Text 20 ARE YOU READY TO BE INDEPENDENT?
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
Angela Rowlands recently tested her teenage children’s ability to do basic household jobs in the house. When Angela and her husband Ben went to Spain for a few weeks’ holiday on the Costa Brava, their son Mark, aged 18, and daughter Frances, aged 16, stayed at home to look after the house. The parents wanted to see how Mark and Frances would manage in the house on their own.
So when they left the house, they did not tell the children that they had prepared a few tests for them. “We took the plug off the microwave and took out some good light bulbs and put in light bulbs that did not work. We also made sure that there were other problems in the house: with an Italian coffee machine and one of the taps in the bathroom,” says Dr Rowlands.
When Dr Rowlands returned from her holiday, she found, as she had expected, that her children had failed the independence test. Mark and Frances had asked an electrician to change the plug on the microwave and to change the light bulbs. They also paid a specialist for repairing the bathroom tap. When they saw that the coffee maker was broken, they went to buy a new one. They even did not think to look for the missing part in the cupboard.
Dr Rowlands was not surprised by the results of her experiment. “A lot of young people today are not able to solve simple problems in the house,” she says. “They often throw things away when they are broken. This is wrong because it shows that young people do not understand how things work or are made. It can also be very expensive because you have to pay other people to do the work for you.”
But repairing broken things is only part of the problem. A lot of young people cannot cook at all. If there is no readymade meal in the fridge, or if there is nothing to warm up in the microwave, then there is no food. This can cause health problems.
The truth is that many young people do not want to learn basic household skills as they find them boring. Though, if people want to be prepared for independent life they should learn how to do simple jobs about the house.
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1. *a plug [plʌɡ] штепсельная вилка
2. a light bulb [ˈlaɪt bʌlb] лампочка
3. a tap [tæp] кран
2. Why did Dr. Rowlands decide to test her children? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What did the parents prepare for their children?
4. Do you think the children passed the test? Why do you think so?
Angela Rowlands recently tested her teenage children’s ability to do basic household jobs in the house. When Angela and her husband Ben went to Spain for a few weeks’ holiday on the Costa Brava, their son Mark, aged 18, and daughter Frances, aged 16, stayed at home to look after the house. The parents wanted to see how Mark and Frances would manage in the house on their own.
So when they left the house, they did not tell the children that they had prepared a few tests for them. “We took the plug off the microwave and took out some good light bulbs and put in light bulbs that did not work. We also made sure that there were other problems in the house: with an Italian coffee machine and one of the taps in the bathroom,” says Dr Rowlands.
When Dr Rowlands returned from her holiday, she found, as she had expected, that her children had failed the independence test. Mark and Frances had asked an electrician to change the plug on the microwave and to change the light bulbs. They also paid a specialist for repairing the bathroom tap. When they saw that the coffee maker was broken, they went to buy a new one. They even did not think to look for the missing part in the cupboard.
Dr Rowlands was not surprised by the results of her experiment. “A lot of young people today are not able to solve simple problems in the house,” she says. “They often throw things away when they are broken. This is wrong because it shows that young people do not understand how things work or are made. It can also be very expensive because you have to pay other people to do the work for you.”
But repairing broken things is only part of the problem. A lot of young people cannot cook at all. If there is no readymade meal in the fridge, or if there is nothing to warm up in the microwave, then there is no food. This can cause health problems.
The truth is that many young people do not want to learn basic household skills as they find them boring. Though, if people want to be prepared for independent life they should learn how to do simple jobs about the house.
___________________________________________
1. *a plug [plʌɡ] штепсельная вилка
2. a light bulb [ˈlaɪt bʌlb] лампочка
3. a tap [tæp] кран
2. Why did Dr. Rowlands decide to test her children? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What did the parents prepare for their children?
4. Do you think the children passed the test? Why do you think so?
II. Listen to Tom speaking about his day off and answer the questions below.(41)
1. How did Tom spend his day off?
2. What went wrong?
3. What made Tom feel frightened?
1. How did Tom spend his day off?
2. What went wrong?
3. What made Tom feel frightened?
breathed a sigh of relief - вздохнули с облегчением
Script
Tom: It was a beautiful sunny morning and I had the day off work. I thought it would be a good idea to visit my cousins, Paul and Bob, who had recently rented a summer cottage near the seaside. I threw a towel and a pair of swimming trunks into my bag and set off on my motorbike.
