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Growing up and growing old



NOTE: The period between 13 and 17 approximately is called adolescence, and the boy / girl is an adolescent.

age stage
0-1 approximately 1-2 2-12 approximately 13-17 approximately 18 + 20-29 30-39 40 + 60 or 65   75 + a baby a toddler a child - this period is your childhood a teenager (14 = early teens) an adult in your twenties (24-26 = mid- twenties) in your thirties (38 = late thirties) people are middle-aged retirement (=when people stop work; they are retired) old age (you can describe people as elderly)

Sam was born in Scotland but when he was two, his father got a new job in Los Angeles, and he grew up in California. He went to university at 19 where he met Anthea. He went out with her (= she was his girlfriend; he was her boyfriend) for three years, but towards the end they had lots of rows (= arguments) and finally they split up (= separated/ended their relationship). In his mid-twenties he met Marie. They fell in love and, got married within six months. One year later she got pregnant and they had their first child, a boy. But the marriage was not a success. Sam left two years afterwards and they got divorced (= the marriage ended officially). Four years later, Marie remarried (= got married again), she is now expecting a second baby (= she’s pregnant).

(Redman Stuart. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-intermediate and Intermediate.)

 

3.3. What stage of life are these people at?

1. Paul isn’t two yet, so he’s still a …toddler… .

2. Albert was a bus driver for 40 years but stopped work two years ago, so he’s now ………. .

3. Susan is 25, so she is in her ………. .

4. Caroline is 48 this year so she is now in her ………. .

5. Ron is 33 and his wife is 32, so they are both in their ………. .

6. Joan is 75 this year, so she is quite ………. .

7. Jason was born six weeks ago, so he’s a ………. .

8. Leyla is 13 this year, so she’ll soon be a ………. .

9. Ravi is 18 this year, so legally he becomes an ………. .

10. 15 is often a difficult age for boys going through ………. .

(Redman Stuart. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-intermediate and Intermediate.)

 

 

3.4. Are these sentences true or false about the people? If false, write the correct answer below.

1. Sam was born in Ireland.

2. He grew up in the south of Ireland.

3. He went out with Anthea for two years.

4. They split up because Sam went to live in Japan.

5. Sam fell in love with Marie.

6. They had a baby a year after they got married.

7. Marie is now expecting her third child.

8. Marie left Sam.

 

3.5. Find the logical ending for each of the sentence beginnings on the left and construct Rebecca’s life.

1 Rebecca was born 2 She grew up 3 Her first boyfriend 4 She went out with him 5 She went to university 6 She fell in love 7 They got married 8 She had a baby 9 Her father retired a) was a boy at her secondary school. b) in her early thirties. c) on a farm with lots of animals. d) when she was in her late twenties. e) in a small local hospital in 1972. f) or six months. g) just after the baby was born. h) with another student doing medicine. i) when she left school.

(Redman Stuart. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-intermediate and Intermediate.)

3.6. You will often meet sentences that refer back to important information contained earlier in the text. These reference sentences can help you work out the answers to some of the multiple-choice questions. Reference sentences usually – but not always – contain words like this, that, these, those, etc.

1) Match the sentences (a-d) with the statements they refer back to (1-4).

1. I grew up in a huge family and I helped my mother look after the younger children. It never crossed my mind to complain about having to do this. As kids, we all knew we had to help out.

2. I was an only child and my parents gave me everything. They worried about me all the time and they were very selective about the children they would allow me to play with.

3. When I was a child we lived really well. We had a beautiful house, a maid and expensive foreign holidays. My parents never saved a penny. Then my father lost his job. After that, we were always terribly short of money and I couldn’t go to college because I had to go out and get a job.

4. I was very close to my grandparents when I was growing up. They used to take me out and buy me things and tell me all kinds of stories which I loved listening to.

a) All that made me a rather nervous and selfish person, if I’m honest.

b) This is why I feel it is very important that my children should spend time with my own parents.

c) That’s the kind of upbringing which teaches you to get on well with other people and to be unselfish.

d) That experience showed me how important it is to look after your money.

2) Read the following paragraphs of a text about a person’s upbringing and answer the multiple-choice questions.

