) the number of people owning their personal homes has more than trebled in the last 35 years. Nowadays there are many tax incentives for people who want to buy houses of their own.

Buying a house is a large financial investment for many people. That is why the majority buy their homes with a mortgage loan from a building corporation or a bank. The loan is repaid in monthly instalments over a period of twenty years or more. Some people rent or buy accommodation through housing associations which provide a financial alternative to the mortgage system.

There are many different types of housing in Britain, ranging from the traditional thatched country cottages to flats in the centre of towns.

Terraced houses are usually found in inner cities. They can be anything up to 150 years old and were often built by industries to house their workers near the factories. Such houses are built in long rows where each house is attached to the ones on either side. The back of this type of house faces the back of another identical row of houses, so they are often known as “back to backs”.

Semi-detached houses have been built in large numbers since the 1930s when Britain's towns and cities expanded into suburbs. Each house is part of a pair and is joined on one side to its partner. Towns in Britain have areas which contain streets and streets of semis, often with well-kept gardens.

The detached house stands by itself, usually with a garden all around it. These houses are much more expensive than semis and are often owned by professional people. Most detached houses are to be found in affluent suburbs or in the green belt – a strip of protected open countryside around the city, where no industrial development is allowed.

Britain is famous for its country cottages which were often built on the country estates of wealthy landowners or around a village green. Such houses have low ceilings, wooden beams and sometimes a thatched roof.

In the 1960s local councils cleared a lot of slums in the inner city areas. The people were re-housed in tower blocks on the outskirts of the city or in the centre of the city. Tower blocks can vary from 3-5 storeys high up to 10-20 storeys high. Each storey contains five or six flats for families. In recent years local councils have tried to improve the areas around tower blocks by creating children's playgrounds and facilities for the community to use.

1. 
   Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones.
   

1. 
   Flats are the most common type of housing in Britain.
   
2. 
   Tax incentives simplify the process of buying houses and flats.
   
3. 
   Renting accommodation is the alternative to the mortgage system.
   
4. 
   Types of houses in Britain vary from cottages to flats in the suburbs.
   
5. 
   Terraced houses are usually built in short rows.
   
6. 
   Semi-detached house consists of three houses joined together.
   
7. 
   Detached houses are usually not very expensive.
   
8. 
   Most detached houses are situated in slums.
   
9. 
   Tower blocks are situated mainly on the outskirts of the city.
   

2. 
   Look at the verbs in block letters in the following sentences. Then complete the gaps with the nouns formed from these verbs.
   

1. 
   A person who lodges with a family is their__________.
   
2. 
   The large home which a rich family resides in is their__________.
   
3. 
   The person who occupies a home is an__________.
   
4. 
   The place where a person lodges is called__________in formal English.
   
5. 
   People who squat in empty houses without any permission are________.
   
6. 
   A place where a group of people decide to settle is a__________.
   
7. 
   The people who inhabit a country are called its__________.
   
8. 
   People who went to a newly developed part of a country to settle there were often called__________.
   

3. 
   Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.
   

It is well known that cooking came in by accident, when a man tried to rescue a pig from a fire. Having burnt his fingers and licked them to soothe the pain. He liked the taste and decided to burn more pigs, and so the idea of cooking came into being. Now, when so much of our food is de-naturated, raw food therapy is coming to the force, and besides being so much more health-giving it can also be very appetizing.

Grated raw carrots, apples, beetroot, etc. should be eaten daily and with some finally chopped herbs. Indeed anything from the greengrocer's will make a good meal with either meat or cheese.

Mushrooms too are a very good protein, equal in value to the most expensive piece of meat. Add to all this some garlic (a natural antibiotic), some raw green-stuff such as onion, parsley, dill and you have the basis of a really tasty and nutritious meal. These herbs can be used in any salad with a dressing of lemon juice or vegetable oil and you will feel well fed and not stuffed as one does with an ordinary cooked meal.

For a snack, why not try an apple with a piece of your favourite cheese, instead of the usual bun or sweet biscuit. In fact, it is worthwhile to cut out all the so-called foods, made from white flour and sugar, especially if you are trying to slim.

