LESSON 1

ABOUT MY FAMILY AND MYSELF

Language Focus: to be, Patterns of Comparison,

READING
1.1. Read the text and identify true and false statements after the text.
Correct the false ones.
Meet my family
ЕTV presents a new television series “The family” beginning on October16.
Wednesday 8.00 - 8.50.

Donald Hewitt. Donald is a very rich man now though he was born into a
poor family. Nobody knows how he got into big money but now he’s got a
computer factory in Cambridge and big accounts in Swiss banks. He is
quiet, self-confident and doesn’t like to talk much. He’s been married to
Rosemary for thirty years. They’ve got three children, two sons and a
daughter. Donald has a house in Cambridge and a villa in Spain. He is fond
of golf and spends all his free time on golf courses with his business
friends. Donald is a very strong-willed person and his only weak spot is his
love to his children.

Rosemary Hewitt. Rosemary is Donald’s second wife. His first wife died
at childbirth 36 years ago. So Rosemary is the stepmother for Charles,
Donald’s eldest son. Rosemary is a writer of romantic novels, and she is
very rich too, because practically all her books are bestsellers as soon as
they are published. Most of the time Rosemary lives in Cambridge with her
husband and their three dogs, but she also has a house in London where she
stays when she discusses her books with her editor. Donald and Rosemary
spend summers in their villa in Spain, far from rainy England. When she is
not writing, Rosemary enjoys taking care of the beautiful flowers that grow
in her gardens.

Charles and Amanda Hewitt. Charles is Donald’s favourite son. For a

long time Charles was an only child in the family and he was spoilt by his
grandparents and his nurse who took care of Charles till Donald married
Rosemary. Charles grew up to be selfish, arrogant and extremely ambitious.
He became a good businessman but not a nice person. He is married to
Amanda who used to be a famous model. Amanda is very beautiful; she
won the Beauty Contest “Miss Europe 2009”. Charles was one of the
sponsors of the contest. He met Amanda there and married her a month
later. It isn’t a love match. Charles needs a beautiful wife and a hostess.
 Amanda needs a husband who can buy her the things she likes. They have
two children - Lucy, who is seven, and David, who has just turned six.
Neither Charles nor Amanda are affectionate parents. Charles collects cars
and spends much more time with them than with his wife and children.
Amanda is in love with her face and body and her hobby is shopping and
visiting beautician salons and health clubs. She hardly ever thinks about her
husband and her children.

Andrea and Joseph Williams. Andrea is Donald and Rosemary’s

daughter. She is her mother’s favourite child. In her childhood Andrea was
fond of animals. She used to bring home stray dogs and cats, birds with
broken wings, collected bugs and butterflies. Her favourite subject at school
was biology and after graduating from her college Andrea became a
scientist. Her special field is microbiology and she works in her laboratory
for long hours. She is married to Joseph who loves his wife more than
anything else in the world. Donald and Rosemary’s son–in-law is a
children’s doctor. Andrea and Joseph don’t have children of their own yet,
so they like to spend their time with their niece and nephew. They often
take them out into the country where Andrea teaches the kids to love and
respect nature and Joseph teaches them to fish and to make a camp fire.

Robin Hewitt. Robin is Andrea’s brother. He is 25 and he is a rock singer,

though not famous. His parents are not happy about the lifestyle Robin has
chosen. Robin didn’t like his school and got involved in a company of
teenagers who took drugs and stole from shops. Though Robin had never
known what lack of pocket money was, he liked what his friends called
“adventures” and ended up in a police station after his friends and he tried
to rob a local bank. He didn’t go to prison because he was not 14 at that
time but never learnt to work hard and his parents are very much upset that
he doesn’t want to study and get a good profession.