I grew up in a small industrial town. My parents both worked in a nearby factory. Few families in the town were well-off but most of us were content with our lives. More than anything, it was the closeness of our families that kept us happy. On Sundays, everyone would put on their best clothes and go out to visit relatives and friends. All of us were brought up to understand the importance of our families to us and we developed a strong sense of belonging to the community we grew up in. Those values have stayed with me throughout my life.

● What do the words those values in the above sentence in italics refer to?

A) respecting your family and the people around you

B) being happy to work in a factory all your life

C) keeping in touch with relatives as well as with friends

D) wearing respectable clothes when you go out on Sundays

 

Although our town was industrial, it was surrounded by beautiful unspoilt country. As a child, I spent hours on end playing with my brothers and sisters, cousins and friends in the woods around the town, catching fish in a nearby river and, in the summer, swimming in the freezing water. We would all rush out of the house after breakfast, appear briefly for our lunch, which we ate as fast as we possibly could, and then we would be off again out of the house to meet our friends. By the evening, we were so tired that we couldn’t stay awake and had to be carried to bed by our parents. / often wish my own children could have grown up like that.

● What do the words like that in the above sentence in italics refer to?

A) living in an industrial area

B) being free to go out and play all day

C) having a river nearby

D) being tired and ready to go to bed early

 

My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college so I had to get a job. Like most of my relatives, I went to work in a local factory. I was assigned to the accounts office where one of my uncles worked. I knew I would have to wait years to get a good position there. Many people, including my parents, told me I was lucky to have got a job in that department because there were a lot of people unemployed. / knew I could never look at life in this way. After just six months in the job, I walked out.

● What does the phrase look at life in this way in the above sentence in italics refer to?

A) wanting to work with your relatives

B) accepting that you cannot go to college

C) wanting to have a high position

D) being satisfied with whatever you have got

 

I moved to a city in the south of the country where, after a lot of hard work, I built up a whole business empire. Today, I am one of the richest people in the country. I have children of my own now, who I send to an expensive private school. I have seen most parts of the world and I own several houses, racehorses and a private collection of classic cars. On the other hand, I often remember how happy I was while I was growing up. Then I wonder if such things are, in the end, all that important.

● What do the words such things in the above sentence in italics refer to?

A) moving to another part of the country

B) the experiences of your childhood

C) living the typical lifestyle of a wealthy person

D) being able to give children a private education

 

3.7. Read the dialogue as quickly as possible. Answer the questions given below without looking at the text and see how much of it you can remember.

DIALOGUE

Peter: Your name is George Scott, isn’t it?

George: Yes, it is. I am an electronic engineer. I live and work in New York. And what’s your name?

Peter: My name is Peter Brook. I am an editor. I live and work in San Francisco.

George:  You are married, aren’t you?

Peter: Oh, yes. I am married and I’ve got two daughters.

George:  What a coincidence! I’ve got two daughters, too: Helen and Mary. What are your daughters’ names?

Peter: They are Susan and Jane. Susan is ten years old and Jane is eight. They both go to a private school. Do your daughters go to school?

George: Not yet. Helen is five years old and Mary is three.

Peter: They are at home, aren’t they?

George:  Sure. My wife doesn’t work now. She runs the house and looks after the children. Emily is the name of my wife. She is a designer. She adores her trade and dreams of going to her office again. But she can’t for the time being.

Peter: It’s only natural. Nowadays very few women are satisfied with being housewives. My wife, whose name is Nancy, is a teacher of Russian. She works at a college.

George:  Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Peter: Unfortunately not. I am the only child in the family. I’ve got a cousin who lives in Chicago. We are on friendly terms.

George:  I have got a sister. She is much younger than I am. She lives with our parents in Los Angeles. I’ve seen very little of her of late.

Peter: Los Angeles is a beautiful city. My aunt lives there and I visit her from time to time.

George:  It’s a long time since I went to Los Angeles.

Peter: Too bad!

