About myself

Before I start talking about my family let me introduce myself. I am … .(My name is … and … is my surname). I am a true Siberian because I was born in Novosibirsk. My parents were also born in this city. I have been living in this town since my childhood.

I was born on the 21 of May in 1994, so I am 17. I have finished school this year. Now I’m a first-year student. I am an ordinary boy of my age and extremely fond of music, books and computers. I devote a lot of my spare time to reading and listening to my favourite groups. I did well at school and was especially good at math and geometry, but also coped with the rest of the subjects. And I’d like to master English.

I’m a very active person and from my earliest days I prefer outdoor games. As for my appearance, everybody says I look like my mum. I have the same blue eyes, a snub nose and chestnut hair. I am not tall and I am not thin.

My family

I think that a family is the most important thing for every person and home is the nicest place. As the proverb says, "East or West, home is best". Family are the people that always love you, support you and help you.

And now I am going to tell you a few words about my family. Our family consists of my parents, my elder sister and younger brother, my mum’s parents and me. We get on well with each other. All they want of me is that I make good progress at the University.

In the evenings, when all the members of our family get together after work and study, we discuss all our problems together.

I love my family dearly and everyone in my family is my best friend. In short, for me it is impossible to live without my family.

My father

Certainly I am going to talk first of my dad. His name is Alexander. He is neither old nor young. He is in his early forties, a little above medium height, rather thin, handsome, with regular features and dark brown hair. He has brown eyes. His manner is friendly and quiet, but he is an energetic person and very sociable.

My dad is indeed a man of great intelligence. He is an engineer and works for a building company. He is a hardworking man and very often he works over time. But despite of his late hours he always has time for my sister, brother and me. Dad can do a lot of things and does well in everything he undertakes. He likes to make or repair something and teaches me to repair furniture. He is keen on tennis and chess but moreover he is fond of going to the country.

My mother

My mummy’s name is … . She is a woman of forty, two years younger than my dad. They have been married for 20 years. My mum is not tall and she is slim, with a lovely face and large blue eyes. Her smile is very pleasant and kind. She has dark hair. My mum is decidedly pretty and looks young for her age. She’s a very elegant woman, always well-dressed. Everybody likes her at once because she is a quiet woman and a good listener. My mum takes a very good care of everybody.

My mum has a part-time job as an interior designer in a large company and gets good money. She is fond of her work and spends a lot of time there. But she is a good housekeeper and cooks perfectly.

My sister

My elder sister Rita is a pretty girl with blue eyes and fair hair. She looks like our mother. She is a 19-year-old medical student. She likes chemistry and biology, and often tells me interesting things she reads in her textbooks.

My brother

My younger brother’s name is Maxim. He is fifteen, and naturally he goes to school. He is a pupil of the ninth form. So he is a teenager, and teenagers are sometimes difficult. He is crazy about football. He plays football always and everywhere. He is rather clever and inquisitive and does well at school. He is mainly interested in sciences and our parents expect a lot of him.

My grandmother

   My granny Tatyana is a very tender-hearted and good-looking woman though she has reached a great age. Last week she celebrated her70^thbirthday. She is still very industrious and is fond of knitting.

My grandfather

And finally my granddad Sergei. My granddad retired from the railway company and is enjoying life on a pension. My granddad is generous and kind, and I must tell you, he is my best friend. My granddad is so energetic that he brings that energy to us. He reads a lot and thanks to him our family library is very rich.

I also have other close relatives: uncles, aunts and cousins. We love each other.

Housekeeping, family duties and traditions

My mum keeps our house well. Shopping and cooking is nearly half a day’s work for her. We try to help her about the house as much as we can. My sister and I buy food very often. My younger brother and I have our duties about the house. On Saturdays Dad joins us in our work about the house. We do a lot of things together; share our duties to help each other.

It is the custom of our family to have our birthday celebrations together. We usually invite our close relatives and have a festive dinner.

I’ve mentioned that we have a small cottage in the country with a kitchen-garden. In summer we often drive to this place. The nature is very beautiful there. It is the nicest place for me. There is a sand beach and a forest not far from our place. We got used to spend our summer vocations at this place.

That is my story about my family. It’s really nice to know that your family are your best friends.

2. WORD LIST

appearance	внешность
as for	что касается
aunt	тетя
biology	биология
chemistry	химия
chestnut	каштановый
clever	умный
close relative	близкий родственник
cousin	двоюродный брат/сестра
despite of	несмотря на
especially	особенно
fair	светлый
festive	праздничный
first-year student	первокурсник
generous	щедрый
handsome	красивый
hardworking	трудолюбивый
housekeeper	хозяйка
industrious	трудолюбивый
inquisitive	любознательный
kind	добрый
kitchen-garden	огород
manner	манера, стиль
nature	природа
part-time job	неполный рабочий день
pleasant	приятный
pretty	милый
quiet	спокойный, тихий
rather	довольно
regular features	правильные черты
sand beach	песчаный пляж
sciences	(естественные) науки
Siberian	сибиряк
snub	курносый
sociable	общительный
spare time	свободное время
subject	предмет
teenager	подросток
the rest of	остальные
to be crazy about	с ума сходить по
to be fond of	увлекаться
to be good at	сильный в
to be in one’s early forties	быть за 30 (о возрасте)
to be keen on	сильно увлекаться
to be of medium height	быть среднего роста
to celebrate	праздновать
to cope with	справляться с
to devote	посвящать
to do well at school	хорошо учиться
to enjoy	наслаждаться
to expect	ожидать
to get on well with	хорошо ладить с
to get together	собираться
to get used to	привыкать
to join	присоединяться
to keep house
to look like	быть похожим на
to look young for one’s age	выглядеть моложе
to make progress	делать успехи
to mention	упоминать
to repair	чинить
to retire	уходить на пенсию/в отставку
to spend time	проводиь время
to undertake	предпринимать
to work for	работать в/на
to work over time	работать сверхурочно
uncle	дядя
well-dressed	хорошо одетый

3. ASSIGNMENTS