1) The passage discusses the experiences of being an only child from the perspective of journalist Sarah Lee. She found it difficult to make friends when she went to boarding school at age seven, as she was used to spending time mostly with adults as an only child. 2) Being an only child gave her insight into the adult world that children from large families may not receive. It also made her more comfortable doing things independently or with just one other person rather than in groups. 3) She now feels very responsible for her divorced parents' happiness, as she is the closest family they have. She is aware of her important role in their lives.

1. YOUNGER BROTHER OR
ONLY CHILD? HOW WAS IT FOR
YOU?
English File Intermediate
Student’s Book Unit 1B, p.10

2. REMEMBER THE WORDS
 rivalry
 tension
 attention
 differently
 share
 fight
 sick
 no wonder
 rebellious
 sensible
 suffocate
 innocent
 value
 admire
 relationship

3. СОПЕРНИЧЕСТВО

4. СОПЕРНИЧЕСТВО
 RIVALRY

5. ВНИМАНИЕ

6. ВНИМАНИЕ
 ATTENTION

7. ДЕЛИТЬСЯ

8. ДЕЛИТЬСЯ
 SHARE

9. МЯТЕЖНЫЙ

10. МЯТЕЖНЫЙ
 REBELLIOUS

11. НАПРЯЖЕННОСТЬ

12. НАПРЯЖЕННОСТЬ
 TENSION

13. ПО-РАЗНОМУ

14. ПО-РАЗНОМУ
 DIFFERENTLY

15. ЦЕНИТЬ

16. ЦЕНИТЬ
 VALUE

17. ВОСХИЩАТЬСЯ

18. ВОСХИЩАТЬСЯ
 ADMIRE

19. РАЗУМНЫЙ

20. РАЗУМНЫЙ
 SENSIBLE

21. ДУШИТЬ

22. ДУШИТЬ
 SUFFOCATE

23. НЕВИННЫЙ

24. НЕВИННЫЙ
 INNOCENT

25. REMEMBER THE WORDS:
 соперничество
 внимание
 делиться
 мятежный
 напряженность
 по-разному
 ценить
 восхищаться
 отношения
 разумный
 душить
 невинный

26. THE YOUNGER BROTHER
NOVELIST TIM LOTT
_____1 between brothers is normal, but there was a special
reason for the ___ 2 between us. I was very ill when I was born,
and spent three months in hospital with my mother. My
brother did not see her at all during that time, as he went to
stay with an aunt. When our mother returned home, it was
with a sick ___3 baby who took all the _____4. No wonder he
hated me (although if you ask Jeff, he will say that he didn’t –
we remember things _____5). My brother and I were completely
different. We ____6 the same bedroom, but he was tidy, and I
was really untidy. He was responsible, I was ___7. He was
_____8, I was emotional.

27. 1. Rivalry
2. Tension
3. Newborn
4. Attention
5. Differently
6. Shared
7. Rebellious
8. Sensible

28. I haven’t got any positive _____9 of our childhood together,
though there must have been good moments. Jeff says we used
to play Cowboys and Indians but I only remember him trying to
_____10 me under the bedcovers.
My relationship with Jeff has influenced my _____11 towards
my own four daughters. If the girls fight, I always think that
the younger child is ____12. But the good news about brothers
and sisters is that when they get older, they _____ 13 each other
more. Jeff is now one of my best friends, and I like and ____14
him greatly. For better or for worse, we share a whole history. It
is the longest ___15 in my life.

29. 9. memories
10. Suffocate
11. attitude
12. Innocent
13. Value
14. Admire
15. Relationship

30. THE ONLY CHILD: JOURNALIST SARAH LEE
REMEMBER THE WORDS:
Boarding school
Gathering
View
Partly
On my own
Gang
Be aware of
Responsible
Making friends

31. REMEMBER THE WORDS:
 самостоятельно
 тусовка, компания (группа)
 сбор (собрание)
 взгляд, обзор, мнение
 частично
 школа-интернат
 заводить друзей
 ответственный
 знать (осознавать)

32. СOMPLETE THE GAPS
I went to _____1 when I was seven, and the hardest
thing I found was _____2 . Because I was an only
child, I just didn’t know how to do it. The thing is
that when you’re an only child you spend a lot of
your time with adults and you’re often the only child
in a _____3 of adults. Your parents go on living more
or less the way they have always lived, only now you
are there too. I found being an only child interesting
because it gave me a _____4 of the world of adults
that children in a big family might not get.

33. And I know it has, at least ____5 , made me the kind of
person I am – I never like being one of a group, for
example. If I have to be in a group, I will always try to
go off and do something ___ ___ __ 6, or be with just one
other person – I’m not comfortable with being one of a
____7. My parents are divorced now and my mother
lives in the US and my father in the UK. I feel very
____8 for them – I feel responsible for their happiness.
I’m the closest relative in the world to each of them, and
I am very ____9 of that.

34. 1. Boarding school
2. Making friends
3. Gathering
4. View
5. Partly
6. On my own
7. Gang
8. Responsible
9. Aware