1. What are George Scott’s and Peter Brook’s professions?

2. Where do they live?

3. What are their wives’ names?

4. Have they got any children? (their manes and ages)

5. Whose wife doesn’t work?

6. What and where does Nancy teach?

7. What does Emily dream of?

8. Who is the only child in the family?

9. Who lives in Los Angeles?

10. Who goes to Los Angeles more often?

 

3.8. Complete the following questions with a suitable tag and answer them in pairs.

Model: Peter lives in San Francisco, …doesn’t he…..?

1. Emily can’t work now, ……..?

2. George has got a sister, ……..?

3. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, ………?

4. It’s a long time since George went to Los Angeles, ………?

5. Nancy doesn’t work at a college, ……..?

6. George has seen his sister quite lately, ……..?

7. Helen and Mary don’t go to school, ……..?

8. Peter and his cousin are on friendly terms, ……..?

9. Nowadays women aren’t satisfied with being housewives, ……..?

 

3.9. Study the information. Before you read the text answer the following questions:

1. Who do you live with?

2. Do other members of your family live near you, or do you have to travel to see them?

MODERN FAMILIES

What is a “traditional” family nowadays? With more and more couples choosing not to get married, and with the number of divorces and second marriages increasing, the idea of the “traditional family” (two married parents, an average of two children, grandparents living nearby) is rapidly disappearing in some countries. Here are some personal examples and statistics from the English-speaking world.

Families in the USA in the UK
Marriages that end in divorce 50% 33%
Families with only one parent 25% 25%
Children who live in a single-parent home at some time 50% 33%
Children whose parents aren't married 33% 40%
Single parents who are men 10% 10%

 

3.10. Read the texts and find out how many people Callum, Meera, Ben and Trudi share a house with.

My name’s Meera, and I live in Wolverhampton, near Birmingham, in England. I live with my parents, my brother and my sister. My grandmother lives next door. My mum was born here in Britain, but my grandmother moved here from India in the 1960s when my dad was a little boy. My dad has two sisters – Auntie Sunita and Auntie Rani. Auntie Sunita lives in the same street, and Auntie Rani lives in Birmingham, which is only 15 miles away. They’re both married, and I’ve got five cousins. We see them almost every week. Someone is always visiting our house, or we go to Birmingham to see them. And two years ago we all went to India to see our family there.

I’m Callum, and I live with my parents in Cambridge, in the east of England. We moved here when I was five because of Dad’s job, but my mum comes from the north of England, and Dad comes from Scotland. I’ve got a grandma in Edinburgh and a granddad in Yorkshire. And I’ve got two cousins who live near London, because that’s where Dad’s sister and her husband live. We see my cousins about three times a year, and we go up to Edinburgh every New Year, but I can’t remember when I last saw my granddad in Yorkshire. He always sends me presents, though!

I’m Ben, from Portland, Oregon, and my family is a bit complicated! I’ve got a sister called Ella, but three years ago my parents got divorced and now both of them are re-married. We live with my mom, Julie, and my stepfather, Bob. Bob’s got a daughter called Daisy, but she doesn’t live with us, she lives with her mom. My father’s name is Pete. He and his second wife have just had a baby boy, Charles, so I’ve got a new half-brother!

My name’s Trudi, and I’ve got a sister called Beth. Our mum and dad are divorced, so we live with just our mum in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Our dad has an apartment in the centre of town, and we spend every other weekend there. After school every day we go to our grandma’s house and have a meal there, because our mum doesn’t finish work until six o’clock. She collects us at half past six, except on Wednesday evenings when we go swimming with our dad.

 

3.11. Choose the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.

1. Callum’s aunt and uncle / grandparents live near London.

2. Callum often / sometimes sees his cousins.

3. Meera’s aunts both live near / faraway.

4. Meera often / rarely sees her cousins.

5. Daisy is Ben’s half-sister / stepsister.

6. Julie is Pete’s ex-wife / stepmother.

7. Trudi’s mum and dad live in different places / together.

8. Trudi never sees her dad / sees her dad regularly.

 

3.12. Complete the following text, using the correct form of leave and appropriate words or expressions below.

home                                                          a decision to someone

school                                                         a message

a job, a company, etc.

a country, a village, etc.

