The Family Is One of the Nature’s Masterpieces

Belonging to a family is one bond almost everyone in the world shares. The importance of family bonds has been portrayed in proverbs and saying by all nations. Here we say “East or west, home is best”, the English say “My home is my castle” and I‘m sure there are wise sayings like these in other languages. To my mind a family is definitely a fabulous phenomenon, it is really one of the nature’s masterpieces, it is a genius creation of humanity.

Families give us a sense of belonging and a sense of tradition, a feeling of having support and understanding. Families give us strength and purpose. Our families show us who we are. As one American expert who studies families says, “The things we need most deeply in our lives - love, communication, respect and good relationships - have their beginnings in the family.”

Families serve many functions. They provide a setting in which children can be born and reared. Families help educate their members. Parents teach their children values - what they think is important. They teach their children daily skills, such as how to ride a bicycle, how to wash up. They also teach them common practices and customs, such as respect for elders and celebrating holidays. But the most important job for a family is to give emotional support and security.

Many modern families live rather differently, and because of this some people think that the family unit is dying and society is being weakened. Many couples still get married, but others live together without getting married. A few years ago, couples living together usually got married when they wanted to start a family, but this happens less now. Another trend is for people to get married later in life and to have fewer children, so the size of the average family is shrinking.

Many families face lots of pressures, such as divorce problems, career demands and money worries. The number of families that are headed by only one person, usually the mother, increase every year. Many divorced men are required by law to help their wives support their children, but not all of them fulfill their responsibility.

Many families often have financial difficulties. An economic necessity makes many women work today. Another reason why women work is that they have a good education, they want to devote themselves to their favourite work and make a career, and they don’t want to be just housewives. As a result families have little time to spend together. They only see each other for a short time in the evening, and though the children are still considered important, they have to fit in with the lives of their parents. Many parents make an effort to spend quality time with their children, an hour or so each day when they give them their full attention. Sometimes it leads to misunderstanding in the family. But, anyway, I think, talk about generation gap has been exaggerated. The generation gap is a gap between the views of the younger generation of teenagers and the views of their parents. And this is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. But if you are sensitive to each other's feelings you'll be able to avoid upsetting each other too badly and to find the way out. In happy families parents are frankly honest with their children without moralizing, and children in their turn learn how to encounter other people, how to form relationships among themselves.

It would be a mistake to think that happy, friendly families don’t have problems. But they are always ready to experiment and find the way out. They may even argue, so that problems can be resolved before they get too big. Members of strong families show each other affection and appreciation. Finally, when problems arise, strong families work together to solve them.

To finish with, I'd like to say that there are times in our lives, when everything seems to be going badly. We all have problems we can't cope with. We feel depressed and dispirited and suffer from acute anxiety and despair. We moan and groan and think we are losers and failures. A fatherly manly hug or a mother's loving embrace can really restore you from the ashes. Then I hear my Mom's favourite words: "You are a Fallible Human Being" and understand that even if the whole world turns its cold shoulder on me, there'll still be a family to turn to for love, compassion and understanding. And as every great masterpiece the family will remain in our soul forever.

Family

I believe that everything has its beginning in the family. Family is very important for every person because it gives you a sense of stability and tradition, a feeling of having support and understanding. Our families show us who we are. As one American expert who studies families says, “The things we need most deeply in our lives - love, communication, respect and good relationships – have their beginnings in the family.”

I enjoy honest and open relationship in а family. I like it when parents are frank with their children, trust them, give them freedom, rely on them and treat their children with respect without moralizing or bossing them all the time and children in their turn learn how to treat other people, how to encounter other people, how to form relationships among themselves.

In a friendly family people are gentle, respectful and loving. They share joys and sorrows as well as domestic chores. That is the way I think all the families should be. And is how my family of three is built.

My family consists of my father, my mother and me. So I'm an only child in the family and I don't very much mind it.

Iadmire my father for his strong character. He's generous and full of joy. He is fond of reading and knows a lot. When I was a small (boy/girl) I used to ask him different questions and father always answered them. He can make different things with his own hands.

My mother is a woman of character, well-bred, tactful and fair. She is warm-hearted and at the same time practical, reserved and full of common sense. She helps our house. Of course we help her about the house. All of us do our share in daily household chores. My mother is a wonderful cook, and all our family likes her cooking very much.

(My sister/brother and) I go to school. So naturally school takes up a lot of our time. We spend most of the afternoons and evenings doing our homework.

At the weekend we are not so busy as on week days, and we can relax, visit or receive friends or relatives or just go for a walk. I also enjoy quiet Saturday evenings when all the members of our friendly family are at home and nobody is in a hurry and we are quietly sitting in our large and comfortable living-room, talking, joking, discussing our everyday affairs.

