TOPICS
Устные разговорные темы
по английскому языку
для студентов I курса
Topic I
My family
I am Alex Petrov. Alex is my first name and Petrov is my surname. I'm seventeen years old. I want to tell you a few words about my family. My family is large. I have got a mother, a father, a sister, a brother and a grandmother. There are six of us in the family.
First of all some words about my parents. My mother is a teacher of biology. She works in a college. She likes her profession. She is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim.
My father is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered, tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six. My father often sings when he is at home and has some free time. I play the guitar and we sing together. My father knows all about new radio sets and likes to repair old ones. He is also handy with many things. He can fix almost everything: a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a fridge and what not. He's got a few shelves where he keeps everything he needs. On the table there is always a radio in pieces.
My parents have been married for twenty-six years. They have much in common, but they have different views on music, books, films, and sports. For example, my father likes horror films and my mother likes "soap operas". My father is fond of tennis. My mother doesn't go in for sports. But my parents have the same opinion about my education and upbringing.
My parents are hard working people. My mother keeps house and takes care of my father and me. She is very good at cooking and she is clever with her hands. She is very practical. My father and I try to help her with the housework. I wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.
My grandmother is a pensioner. She lives with us and helps to run the house. She is fond of knitting.
My sister Helen is twenty-five. She is married and has a family of her own. She works as an accountant for a joint venture company. Her husband is a scientist. They have got twins: a daughter and a son. They go to a nursery school.
My brother Boris is eleven. He is a schoolboy. He wants to become a doctor but he is not sure yet. Three months ago he dreamed of being a cosmonaut.
Vocabulary
Good-looking – красивый, миловидный
Slim – стройный
Experienced – опытный
Broad-shouldered – широкоплечий
To be handy with smth. – уметь делать что-либо
To fix – чинить, исправлять
To have much in common – иметь много общего
To be fond of something – увлекаться чем-либо
To go in for something – заниматься чем-либо
Upbringing – воспитание
To take care of smb. – заботиться о ком-либо
To run the house = to keep the house – вести домашнее хозяйство
Relatives – родственники
Twins – близнецы
Housewife – домохозяйка
Widow(er) – вдова (вдовец)
Brother-in-law – шурин (деверь)
Knitting – вязание
Answer the following questions:
How old are you?
What do you do?
Is your family large?
What does your mother (father) do?
Is she (he) fond of her (his) work?
Have you got any brothers (sisters)?
What is your hobby?
Are you sociable?
Do you have many friends? What are they?
Speak on:
Imagine you are having a big party. Introduce all the members of your family to the guests.
Say whether you are for large or small families. Give examples to support your opinion.
Topic II My working day
I am an early riser. I usually get up at 6 o'clock. When I wake up I switch on my tape-recorder and do my morning exercises. Then I wash, dress, make my bed and have breakfast. Usually my mother makes breakfast for me, but when she is away on business I make breakfast myself. For breakfast I have a cup of tea or coffee and some sandwiches, as a rule.
After breakfast I wash dishes and clean the table. Then I hurry to the institute. I leave home at a quarter past seven. I usually go to the institute by bus. The bus stop is not far from our house. It takes me 40 minutes to get to the institute.
I am never late. I always come to the institute in time. Our classes begin at 8 o'clock. According to the timetable we study six hours a day. We usually have two lectures and one seminar or practical. Each class is an hour and a half long. Between classes we have short breaks. At twelve we have the lunch break. At the lectures we listen to the lecturer attentively and make notes. At the seminars we discuss problems and answer the questions of the teachers holding seminars.
As for English classes, I like them very much. It is universally known that to know English as well as other languages is extremely important nowadays. During our English class we read and translate texts, speak English, learn grammar rules and do exercises.
Classes
are over at four p.m. If I have no meeting I go home. Sometimes I
stay at the, institute if I have some social work to do. I am a
member of a Students’ Scientific Society.
After classes I usually walk home. I like to walk after a busy day at the institute. When I come home I have dinner and a short rest. Then I prepare my home assignments. It usually takes me three hours. In the evening I read books or watch TV. If I have time, I go to see my friends. At eleven o'clock I go to bed.
Vocabulary
To get up – вставать
To wake up – просыпаться
As a rule – как правило
To wash up = to wash dishes – мыть посуду
To make the bed – заправлять постель
To have breakfast (lunch, dinner) – завтракать (обедать, ужинать)
According to the timetable – согласно расписанию
To go to see somebody – навещать кого-либо
To go to bed – ложиться спать
To go by bus (tram, car) – ехать на автобусе (трамвае, машине)
To be over – заканчиваться
To leave home – уходить из дома
To come/arrive home – приходить / приезжать
It takes me (him, her, them, us) – мне требуется
To hold – a seminar вести, проводить семинар
To get to the institute – добраться до института
To get (good marks, higher education) – получать (хорошие оценки, высшее образование)
Answer the following questions to the text about your working day:
When do you usually get up?
What do you usually do in the morning?
What do you usually have for breakfast?
When do you leave home in the morning?
How do you get to the institute?
How long does it take you to get there?
When do your classes usually begin? When are they over?
How many classes do you have every day?
What do you do at the lectures, seminars and her English classes?
What do you usually do in the evening?
Speak on:
Describe your most unusual day at work (university). Say how the day starts and ends then.
Do you like evenings at home better than mornings? Say why.