“Skeleton in the cupboard” Donald has a dark secret. In his youth he did
something dishonest about which he is sure nobody knows. Two days ago
he got a letter in which somebody reminded him of the debt that can be paid
only by the life of one of his grandchildren

Statements to the text:

1. Donald Hewitt inherited a big sum of money from his parents. F
2. Rosemary has two stepchildren. F
3. She is a very successful novelist. T
4. Rosemary’s only hobby is her work. F
 5. Charles’s mother died and there was nobody to take care of him when he
was growing up. F
6. Amanda married Charles for money. T
7. Lucy and David are neglected by their parents. T
8. Andrea and Joseph enjoy outdoor activities with their niece and nephew. T
9. Robin stole from shops because his parents limited him in his pocket
money. F
10. “Skeleton in the cupboard” means some tragedy, crime or disgrace
that happened in the family. T

1.2. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences choosing the right word from
the list below.
niece sister-in-law daughter nephew aunt
son grandparents half-brother parents
nurse son-in-law brother-in-law husband uncle
wife half-sister stepmother stepbrother

1. Lucy is Andrea and Joseph’s little ______________.

2. Donald and Rosemary’s ______________ is an affectionate husband.
3. Charles’s ____________ David wasn’t fond of school in his childhood.
4. Andrea’s ________ Joseph is very enthusiastic about fishing.
5. Charles doesn’t show much respect to his ________ Rosemary.
6. Being spoilt by his ___________ and _________, Charles grew up to be a
very selfish man.
7. Joseph is Lucy and David’s _________.
8. David is Robin’s _________.
9. Robin is Charles’s __________.
10. Robin’s __________ Joseph is a children’s doctor.

1.4. In the text there are some adjectives to describe one’s character and
personality. Give their Ukrainian equivalents. What other words do you
know? (В тексті є прикметники для опису характеру та особистості
людини. Надайте їх українські еквіваленти. Доповніть список іншими,
які Ви знаєте)
Quiet self-confident strong-willed
selfish arrogant ambitious
SPEAKING

1. Your cousin brother who is on vocation with you doesn’t know English
that well. He is shy to speak English. So translate into English what he says
in Ukrainian. This is what your cousin brother would like to tell about his
family.

У мене є тато, мама і молодший брат. Ми живемо разом із бабусею та

дідусем. Моєму батькові 54, він розпорядник на авто мийці. Він народився
в Україні і він справжній патріот України. Мама молодша на 8 років. Вона
економіст. Вона народилась у Росії, але з 1983 року вона живе в Україні і
теж її дуже любить. Мій дідусь – українець, а бабуся народилася в Росії.
Вони познайомились в Росії, одружилися і прожили там більше тридцяти
років, а на початку дев’яностих переїхали в Україну. Зрозуміло, що мої
дідусь та бабуся вже пенсіонери. Бабуся колись працювала на пошті, а
дідусь – на залізниці. Моєму дідусеві майже 84 роки, він вже дуже слабкий
фізично, не виходить з дому. Але він активно цікавиться всім, що
відбувається в житті України та житті нашої родини. Бабуся, хоча їй вже 76
років, дуже активна. Вона багато працює по дому, а влітку постійно працює
на городі. Мій брат на три роки молодший за мене. Він ще навчається у
школі. Він дуже захоплюється спортом. В нього багато й інших хобі:
колекціонування та фотографування. Він не просто мій брат, він мій
справжній друг. Він щирий, надійний, працьовитий і дуже веселий. Отже,
наша родина складається із представників трьох поколінь. Інколи це дійсно
складно, але загалом ми добре ладнаємо.

2. Speak about your family. Who does your family consist of? How old are
they? Where were your parents born? What do they do? How old is your
brother or/ and sister, if you have any? What does he/ she do? Describe one
member of your family in more detail (e.g. character and personality,
extraordinary abilities, hobbies, adventures etc.)

GRAMMAR FOCUS AND WRITING

0. Recollect the ways of comparing people and objects and do the exercises.
(Пригадайте засоби/структури для порівняння людей/ об’єктів тощо)

1. Complete the sentences. Choose from the list the necessary adjective and
use the comparative form (вищий ступінь порівняння прикметників) of
it.
Crowded good early expensive interested large
bad near often far quiet thin old
 1. This jacket is too small. I need a ______________ size.
2. You look ______________. Have you lost weight?
3. Ann’s sister is still at school. Her ___________ sister is a nurse.
4. He’s not so keen on his studies. He’s ___________________ in having a
good time.
5. You’re making too much noise. Can you be a bit __________________?
6. There were a lot of people on the bus. It was _______________ than usual.
7. You’re late. I expected you to be here ______________.
8. Your work isn’t very good. It can be _______________, I’m sure.
9. You hardly ever write to me. Why don’t you write a bit ______________?
10. The hotel was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be much
_____________________________.
11. The damage to our car wasn’t so bad. It could have been much
______.
12. It’s a pity you live so far away. I wish you lived _______________.
13. You are standing too near the camera. Can you move a bit _________
away?