There are moments in the life when one feels lost and nothing is left but a deep sign. I'm happy that I cast all my troubles and concerns to my Mom and Dad. They understand and comfort me. It is my parents who give me a good example to follow. I appreciate their opinion though I don’t always follow their advice. There is no generation gap in our family, though we often argue and disagree on certain issues. But we are ready to experiment and find the way out. Many problems can be resolved before they get too big.

I can always bring my friends home and my parents are very positive about them, although they don't always approve of our tastes, views and clothes.

All these things in my opinion make family relations warm and pleasant. I feel safe, the little world within my family is perfect.

My story about our family is not complete without mentioning one more member of our family. I mean our cat. Everybody loves this nice and funny creature.

Friendship

I think, friendship is a doing thing. It is a bridge between loneliness and fellowship, despair and hope, setbacks and success. Friendship makes happiness glow brighter and grief less painful, because we have friends to share it. That's why a true friend is a priceless gift and lucky are the people who have friends. I am happy to have lots of friends, too. Some of them are very close, some are less. But all of them make my life interesting and enjoyable.

Of all my friends, I like... the best. We made friends when we were in our first form and we are lucky to study in the same class and share the same desk. He (she) laves not far from my house. We go to school and return home together. It is the best time to have a chat about school and others things. We can talk about everything and talk about the silliest thing as well.

The most important thing is that we have much in common, the same interests and attitude to life. Very often our opinions coincide, sometimes they differ, but we never quarrel.

She (he) has rather ordinary appearance, but I can never guess what should I expect from her (him) the next moment. She (he) possesses a sense of humour and often makes me laugh.

He (she) is fond of information science and it seems he (she) knows everything about computers. He (she) is crazy about them. Sometimes he (she) does not want to do anything, but to play some computer games. But it does not mean that he (she) is not interested in literature, history. He (she)reads a lot. He (she) is a especially in the history of Ancient Rome and Grace. All teenagers like modern pop and rock music. His (her) favourite band is...

... is very busy, but still he (she) finds time for sports. He (she) goes in for swimming and he(she) has achieved good results.

My friend is an honest and kind-hearted person. I am sure I can believe him (her) and can rely on him (her) in any situation. I appreciate my friend's advice.

I know, that the way to have a friend is to be one, so my friend can rely on me. I won't let him (her) down.

Shopping

Life in the modern world is unthinkable without shops. They are ideal places to spend our money. Modern shopping centres or malls do their best to prove to us that shopping may be fun; they try to combine shopping and leisure. They look like a city under one roof where we can find department stores, banks, photo services, opticians, cafeterias and cafes. To make shopping convenient for all and everyone shopping centres may offer you late night shopping, recreation areas, car parks, petrol stations.

When we need to purchase something, we go to a supermarket, to a department store or to the market. All depends on what we need to purchase.

Most people prefer to buy food at the market; it is usually cheaper. At the market it is possible to bargain, that becomes a real entertainment for some people. In our city there are several markets. There one can purchase excellent meat, sausages, fish, dairy products, such as milk, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream and so on. A wide choice of vegetables and fruit not only from our republic, but also brought from Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, Spain and other countries, is offered here too.

In a supermarket it is possible to purchase all the same, as at the market, but it will be more expensive. But it is much more pleasant to do shopping here. Nobody shouts and it is always warm and clean. To do purchases in a supermarket does not take a lot of time, because of self-service.

If I want to purchase something of clothes I usually go to a department store or a mall. I usually prefer …. This is a huge four-storey building, where it is possible to find all necessary. There is a cafeteria and a small cafe, where you can have a bite or to have dinner. There is also a centre of photo service, where your film will be developed and your photos will be printed. The theatrical tickets are sold here, and it is possible to participate in a lottery. There is a currency exchange bank, a chemist's booth. On the ground floor the souvenirs and gifts departments, the house hold goods, home appliances, watches, and grocery department are located. On the first floor there is a department of men's wear and footwear, and also children’s department. On the second floor different goods for women are represented: clothes, shoes, haberdashery, and perfumery and so on. The high-quality goods both domestic and of foreign manufacturers are represented here. The shop-assistants are attentive to the customers and they are always ready to help to select the necessary thing, to give advice.

The Internet is a great place to shop as well. At the click of a mouse you can buy anything from an airline ticket to a second-hand book without leaving the comfort of your own home.

In our family it’s my mum who does most of the shopping. She knows what to buy and where to buy at a cheaper price. She usually shops at the supermarket, where she goes to the grocery department, the greengrocery, the meat and fish counters and buys all the stuff we need for our family.

I can not say that I like shopping; I go shopping only when I know exactly what I need to buy.

For example, when I want to save time I go to the local food store where I can buy everything I need: bread, milk, sugar, eggs, butter and so on. I like this shop. I find it convenient and always go there if my mother forgets to buy something and I’m sent for it.

Indeed, shopping is a pleasant thing when you can afford to buy the thing you like.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14