Everyday English

2. Tell about your grandparents.

3. Do you have many relatives? Talk about them.

4. Do you have an elder brother or sister? Describe his/her family.

5. Is it difficult to be the only child?

6. You have three aunts on your mother’s side. Tell about them.

7. You like/don’t like your friend’s fiance(e). Tell why.

8. Describe your friend’s family.

9. What does your father/mother do? Tell about his/her occupation.

10. Showing your family album to your friend.

11. You like/don’t like when your distant relatives from the village come. Give your reasons.

12. You are good at History. Tell about our last tsar’s family - the Romanovs.

V. SUPPLEMENTARY READING

American Family Trends

The traditional American family consisting of a husband, wife and children is becoming less and less frequent. More people who are not legally married are living together. More and more children are being raised in single-parent families, by both poor women and by women who are professionally employed. Others postpone marriage and childbirth and as a consequence bear fewer children than women who many earlier. Among the educated more and more couples are deciding to have fewer and fewer children. An exception to this trend occurs among blacks, hispanics and among the very poor. In 1990 the size of the average American family was 3.2 individuals.

Marriages are either civil or performed in the church. Marriage has a legal foundation which means that a Registry Office has a record of it and it carries certain economic rights. When getting married both parties sign the document of marriage, that is, a marriage certificate.

Young people rarely live with their parents. Usually, upon graduation from high school children move out of the family home. To reduce expenses young people frequently rent apartments or a house. Usually two to five young people rent an apartment or a house together and share other expenses.

While young people are getting married later in life, the divorce rate is increasing. Roughly 50% of all marriages in the United States now end in divorce. In cases of divorce the financial support required from the breadwinner¹ will vary from case to case and if agreement is not possible between the two parties the court will decide. The cheapest way of getting a divorce is through the no-fault system, that is, two parties come to an agreement between themselves about the distribution of property. If there is no agreement then each hires a lawyer and the divorce will be very costly, up to $25,000 and more for legal fees alone.

The most ominous² trend in American society is the increasingly high number of children being born to unmarried young people in poverty who are being raised without fathers. Two-thirds of black children are now being born in fatherless households. Undoubtedly these children are destined to add to the number of those in poverty and to those involved in delinquency³ and crime.

(from “Life and Issues in the USA")

Notes:

¹ breadwinner - a person who works to support the family

² ominous ['ominas] - treatening

³ delinquency [di'lipkwansi] - crime; wrong doing

Topics for Discussion:

1. Do we witness the same trends in a Russian family?

2. What is the size of an average Russian family?

3. Having read the article, did you find a lot of things different/in common? Give the examples.

4. Can we say the same about Russian young people? “...young people rarely live with their parents...” Why?

5. What is the average marriage age in Russia?

6. Do we have a lot of single-parent families? Why?

Kiss Me and Sign Here, Darling. Demand for Prenuptial Agreements Is on the Rise

(abridged)

by Aline Sullivan

As unromantic as it seems, figuring out how to divide assets¹ in case a marriage fails is a higher priority for an increasing number of newlyweds-to-be than traditional matters such as china patterns and guest list.

Proponents of prenuptial agreements cite rates of divorce that approach 50 percents in the United States and in some European countries, and its rising incidence in the Middle East and Latin America, to defend the practicality of such pacts. Where recognised by law, these agreements can help assuage the turmoil² of divorce and protect the interests of those with substantial assets.

Notes:

¹ assets [Tesat] - anything owned by a person/company that has money value

² assuage O'swei^] the turmoil ['ta:mail] - make less trouble

“INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE”

TUI Death Do Us Part?