LESSON 2 RELATIONSHIPS

CONNECTING TO THE TOPIC

1. What do you think are the relationships of the people in the picture?
2. What do you think the responsibilities should be of each family member?
3. How much time do you think they should all be together each day? Each week? Each
month? Each year?
PART 1 BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
- The longest marriage on record lasted 86 years. It was between Sir Temulji Bhicaji Nariman
and Lady Nariman, who were wed in 1853 when they were five years old.
- Adam Borntrager of Medford, Wisconsin, had 675 living descendants. They were: 11
children, 115 grandchildren, 529 great-grandchildren, and 20 great-great-grandchildren.
- The life expectancies for both men and women are greatest in Japan.
Life Expectancies
Country Men Women
Japan 77.02 83.35
United states 72.5 79.87
Mexico 68.98 75.17
Russia 68.83 71.72
China 68.57 71.48
I. What do you think? Discuss the following
questions in pairs.
1. Would you like to be married to someone for
86 years? Why or why not? If you answered no,
would it change your mind if you knew that
people who are married usually live longer?
2. Is it better to live with your parents after you
are married or on your own? Why? If you
answered live on your own, would it change
your mind if you knew that people who live
with their parents usually live longer?
3. What do you think are some of the reasons
that the five countries listed above have some
of the longest life expectancies in the world?
II. Sharing your Experience
Considering Lifestyle of the Elderly. Think
about the questions in the following chart.
1. Make some brief notes about your ideas.
2. Share your ideas in small groups. Use elderly
family members, friends, or people you've heard
about as examples in your discussion.
 in your native country in the U.S. or Cannada
What is daily life like, or the elderly?
What do they do? Where do they
go?
Do the elderly live with their
children and grandchildren? If not,
do they live by themselves in homes
or apartments, in retirement
communities with other active
elderly people, or in facilities or
nursing homes that provide
assistance?
Do the elderly, in general, live far
from or near their children? Be sure
to discuss with your group what
distance you consider far and what
distance you consider near.
III. Vocabulary preview
Vocabulary in context. The following words are some key terms used in the lecture. Complete
the sentences with the correct forms of the vocabulary words. Then compare your answers
with your classmates.
1. Chang has two brothers and two sisters, so he has four
______________________________.
2. There are five people, including a grandparent, in the Sato
_______________________________.
3. The Bureau of Vital _______________________________ keeps track of the number of
marriages, births, and deaths in the United States.
4. The results of the experiment provided interesting __________________________ the
biologist was able to use the information to solve a problem.
5. I made the _______________________________ that you were married because you were
wearing a ring on your left ring finger.
6. An _______________________________ may include children, parents, uncles, aunts, and
grandparents.
7. Sometimes when parents divorce and the family breaks up, the family can become
_______________________________.
8. When people are _______________________________ and living alone with no friends or
family nearby, they may become very depressed.
IV. Using vocabulary. Make some brief notes to answer each question. Then share
your answers in small groups.
Vocabulary Note
1. Do you have any siblings? What are their
ages.
2. How many people live in your household?
Who are they?
3. Who is in your extended family?
4. Have you ever made assumptions that
turned out to be wrong? Give an example.
5. Do you think that statistics always lead to
correct assumptions?