Both sugar and white flour should find no place in the diet, as they are completely devoid of any food value. Besides you wouldn’t need to visit the dentist so often and there will be more health all around.

Many people are afraid of eating garlic because they think it will make them unattractive to their friends but if some raw green-staff is eaten with the raw garlic, then there will be no smell on the breath at all.

By eating raw food, one gets all the vitamins instead of pouring them down the drain with the cooking water. If you cook, then use the water for soup or gravy.

Another thing, which will appeal to the busy person – there will be much less washing up!

1. Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones.

1. 
   Cooking came in by accident when a man tried to rescue a dog from a fire.
   
2. 
   Raw food is not only health-giving but also tasty.
   
3. 
   Vegetables should be included into daily meals with meat and pastry.
   
4. 
   The value of protein in mushrooms is equal to its value in meat.
   
5. 
   For a snack it is better to have some fruit with a piece of cheese.
   
6. 
   When people try to slim they should eat more pastry and sugar.
   
7. 
   Herbs eaten together with garlic neutralize its smell.
   
8. 
   Raw food contains less vitamins then cooked food.
   

1. 
   Use the right word to fill in the gaps (meal, food, dish, course)
   

1. 
   We have three__________a day: breakfast, dinner and supper.
   
2. 
   I like to cook my__________food myself.
   
3. 
   This__________ tastes bad! Don't eat it!
   
4. 
   Breakfast in England is generally a bigger__________than in Europe.
   
5. 
   The most common third__________is an ice-cream.
   
6. 
   Why don’t you take a__________of meat and vegetables.
   
7. 
   Dinner consists of several__________.
   
8. 
   I like to have a tasty hot__________in the evening.
   
9. 
   Which__________is healthier: boiled or fried?
   
10. 
    Yesterday I cooked a special__________from a French cookery book.
    

3. 
   Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.
   

It can hardly be denied that almost every person likes shopping. Nowadays there is a wide range of shops catering for different tastes and wallets beginning with huge supermarkets and ending with small convenience stores.

The importance of large self-service supermarkets in our everyday life can not be underestimated. Such big shops are usually situated on the outskirts of the cities though some can be also found not far from the city centre. These stores are usually spacious and well laid out. The goods are tidily arranged on long shelves and there is plenty of room for the customers to walk about even with a cart. In such shops one can find anything he needs from food to washing powder. But there is one thing which is to be mentioned as one of the worst disadvantages of supermarkets. It is queuing. Despite the fact that every supermarket has up to 10 cash desks long queues seem to be their eternal problem.

Markets, on the contrary, have almost no queues and are usually situated in the open-air. Though the essence of markets changed nowadays there are still people who prefer markets situated not far from their homes to huge supermarkets on the outskirts. Among the advantages of buying things at the market customers usually mention wide range of goods and high quality of foodstuffs. By the way, the possibility to bargain makes the prices there considerably lower than in ordinary shops.

Shopping centres or shopping malls are also extremely popular nowadays. A shopping centre is a collection of independent retail stores, services and a parking area. Shopping centres may also contain banks, restaurants, theatres, offices, service stations and other establishments.

Apart from markets, self-service supermarkets and shopping centres stand department stores. The department store is a great convenience for customers because is saves our time selling various items of consumer goods under one roof. In such stores customers go to the counters, choose the necessary goods and pay for them at the cash desk. In the department store a customer can find: household goods, electric appliances, crockery and glassware, textiles and other departments. Big department stores usually have information bureaus, where a customer can inquire about any goods he would like to buy.

In case a customer is interested in some particular goods and doesn’t want to loose time wandering around supermarkets he can go to a shop which specializes in some particular goods. Such as: bakery or baker's where one can find different kind of bread and pastry, butcher's selling all kinds of meat and meat products, confectioner's – stores selling sweet things, fishmonger's selling seafood.

1. 
   Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones.
   

