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wife will be my sister-in-law. Our parents will have a daughter-in-law and she will have a
mother-in-law and a father-in-law.
The youngest and the smallest of our family is Irynka. She is only four, though she
thinks she is quite a big girl and doesn’t like you to call her the baby. Then there are
Maksym and Oleh. They are both of the same height and they are so like each other that
sometimes people can hardly tell one from the other. They are not twins. Maksym is a
healthy boy of twelve, with a brown face, fair hair, and blue eyes. Oleh is a boy of eleven.
The boys are at school. Maksym is in the sixth grade (form) and Oleh is a fifth grader. They
have lessons every day except Sundays. On Sundays they seem to think of nothing but
football, and climbing, and eating, and joking, and fighting. They are the noisiest boys I
have ever known – and the nicest. Being of an active disposition they do not care much for
sitting at a desk and doing school work. Still, they are well-meaning and intelligent lads,
who know that they ought to work hard at their lessons. So they do their best. Each of them
is excellent at handwork. One of them would like to be an engine-driver. The other’s
cherished dream is to become a pilot and to fly a jet plane.
Altogether now our grandparents have five grandchildren. Two of them are
granddaughters and three are grandsons.
EXERCISES
1. Match questions 1–10 with answers a) – j).
1 Do you know a lot about your family history?
2 Which do you know best: your mother’s or your father’s side of the family?
3 Where did your ancestors come from?
4 Did you ever meet your great-grandparents?
5 Do you know most of your relatives?
6 Are you related to anyone famous?
7 Have you inherited any family characteristics?
8 Who in your family do you take after?
9 Would you like to know more about your roots?
10 Do you live with your extended family?

a) Quite a lot. My parents told me a lot of stories about my background.
b) Yes. I’m very shy, like my father and my older brothers.
c) I’d love to, but it’s difficult because my parents don’t often talk about the past.
d) Yes, I live with my immediate family and my grandparents.
e) No, there are no celebrities in the family!
f ) They came from Lagos, in Nigeria.
g) I know about half of them. The others live in New Zealand and I’ve never met them.
h) My father’s. I grew up next door to his sister’s family.
i) My mother. We look alike and we have similar characters.
j) No. Unfortunately, they died before I was born.

2. Put the words in the correct order to make questions. Choose three of the questions
to ask other students.
1 do / every / your / family / you / day / see /?
2 your / anything / did / teach / grandparents / you /?
3 remembers / who / always / birthday / your /?
4 read / taught / to / you / who /?
5 do / do / you / relax / what / to /?
6 holiday / do / next / to / you / want / go / on / your / where /?

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