The boys were pleased to see me. “We’ve rented a speedboat to go water-skiing. Do you want to come with us?” they asked. I wasn’t sure because I had never been water-skiing before. But the boys promised to teach me how to do it. After a while I managed to stand on the skis without falling into the sea. We were having so much fun that we didn’t notice the dark clouds in the sky.
It was about six o’clock in the afternoon when Bob shouted to me: “It’s getting dark and it’s time we went back.” While they were pulling me along, the engine suddenly stopped. We tried hard to get the engine started, but we couldn’t. Then the boat slowly began to drift out to sea.
As we were sitting there wondering what to do, there was a loud crash of thunder and a flash of lightning lit up the evening sky. The sea was dark and angry and it looked as if there was going to be a storm. Paul and Bob looked worried and that made me feel frightened. Just then we saw a lifeboat approaching in the distance and we breathed a sigh of relief!
The boys were pleased to see me. “We’ve rented a speedboat to go water-skiing. Do you want to come with us?” they asked. I wasn’t sure because I had never been water-skiing before. But the boys promised to teach me how to do it. After a while I managed to stand on the skis without falling into the sea. We were having so much fun that we didn’t notice the dark clouds in the sky.
It was about six o’clock in the afternoon when Bob shouted to me: “It’s getting dark and it’s time we went back.” While they were pulling me along, the engine suddenly stopped. We tried hard to get the engine started, but we couldn’t. Then the boat slowly began to drift out to sea.
As we were sitting there wondering what to do, there was a loud crash of thunder and a flash of lightning lit up the evening sky. The sea was dark and angry and it looked as if there was going to be a storm. Paul and Bob looked worried and that made me feel frightened. Just then we saw a lifeboat approaching in the distance and we breathed a sigh of relief!
- Let’s talk about Belarus. Are you proud of your Motherland?
- What are the symbols of Belarus?
- Ask me about Belarusian holidays or traditions.
- Which national dishes can you recommend a tourist to taste in Belarus?
- What attracts tourists to Belarus?
possible response
1) I am Belarusian and proud of my country. I am proud of its amazing nature, rich heroic and cultural heritage, unique national holidays and traditions, hospitable and hardworking people.
My republic is a small beautiful country with the heroic past and difficult present. It is situated in Central Europe and borders on Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Its area is above 207,000 square kilometers and the population is more than 10 million. 64% live in cities, the largest of which are Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Brest, Grodno and Vitebsk.
Belarus is a land of vast plains and picturesque hills, thick forests and green meadows, deep blue lakes and flowing rivers. There are a lot of rivers and lakes in our country. The Dnieper, the Pripyat, the Berezina, the Sozh, the Zapadnaya Dvina, the Neman are the biggest rivers with more than 500 kilometers in length. The largest lake in Belarus is the Naroch.
Today Belarus is a developed industrial state. The main industries are Information Technologies, engineering, chemical industry, wood-working and food industries. Belarussian goods are exported to many countries and known all over the world. Agriculture of Belarus specializes in milk and meat production, flax, vegetables (especially potatoes) and fruit.
At present Belarus is active on the international arena. It’s the UNICEF’s democratic state based on principles of Welfare and rules of low.
2. According to the Constitution, the State Flag, the State Coat of Arms and the State Anthem are the symbols of sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus. Besides them, there are also some unofficial symbols that reflect the culture and the history of the state. They are the European bison, the white stork, the cornflower, potatoes, the National Library, the City's Gates and many others.
3. What are the official holidays in Belarus?
Do you follow any national traditions?
What’s your favourite Belarusian holiday?
What holiday is celebrated on the night of July, 7?
4. I highly recommend you to taste the major Belarusian dish “draniki”, potato pancakes served with sour cream. It's delicious and healty dish.
5. In my opinion, today Belarus has become more open to tourists from all over the world. One reason is the visa-free stay in Belarus for up to 5 days for the citizens of 80 states. Moreover, Belarus is charming, attractive and a very safe country to travel.