номер 8, страница 6 - гдз по английскому языку 11 класс рабочая тетрадь Вербицкая, Фрикер

Track one.

Family issues.

Last week we asked you if you have any problems in understanding or being understood by other members of your family. We have received hundreds of replies, and here are just a few of them. You can read more on our website.

Jeff, aged eighteen, Coventry.

My parents came to Britain from Bangladesh in one thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight. They're still quite a traditional and don't really understand English teenagers. I've lived here all my life and have never even visited Bangladesh, so it's sometimes difficult for us to get on the same wavelength.

When I was about fourteen, I was just a normal teenager, but they thought I was completely wild. They got into a real state. I think they saw my friends and listened to my loud rock music and thought there was something seriously wrong with me. They couldn't talk to me, and I couldn't talk to them.

In the end, they sent me to live with an uncle, and he knew exactly what was wrong. He sat me down and talked to me for hours and hours. It took a few weeks, but eventually, I worked out who I was and what my parents wanted. And now I have a good relationship with my parents. I think you definitely have to look at things from both sides.

Sarah, aged sixteen, Manchester.

My mother really drives me up the wall. She won't let me choose my own clothes, and when I do buy something with my own money, she always criticizes it. Honestly, it's so unfair. Doesn't she realize I'm old enough to think for myself? It's ridiculous. Why does she treat me like this? It doesn't matter how much I scream and shout, she won't change her mind. Next time she tells me I can't wear something, I'm going to lock myself in my room and refuse to come out.

Barry, aged seventeen, Lincoln.

I'm having real problems with my father at the moment. I want to study sociology at university, the University of East Anglia. It's a good distance from here, not too far if I want to come home, but far enough away to be independent. I've read a lot about the course and the university. They sound really good, but my father thinks he knows better.

He's always trying to give me advice about where to go and what to study as if he was some kind of expert. He didn't even go to university. He's always like this, even with computers. He can't even send an email, but when I wanted to buy a new computer, he was giving me his expert opinion and trying to make out that I didn't know what I was talking about.

Henrietta, aged sixteen, Truro.

I'm having problems with my mother. It started when I met Paul, my boyfriend. My dad was happy for me, but my mum suddenly started worrying about me and fearing the worst. First of all, she told me I was too young to know what love was, and that we would split up in a couple of weeks. Then she tried to find all the negative points about Paul: his clothes, his earring, that sort of thing. Now she won't talk to me. We'll be sitting eating dinner, and she just stares at me all long-faced, not saying a word.

We want to go on holiday together this summer, camping in France, so she's got a whole lot of new things to worry about. She's sure something will go wrong. She doesn't like Paul's dyed hair either.

Carl, aged sixteen, Bath.

I'd like to write something positive. I think my parents are great. They do worry about my schoolwork, especially when they get my reports. I always get comments like could do better and has ability but needs to concentrate. But they never get angry. They sort of understand because I'm exactly the same at home. I try to listen, but I go off into daydreams about things and my mind goes blank. Sometimes even when I'm talking, I'll forget what I wanted to say.

I remember last Christmas when my grandparents came round. They got quite worried about me because I had several half-unwrapped presents in front of me, and I was busy watching television. They looked really upset. They thought I was ungrateful and not interested in the presents. But my parents didn't bat an eyelid. They know what I'm like now. I just sort of got distracted. I opened them in the end.

Louise, aged seventeen, Swindon.

I don't usually have any problems at home. I get on well with my parents, and they treat me like an adult. The only problems I have are when my sister comes home from university at holiday times. She's two years older than me and thinks she can tell me what to do all the time. She goes on and on about university and her amazing new friends, and criticizes my unsophisticated taste in music. Christmas was a nightmare. We were at each other's throats all the time. Easter was the same, and now summer is coming. I hope she goes traveling like she always says she will. I don't think I can stand her pushy, domineering attitude for two whole months.