Looking at the issue
Taking care of Mother
Toshi:We have to face the facts. Mother is too old to live alone.
Midori:Yes, you're probably right. She is getting older, and since your father died, she seems very forgetful.
Toshi:Mother will need someone to take care of her in the near future.
Midori:Perhaps we could hire a nurse.You know, someone who could come in during the day, clean the house, cook some meals, make sure she takes her pills.
Toshi:But nurses don't do all of those things. You're thinking of a nurse and a housekeeper. Who would pay for that? It will be very expensive!
Midori:Well, Toshi, what are you thinking?
Toshi:Since I'm the only child, we have to take care of her. She can come to live with us.
Midori:Here? In this tiny house? There are only two bedrooms.We can't move our two daughters out of their small bedroom.
Toshi:What else can we do? We can't afford to hire a nurse and a housekeeper. I'm her only child. Her husband, brother and sister are all dead. We have to take care of her.
Midori:May be we could look for a bigger house.
Toshi:InTokyo? You know that's impossible. We tried looking last year and everything inthis area of Tokyo is too expensive.
Midori:Let's move away from the city.Someplace cheap.
Toshi:But then I would be far away from my office. It might take me two or three hours on the train. I hate to commute. No, the only solution is for Mother to live with us here.
VI. Give synonyms to the following:
Talk - Absent - minded - Small - Large -
Give antonyms to the following:
Expensive - Tiny - Far -
VII. Answer the questions:
1. How old was Toshi`s mother?
2. Why did Toshi want the mother to live with them?
3. What did Midori propose to do?
4. Did they have a big or a small house?
5. Could they afford to hire a nurse and a housekeeper? Why?
6. What was Toshi`s solution?
What do you think?
Which opinions do you agree with? Check as many as you want.
Ø It's too expensive to take care of old people. I think the government should be responsible for taking care of them.
Ø Taking care of elderly parents is the child's duty. So the child should not depend on other people or on the government for help.
Ø Your parents should live with you when they're old, even if your house is small.
Ø If your mother or father suddenly comes to your house to live, it will cause a lot of problems.
Ø Elderly people should live in special homes. They shouldn't bother their children.
Many older parents live with their children. Can you think of reasons for and against this arrangement?
| Older parents should live with their children because... | Older parents should not live with their children because… |
| 1. It's more fun with more members in the family. | 1. My small house would be crowded. |
| 2. | 2. |
| 3. | 3. |
LET`S THINK
Love is a great feeling. What is love? Read the following statements. Do you agree with them?
v «Love is like a war… Easy to start… Difficult to end… Impossible to forget …»
v «Love is the beauty of the soul».
v «Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness».
v «True love is when you can sit in a room together and say nothing, and it feels like you have said a thousand words! »
v «Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction».
What is love for you?
LOVE
|
Read and learn the following words:
Angry (with) (v) [ æηgri] - сердитый, злой
Confusing (adj.) [kən fju:ziη]- сбивающий с толку, запутанный
Diary (n) [ daiəri] - дневник
Fit (in) (v) - приноравливаться, приспосабливаться
Miss (v) - скучать
Mixed marriages [mikst] - смешанные браки
Society (n) [sə saiəti] - общество