1. 
   Nowadays there is a wide range of shops catering for different needs.
   
2. 
   Supermarkets are usually situated in slums.
   
3. 
   Queuing is one of the main disadvantages of modern supermarkets.
   
4. 
   Markets are still very popular with the customers.
   
5. 
   A shopping mall unites numerous separate supermarkets under one roof.
   
6. 
   Department stores sell all kinds of foodstuffs and clothes under one roof.
   
7. 
   Specialized shops give people a good chance to save time going shopping.
   

2. 
   Put one of the following words in the correct space in the passage below.
   

pay	push	find	spend	take
buy	sell	need	complain	look for

I love shopping! My friends say I like to_____money. It is probably true. There is a good supermarket near me. They have everything you_____for your house. If you need a tube of toothpaste, a bottle of beer or a jar of jam, you can_____it at the supermarket. They_____everything. If you buy a lot of things, you can take a trolley and_____it in front of you. If you don’t need much, you can use a small basket. Then_____the things you want. If you can't_____them on the shelves, ask an assistant for help. When you see what you want, you just_____it from the shelves. When you have everything you want you go to the check-out to_____. If there is anything wrong with the service, customers can_____to the manager. Our supermarket is really super!

3. 
   Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.
   

The year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Spring is the season of hope and happiness. In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep. The trees are bursting into leaf, the earth is warmed by the rays of the sun and the weather gets gradually milder. The fields and the meadows are covered with fresh green grass. The woods and forests are filled with the songs of the birds. The sky is blue and cloudless. At night millions of stars shine in the darkness.

Summer is the hottest season of the year. The bright sunshine scorches the earth. Not a single cloud is in the sky. It is pleasant to get out of town where no one is so oppressed with the heat and wander around woods, hills and valleys. The fields are green and shorn – here and there big stacks of hay are seen. Though the weather is mainly hot in summer, sometimes the sky can be overcast with heavy clouds and there are storms with thunder and even hail.

But on moves the earth in its race round the sun. The days are becoming shorter, the sun rays are loosing their glittering force and autumn, one of the most picturesque seasons, is approaching. Autumn brings with it the harvest-time, when the crops are gathered in and fruit is picked in the orchards. The days get shorter and the nights longer. The trees turn yellow and red, leaves begin to fall from the trees, and the ground is beautifully covered with them. The sky is grey almost all the time and very often in rains. After autumn comes winter.

Winter is the season of black and white. The coloures are washed away from the trees leaving naked branches black while snow is covering the earth. The snow covers the fences and hedges so that they no longer mark the road over the plain. The clouds are gray like ashes. The red sun flashes through the gray clouds on the windows and they glimmer red. But the pictures of winter are not always gloomy and dreary. The sun in winter can shine from a clear blue sky and the snow sparkles then under it like a jewels.

Winter is not the same everywhere of course. In Serbia for instance and North Canada winter is usually snowy, severe, cold and long lasting. The temperature can fall as low as 50 degrees Centigrade. Blizzards rage for days covering vast areas with a thick layer of snow. On the shores of the Black Sea, on the contrary, winter only means rains and winds. It never snows there.

It can hardly be denied that each season of the year possesses its own charm and has its own beauty and significance to man.

1. 
   Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones.
   

1. 
   The year is divided into four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
   
2. 
   In spring the weather gets gradually colder.
   
3. 
   Summer is the shortest season of the year.
   
4. 
   The weather can be sometimes stormy in summer.
   
5. 
   Autumn brings with it colourful scenery and harvest-time.
   
6. 
   Rain is the most typical thing in winter.
   
7. 
   Winters are usually cold and severe in Canada and Serbia.
   

2. 
   Choose between “thunder”, “lightning” or “storm”
   

1. 
   A flash of _____lit up the whole sky.
   
2. 
   They could here_____rumbling in the distance.
   
3. 
   A flash of_____was immediately followed by a clap of_____.
   
4. 
   We were caught in a_____I'd never experienced before.
   
5. 
   We are in for a big_____. The sky is covered with dark clouds. There was the first flash of_____just now.
   

3. 
   Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.