LEAVE

 

somebody / something behind            money / property to somebody

somebody / something alone

I met my best friend and some other friends in a pub а few evenings ago. We were going on to a club but my best friend didn’t want to come so, in the end, we (1) …….. her …….. in the pub. The next day, I phoned her house and (2) …….. with her brother for her to call me back. She didn’t, and when I finally got through to her, she just told me (3) …….. her …….. and put the phone down. I went round to her house to find out what was the matter with her. She told me that she (4) …….. her …….. just a few days before, after working there for just over a month. She was starting to regret (5) …….. the year before, because she had no qualifications to help her to get a decent job. She even criticised her parents for (6) …….. the …….. to her about whether she should stay on at school or not. Some people are never satisfied!

                                 (McGavigan, P., Reeves J. First Certificate. Reading.)

 

3.13. ROLE PLAY. Getting to know you

STUDENT A

Get to know something about Student B by asking him/her questions and filling in the following form. (Student B will also ask you questions.)

Name:……………                 Age:……………………..

Country of origin:……………..................................... Nationality:……………..

Hometown / village: ……………………………………......

Number of people in family: ……………………………….

Mother / Father:……………………………………………...

Number of brothers / sisters: ………………………………

Anyone else: ………………………………………………...

Father’s occupation:………………………………………...

Mother’s occupation: ………………………………………..

Left school (year):…………………………………………....

Present job or College/University:………………………….

Length of time spent studying English (years): …………..

Interests:……………………………………………………….

Favourite colour:……………………………………………...

Foreign countries visited:………………………………….…

Main ambition:………………………………………………...

 

Before starting, work out which questions to ask. For example:

What’s your name?

Where do you come from?

Have you got any brothers?

What’s your father’s job?

How long have you been studying English?

STUDENT B

Get to know something about Student A by asking him / her questions and filling in the following form. (Student A will also ask you questions.)

Name:…………… Date of birth: (day) (month) (year)…………

Place of birth: Town: …………… Country:……………………..…..

Nationality:……………………………………………………………....

Home town / village:…………………………………………………....

Number of people in family: …………………………………………..

Mother / Father:…………………………………………………….…..

Number of brothers / sisters: …………………………………………

Anyone else: ……………………………………………………….…..

Father’s name: …………… ...         Age: ……………………….….

Mother’s name: …………… ...         Age: ……………………….….

Left school (year): ……………………………………………………...

Present job: or College/University: …………………………………..

Started learning English (year): ………………………………………

Interests: ………………………………………………………………..

Favourite pop singer: ………………………………………………….

Languages spoken (apart from English): ……………………………

Main ambition: ………………………………………………………….

 

Before starting, work out which questions to ask. For example:

What’s your name?

When were you born?

Where were you born?

Have you got any sisters?

When did you start learning English?

When, you have finished, use the answers Student B gave you to fill in the gaps in the following sentences.

1. I spoke to ……………

2. He / She is ………. years old and comes from ……….

3. He / She is ………. (nationality) and lives in a town / village called ………

4. There are ………. people in his /her family altogether – his / her …………

5. His / Her father is a/an ………. and his / her mother is a/an ………………

6. He / She left school in 20 …….. and is now studying at ……………(name of College / University)

7. He / She has been studying English for ………. years.

8. His / Her interests are ………. and his / her favourite colour is ……….….

9. He / She has / hasn’t visited any foreign countries.

or The only foreign country he / she has visited is …………………………

or He/She has visited ……………………….... (names of foreign countries).

10. Finally, his / her main ambition is to ………………………………………

When you have finished, use the answers Student A gave you to fill in the gaps in the following sentences:

1. I spoke to …………….

2. He / She was born on ……, 19….. in …… (town/village) in …… (country).

3. He / She is ……. (nationality) and lives in a town / village called …………

4. There are ………. people altogether in his / her family – his / her ………

5. His / Her father is called …………. and he is …………….….years old.

6. His / Her mother’s name is …………. and she is ………………….(age)

7. He / She left school in 20…….and is now studying at ………… (name of College / University)

8. He / She started learning English in 20………………………………………

9. His / Her interests are ……… and his / her favourite pop singer is ………

10. Apart from English, he / she also speaks ……………………………..….

11. Finally, his / her main ambition is to ………………………………………..

 


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