1. English Writing Week Five

2. Family Relationships Part One

3. Activity 1 Write down what “ family ” means to you.

4. Examples Family provides children with a sense of belonging and a unique identity. Family is, or should be, a source of emotional support and comfort, warmth and nurturing, protection and security. Family provides an environment that encourages learning both in the home and at school. It gives children a sense of history and a secure base from which they can grow and develop.

5. Examples Within every healthy family there is a sense of reciprocity --- a giving and taking of love and empathy by every family member. “My family defined me and became a part of my identity, because I am a product of my parents. I was formed in my mother’s womb because of a choice made by both my mother and father. They’re my parents, my blood, and my reason for existence.”

6. Examples Family is much more than a group of individuals. It has its own goals and aspirations. It is a place where every child and adult should feel that he or she is special and be encouraged to pursue his or her own dreams; it is a place everyone’s individuality is permitted to flourish. No matter how hard you try, you can never extricate yourself from your family. It is integral to who you are, and the harder you try to distance yourself from it, the closer it becomes.

7. Activity 2 How will you describe the relationships in your family? (e.g. parents-child relationship, brotherly relationship, etc.) What kind of problems do you find often exist in family relationships? Please illustrate with examples.

8. Examples One of the most difficult matters to confront with respect to family relationships is that you don’t control the entire relationship yourself. Whether a relationship thrives or withers isn’t up to you alone. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango.

9. Examples Some says “I love my parents and siblings unconditionally. However, I haven’t had a particularly close-knit relationship with any of them. There was no major falling out or anything like that --- it’s just that my personal values and lifestyle have moved so far away from theirs that there isn’t enough basic compatibility to form a strong common bond any more. For instance, my parents and siblings are all of the employee mindset with a very low tolerance for risk, but as an entrepreneur, risk is my favorite breakfast; I don’t recall anyone in my family ever saying ‘I love you’ while I grew up, but with my own kids I’m very affectionate and strive to tell them I love them every day.”

10. Activity 3 The following video clip is about family relationships. Tell us your thoughts and feelings about it.video clip

11. “ We Talk about Family ” Part Two

12. Activity 1 Read through the sample article and share in groups your thoughts and feelings about the story.

13. Activity 2 There are a number of vivid descriptions with which a person ’ s feeling or psychological state is revealed. Can you find any examples?

14. Description of Feelings Part Three

15. Examples He pulled his lips together, closed his eyes, and I watched the first teardrop fall down the side of his cheek.

16. Activity Describe one of the feelings that you are familiar with.

17. Examples His was the gift of sympathy, understanding; and beneath his alarmed exterior that sympathetic process went on. He mopped his forehead dry and glanced around him with a controlled face, though in the eyes there was an expression such as wild animals betray when they fear the trap. 他天生富有同情心，懂得好歹，因此尽管外表上神色慌张， 心里可感觉到别人的好意。他擦干额角上的汗水，控制住自 己的感情，脸上不流露出来，他朝四下望着，然而眼睛里还 带着惊慌的表情，如同一头野兽生怕掉到陷阱里去时的神气 一样。（ astonishment ）

18. Examples The red of his fair sun-burnt complexion deepened suddenly under his cheeks, invaded his forehead, spread to the roots of his curly hair. His ears became intensely crimson, and even the clear blue of his eyes was darkened by the rush of blood to his head. His lips pouted a little, trembling as though he had been on the point of bursting into tears. I perceived he was incapable of pronouncing a word from the excess of humiliation. 他那个给太阳晒黑了的漂亮脸颊底下绯红了，接着他的额头也 红了，一直扩张到他卷发的发根了。他的耳朵红得非常厉害， 连他那副深蓝色的眼睛都因为血液跑到头上而变暗淡了许多。 他的嘴唇微微撅着，好像他快哭出眼泪了。我看他是被羞辱得 说不出一个字来了。 (humiliation)

19. Examples He made a brave effort to check his tears, but something inside his belly seemed to send up quivers of self-pity to his face, where they gathered into a cloud of heat which suddenly burst through his eyes. 他尽了最大的努力想控制住眼泪，可肚子里似乎有某种东西 正在把自我怜惜的悲颤往他脸上输送，双眼逐渐被一团热乎 乎的雨云遮住，猛然间爆裂开，泪水如注般地倾泻下来。 (grief)

20. Homework Part Four

21. Homework Are the relationships in your family similar to that described in the sample article? Are you shy with your affection for each other? Have you ever troubled by the problem of not knowing how to show your love, even to the one you care very much? Write a composition of about 300 words to show your ideas and feelings about relationship(s) in your family.