Splitting up – the painful facts.

There were 162,000 divorces in Britain in 1983, and about a fifth of those involved at least one partner who had been divorced before.

But splitting up is more common among the lower income groups. The survey shows that the rate of divorces per thousand husbands in unskilled manual jobs was more than four times that for professional husbands. Nearly two-fifths of all currently divorced women aged 18 to 49 were receiving maintenance from their former husbands for their children or themselves.

Marriages in the UK – a total of 387.000 – were three per cent down on the previous year. Just over a third of these were remarriages for one or both partners.

Money

Most people considered that the gap between high wage earners and those on small incomes was too large.

Predictably, people with high incomes were less likely to agree, but even among those with an annual income of at least £15,000, more than half thought the gap was too wide. The majority also disagreed that the rich in this country are over-taxed.

Questioned on Government spending, the three most favoured candidates for extra cash were health, education, and help for industry. The least favoured were overseas aid, public transport, roads, police, and prisons.

Smoking

The number of smokers dropped by around 12 per cent compared with 1972, with more men than women kicking the habit. But drug abuse rocketed. Registered male addicts under 20 doubled between 1982 and 1983.

There were 56 million people living in the UK in 1983 – only half a million more than in 1971. But the number of people aged 65 or over had gone up by more than two million since 1961, and represented more than 15 per cent of the population, compared with less than 5 per cent at the turn of the century.

 

4.8 Complete the following sentences, using information from the article above.

Model: Women do more work in the house than men do.

a) Women __________ free time __________ men.

b) Men __________ housework.

c) __________ do any washing or ironing.

d) Only one man in twenty __________.

e) __________ wash the dishes in the evening.

f) __________ repairs in the household __________ by men.

g) Britons __________ more money __________ ten years ago.

h) Britons __________ cigarettes, and are eating __________.

i) Spain __________ place to go on holiday.

j) There were _________ as many divorces among _________ as among professional classes.

k) Fewer than two in five divorced women __________.

l) __________ marriages in 1983 __________ 1982.

 

4.9 Ask and answer 10 questions on the text.

 

4.10 Speak on the Social Trends Survey by the Central Statistical Office.

 

4.11 Do you agree with these statements?

1 Father should feed children and change their nappies.

2 Men should do more work about the house.

3 Mothers with young children should not work.

 

4.12 What are the results of the Social Trend Survey in Russia?

1 Have you get any information on this problem?

2 Tell your friends what you’ve read or heard about it.

 

4.13 Read the text My Family understand it using the vocabulary after it and then find the English equivalents.

MY FAMILY

Hi! My name is Thomas (though my friends call me Tom). I’m fifteen. I’ve got a Mum, a Dad, a brother and two sisters, three aunts and uncles and two grandmothers who live in New Zealand. I’m the youngest. It is pretty dire*(1) at times when my elder sisters and brother try to boss me around, but sometimes it’s OK because I get away with*(2) doing things with them – like going off*(3) up to London for the day, staying up*(4) really late to watch videos and going off to the pub for a drink (cola, of course, because I’m not 18 yet). I think there are some advantages*(5) of being the youngest. I can learn from my sisters’ and brother’s mistakes, and they’ve fought some of the battles with my parents for freedom.

My eldest brother Mark is 20 and is studying at the university in York. My sister Laura is 18 and in her last year at school. She is doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths*(6) ^“A” levels. She wants to become a doctor.

Liz is my other sister. She is 16. My sister Liz was born lucky. She has a beautiful smile. When she does something bad, she smiles and my parents are not angry with*(7) her. She eats a lot and does not get fat*(8). Her favourite meal is a double cheeseburger with French fries*(9), a milkshake*(10), and an ice cream sundae*(11). She does not study hard but always gets good marks. After school she does her homework in five minutes while she watches television at the same time.

I’m close to*(12) all three but possibly closest to Liz. She sometimes comes to me for advice and I sometimes go to her. But I would have liked to have a younger brother. I’d have liked to have someone to have a laugh with, someone to take out to football with me. My sisters and Mark don’t always share*(13) my sense of humour.

My Dad is a civil servant*(14) and works in central London. Mum is a teacher and works in Croydon, a town on the outskirts*(15) of London.

If I go out, my parents like to know where I’m going, who I’m with and what time I’m coming home, but that’s fair*(16) enough.

Of all my relatives best of all I like my Granny Dotty. She loves adventure. On her sixtieth birthday she went mountain climbing*(17) in the Alps. On her seventieth birthday she went on a trip to the North Pole. When she was eighty she drove, alone, across the United States. She loves to eat chocolate. We all wonder what, she will do when she is ninety.

Vocabulary :

*1 pretty dire –  довольно неприятно

*2 to get away with – провернуть какое-либо дельце

*3 to go off – уезжать, сбегать

*4 to stay up – не ложиться спать

*5 advantages – преимущества

*6 Further Maths – высшая математика

*7 be angry (with) – сердиться (на)

*8 get flat – поправляться, становиться толстым

*9 French fries – картофель фри

*10 milkshake – молочный коктейль

*11 ice cream sundae – пломбир с сиропом, орехами, фруктами

*12 be close (to) – быть в близких отношениях

*13 share – делить, разделять

*14 civil servant – служащий

*15 outskirts – пригород

*16 fair – справедливый

*17 mountain climbing – альпинизм

● Find the English equivalents:

Мои друзья называют меня Томом; временами довольно неприятно; пытаться командовать; провернуть какое-либо дельце; поездки в Лондон; на день; допоздна не ложиться спать; смотреть видео; вылазки в бар; некоторые преимущества; ошибки сестер и брата; битвы с родителями; битвы за свободу; последний год в школе; она занимается биологией; моя вторая сестра; родилась счастливой; любимая еда; молочный коктейль; пломбир; всегда получает хорошие отметки; делает домашнее задание и смотрит телевизор одновременно; я близок со всеми тремя; она приходит ко мне за советом; младший брат; кто-то, с кем можно посмеяться; кто-то, с кем можно пойти на футбол; не всегда понимают мой юмор; служащий; достаточно справедливо; из всех своих родственников; больше всех; в свои шестьдесят (70, 80); через Соединенные Штаты; всем нам хотелось бы знать.

 

4.14 Answer the following questions about yourself:

1 What’s your name? How old are you? What group are you in?

2 Do you have a big family?

3 What members of the family do you have? Do you live together?

4 How many children are there in your family? Who is the youngest?

5 Do other children try to boss the youngest one around? Is it OK? Would you like to be the youngest? The eldest?

6 Do you think there are some advantages or disadvantages in being the youngest or the eldest? What are they?

7 What are your brothers’ and sisters’ names? What are they doing? How old are they?

8 What do your parents do? Are they busy with their work?

9 Do they spend much time with you?

10 Are your parents strict with you?

11 Are you close to all members of your family? Who are you closest to?

12 Who do you think was born lucky in your family? Why do you think so?

13 Can you tell anything interesting about your relatives?

 

 

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