1.
How has the idea of family changed since the past century?
2.
The trouble with most children nowadays is that their parents are too easy with
them. Do you agree? What's the best way to raise your children?
Sample answer
The topic I
would like to discuss with you today is the one of family and
relationships. More (1)____________ (SPECIFIC), I
would like to focus on an area that I consider (2)_____________ (PARTICULAR) interesting. It is how the concepts of family and
relationships in general have changed in our lifetime.
To start
with, I would like to reflect on how families have evolved
since the times of our grandparents. As
strange as it might seem today, our grandparents' generation believed that
having children meant an increase in their workforce and therefore they embraced the
idea of having many of them. So,
the more children they had, the more work could be carried out in the fields. As a matter of fact, my grandparents were farmers and all family
members were supposed to lend a (3)___________ (HELP)
hand and shoulder the burden of the (4)_____________ (DAY) farm chores.
Nowadays,
however, we tend to have (5)___________ (FEW) children. (6)___________ (EVIDENT),
we no longer see them as workforce. Quite
the (7)_____________ (OPPOSE), we have become aware that they need our constant attention and
a lot of TLC (tender, loving care). (8)_____________ (ADD),
we also enjoy an (9)___________(EXTENSION) life (10)___________ (EXPECT). People live (11)___________ (DEFINITE) (12)______________ (LONG)
and this has of course influenced
family structures. We even have coined a new term, the (13)_________ (CALL) "Beanpole family", which describes a multi-generational family
that is (14)__________ (THIN) (15)____________ (STRETCH) over
several generations, with fewer family members in each generation and with (16)_____________ (GROW) numbers of (17)_______________ (SINGLE)
families.
In (18)____________ (ADD) to family size, a (19)____________ (FAR) point
to discuss is family types. At the
time of our grandparents you would just find the most traditional families. Our
generation, on the other hand, has witnessed the (20)______________ (EMERGE) of a much (21)___________ (WIDE) range of family structures. A case in point is the single-parent families, which have become more common in recent years. Another family type to consider is the rainbow families, which include same-sex families and gender-diverse families. Apart from these, there is also the blended family, a family consisting of a couple, the children they have had together, and their children from previous relationships. Finally, another family type that has gained (22)____________ (PROMINENT) recently is the foster family, which takes a child into their home for a while and takes care of him or her. In any case, what we should bear in mind is that there
is no such thing as 'normal' or '(23)_____________ (NORMAL)' family
structures – we are all equal and love is what really makes a family.
Another area to consider, is our children's (24)______________ (BRING).
There are (25)__________ (MAIN) two types of parenting, helicopter
parenting and free-range parenting. In the former parents pay (26)______________ (EXTREME) close attention to their children's
experiences and problems. And the latter
advocates (27)___________ (ENCOURAGE) (28)_______________ (DEPEND) in
children. These parents believe that (29)_______________ (PROTECT)
is a danger in itself. (30)___________ (DEED), a
child who thinks he cannot do anything on his own (31)__________ (EVENT) can't. As the
popular (32)___________ (SAY) goes "either if you say you can or you can't you are always
right.
(33)_______________ (OBVIOUS), these two types of parenting
lead us to a dilemma. Are we living
in a risk-averse culture where we stifle our children's (34)____________ (ABLE) to deal
with danger by never allowing them to take (35)_____________ (REASON) risks? Does our society (36)__________ (MOLLY) its children? Or do
free-range parents expose their children
to real and (37)__________ (NECESSITY) danger? What do you think?
In conclusion, our generation has witnessed a major shift in not only the area of family size and structure but also in the emergence of (38)_____________ (CONVENTION) family types.(39)_____________ (WISE), today's parents are in a quandary over whether
in our modern times they should rear their children in a (40)____________ (PROTECT) or (41)_____________ (PERMIT) way. In any case,
at this moment in time, we have all become (42)_____________ (PERFECT) aware that we are
propelling our children to an (43)___________ (PREDICT) future. So, as
long as they have the skills to fend
for themselves, we as a society should feel proud and (44)_____________ (CONTENT).
KEY
1. specifically
2. particularly
3. helping
4. daily/ day-to-day
day-to-day: involving the usual events or tasks of each day. Happening every day as a regular part of your job or life.
E.g.
She has been looking after the day-to-day running of the school.
day-to-day problems/responsibilities
I am a vegetarian and use a lot of lentils in my day-to-day cooking.
5. fewer
6. Evidently
7. opposite
8. Additionally
9.extended
10. expectancy
11. definitely
12. longer
13. so-called
14. thinly
15. stretched
16. growing
17. single-parent
18. addition
19. further
20. emergence
21. wider
22. prominence
23. abnormal
24. upbringing
25. mainly
26. extremely
27. encouraging
28. independence
29. overprotectiveness / overprotection
30. Indeed
31. eventually
32. saying
33. Obviously
34. ability
35. reasonable
36. mollycoddle
mollycoddle somebody
to protect somebody too much and make their life too comfortable and safe.
E.g.
She was mollycoddled as a child.
37. unnecessary
38. unconventional
39. Likewise
40. protective
41. permissive
42. perfectly
43. unpredictable
44. contented