2. Complete the sentences. Use the comparative of the word in brackets +

than.
Example: Her illness was more serious than we at first thought. (serious)
1. Sorry I’m late. It took me ____________ to get here ________ I expected.
(long)
2. She looks about 20. But in fact she’s much ____________ she looks. (old)
3. The problem is not so complicated. It’s ___________ you think. (simple)
4. Health and happiness are _______________________ money. (important)
5. I like the countryside. It’s _____________________________________
and ________ living in a town. (healthy/peaceful)

3. Complete the sentences with a superlative (найвищий ступінь) and a

preposition (прийменник).
Example: It’s a very nice room. It’s the nicest room in the hotel.
1. It’s a very cheap restaurant. It’s ______________________ the town.
2. It was a happy day. It was __________________________ my life.
3. She's a very intelligent student. She ____________________ the school.
4. It’s a very valuable painting. It ________________________ the gallery.

In the following sentences use one of the + superlative

5. He’s a very rich man. He’s one _________________________ the world.
6. It’s a very old castle. It’s ________________________________Britain.
7. He’s a very good player. He ____________________________ the team.
 8. It was a very bad experience. It was ________________________ my life.
9. He is a very dangerous criminal. He _____________________ the country.

4. In these sentences you have to complete the sentences using as … as.

Example: I’m quite tall but you are taller. I’m not as tall as you.
1. My salary is high but yours is higher. My salary isn’t
__________________________________________.
2. You know a bit about computers but I know more. You don’t
________________________________________.
3. I still feel quite tired but I felt a lot more tired yesterday. I don’t
__________________________________________.
4. They’ve lived here for a long time but we’ve lived here longer. They
haven’t ______________________________.
5. The weather is still unpleasant today but yesterday it was worse. The
weather isn’t _______________________________.

5. Complete the sentences with both/ both of/ neither/ neither of.
1. It wasn’t a very good football match. _______________team played well.
2. After the accident _______ cars stopped. ______ drivers got out and
started shouting at each other. ___________ them were aggressive.
3. _________these pullovers are very nice. I don’t know which one to buy.
4. _________ my parents is English. My father is Polish and my mother is
Italian.
5. I don’t eat bell peppers. ____________ does my mom.
6. But __________ my mom and I love tomatoes.
7. When the boat started to sink, we were really frightened because ________
us could swim.

6. This time you have to make sentences with both … and/ neither … nor/
either….or.
Example: Tom was late. So was Ann. Both Tom and Ann were late.
He didn’t write. He didn’t telephone. He neither wrote nor telephoned.
1. The hotel wasn’t clean. And it wasn’t comfortable. The hotel was
______________________________________________.
2. It was a very boring film. It was very long too. ______________________.
3. Is that man’s name Richard? Or is it Robert? It’s one of the two. That man’s
name is ______________________________________.
4. I haven’t got the time to go on holiday. And I haven’t got the money. I’ve
got ____________________________________________.
5. We can leave today or we can leave tomorrow – whichever you prefer. We
______________________________________________.
 6. He gave up his job because he needed a change. Also because the pay was
low. He gave up his job both ____________________________________.
7. George doesn’t smoke. And he doesn’t drink. He ___________________.
8. The front of the house needs painting. The back needs painting too.
________________________________________________.

7. Say it in English.
1. Мій тато вищий та сильніший, ніж я, але я швидший.
2. Обидва мої батьки дуже працелюбні та наполегливі.
3. Моя мама найдобріша та найщиріша у нашій родині.
4. Ніхто з моїх батьків не розмовляє англійською, а я досить добре
володію цією мовою.
5. Проте, мій батько знає комп’ютер так само добре, як і я.
6. Ні тато, ні мама не грають на музичних інструментах. А я граю на
гітарі.

