Looking at Structures. New Directions in Family Life

New Directions in Family Life

Ex.154 Read the text and answer the questions.

Ex. 153. Present and Past Tense Review. Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses.

Lars: Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for?

Tony: We (wait) for the new Stars Wars movie. In fact, we (wait) ……………. here for more than five hours.

Lars: Five hours? When did you arrive?

Tony: We (get) ……………….. here at 6:00 o'clock this morning. More than forty people (stand, already) ………………….. here waiting for tickets when we arrived.

Lars: I can't believe that! Are you serious?

Tony: Yeah, people (take) …………………… Star Wars movies seriously. In fact, this particular showing has been sold out for over a week. We (wait, just) ……………….. in line to get a good seat in the theater.

Lars: When did you buy your tickets?

Tony: I (buy) ………………….. them last week by phone. I (know) …………………. tickets would be hard to get because I (see) …………………… a news interview with a group of people standing in line to get tickets. They (wait) …………………. in line for almost a month to buy tickets for the first showing.

Lars: I don't believe that!

Tony: It's true. They (camp) ………………………… out in front of Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles for about a month because they (want) ……………………. to be the first people to see the movie.

If present trends continue until the year 2000, nine out of ten Englishmen will marry, but they will get married later than they did in the 1950s and '60s. The majority will have children, but they will have children later. Also, they most likely will have fewer children than their parents and grandparents. English divorce rates will remain high (in 1980, there were 109 divorced people for every 1000 married ones), but most who divorce will be remarrying within a year or two of the divorce.

Are these trends going to affect English life drastically? Many family experts see hopeful signs in the trends. They believe that by the year 2000, the English will have learned to adapt better to the continual and rapid change characteristic of modern society. The family will remain the most important unit of English society, but it will be a family ready to adapt to changing times.

1. Four different forms of the future are used in the preceding passage. Underline them and try to explain why each is used. Are there cases where any of the four forms would be correct?

2. What tense is the first verb in the passage? Can you explain why this tense is used instead of a future form?

COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITY

Ex.155 In pairs, take turns asking and answering the following questions.

1. Will you see your family (boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend) soon?

2. When are you going to see them (him, her)?

3. When are you going to call them (him, her) next?

4. Will the call be long distance?

5. Will it be expensive?

6. When are you writing your next letter to your family (best friend, and so forth)?

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