WRITING. You have received a letter from your pen-friend about his family.
Write a letter to your pen-friend. Compare yourself and your parents, your
brother/sister. Write about
- your family in general;
- what you have in common;
- the differences between you and your family members.
Speak about the appearance, character and personality, attitudes and opinions,
habits, hobbies, etc.

A story is told that around 400 years ago some children were fooling around in an eye glass shop. They
noticed that when they placed lenses one on top of the other, they were able to see a considerable distance.
They played around with the concept for a while, experimenting with what happened when they varied the
distance between the lenses. Hans Lippershey, the Dutch lens maker who eventually applied for the first
telescope patent, credits children as having been his motivation for the invention of the first telescope.

The first telescopes built in the early 1600s were very primitive inventions allowing the user to see around 3-
times further than the naked eye. It was not too long however, until Italian astronomer Galileo heard about
the invention ‘that through use of correctly-positioned lenses, allowed people to see things a long way
away’. The tools used in the manufacturing of the first refracting telescope was all Galileo needed to know
and within 24 hours he had developed a better one. In fact, the process of improvements Galileo made on
Lippershey’s telescope were quite dramatic. Whereas the original version had a magnification of 3, the new
telescope had a magnification of around 30. Galileo achieved these extraordinary results by figuring out the
combination of the positions of the lenses and also by making his own lenses which were of better quality.
Although he originally thought they were stars, the better quality lenses – and some scientific analysis –
enabled him to eventually use his telescopes to see the moons of Jupiter. Galileo’s refracting telescopes – so-
called due to the way they handled the light that passed through them – were the standard at that time.

Some 70 years later, British scientist Isaac Newton, explored the way a prism refracts 1 white light into
an array of colors. He recognised that a lens was a circular prism and that the separation of colors limited
the effectiveness of the telescopes in use at the time. Newton created a Reflective Telescope, one that used a
dish-shaped or parabolic mirror to collect light and concentrate the image before it was visible in the
eyepiece. Thus, lenses used for magnification in telescopes were replaced by mirrors. Mirrors have since
been the standard for telescopes. In fact, according to telescope researcher Dr. Carl Addams, the basic
designs of telescopes have not changed much in the last 100 years. What has changed however, is the way
technology has been used to improve them. For example, the larger telescopes in the world today are around
10 metres in diameter and the mirrors placed within them are so finely polished that even at the microscopic
level there are no scratches or bumps on them at all. To achieve such a flawless surface requires a very
expensive process that operates with the utmost precision.

1
: The separation or change of direction of a ray of light when passed through a glass of water.

The mid 1700s, saw the discovery and production of the Achromatic telescope. This type of telescope
differed from previous ones in the way it handled the different wavelengths of light. The first person who
succeeded in making achromatic refracting telescopes seems to have been the Englishman, Chester Moore
Hall. The telescope design used two pieces of special optical glass known as crown and flint Each side of
each piece was ground and polished and then the two pieces were assembled together. Achromatic lenses
bring two wavelengths – typically red and blue – into focus in the same plane. Makers of achromatic
telescopes had difficulty locating disks of flint glass of suitable purity needed to construct them. In the late
1700s, prizes were offered by the French Academy of Sciences for any chemist or glass-manufacturer that
could create perfect discs of optical flint glass however, no one was able to provide a large disk of suitable
purity and clarity.

Currently the largest telescopes are around eight to ten metres in size. These extremely expensive and
sophisticated pieces of equipment are located primarily throughout Europe and America. Dr Addams
believes that the telescopes of the future will be a gigantic improvement in what is currently considered
state-of-the-art. Telescopes that are 20 or 30 metres in diameter are currently being planned, and there has
been a suggestion put forward by a European firm that they would like to build a 100-metre telescope. Says
Addams, ‘The quality of the glass needed to build a 100 meter telescope is like building a lens the size of a
football field and having the largest bump in that football field being a ten-thousandth of a human hair’. The
engineering and technology required to build such a flawless reflective surface is most impressive.