TEXT 4          PARENTS AND CHILDREN – ALLIES OR FOES?

   

   The main causes for problems between parents and children:

   

   Legal responsibilities of parents for their children:

   

   Parents’ expectations of their children:

   

   Newborns:

   

   Toddlers:

   

   3-year-olds:

   

   6-year-olds:

   

   10-year-olds:

   

   14-year-olds:

   

   18-year-olds:

   

   

   Describing people – character

   Keywords: character, appearance, personality, look, behaviour, relations, children, teenagers,
   adolescents, adults

   Obey, annoy, polite, honest, proud, conscience, violent, brave, bad-tempered, determined,
   lazy, reliable, cheerful, frank, mean, selfish, considerate, honest, punctual, sympathetic,
   ambitious, greedy, polite, sociable, brave, imaginative, proud, grateful, kind, snobbish,
   tolerant, strict, selfish, sentimental, aggressive, courageous, cheerful

   

   A) Intellectual ability            (+ intelligent, bright, clever, smart, shrewd, able,
   gifted, talented)

   (- stupid, foolish, half-witted, simple, silly, brainless, dumb)

   B) Attitudes toward life        Looking on the bright side/black side of things =
   optimistic/pessimistic

                                                  Outward-looking/inward-looking =
   extroverted/introverted

                                                  Relaxed x tense

                                                  Romantic, sensitive, sensible, practical,
   down-to-earth

   C) Attitudes towards other people

   enjoying others´ company (sociable, gregarious), disagreeing with others (quarrelsome,
   argumentative), taking pleasures in others´ pain (cruel, sadistic), relaxed in attitude to
   self and others (easy-going, even-tempered), not polite to others (impolite, rude,
   ill-mannered, discourteous), telling the truth to others (honest, trustworthy, reliable,
   sincere), unhappy if others have what one does not have oneself (jealous, envious)

   Be careful: some characteristics can be either positive or negative depending on your point of
   view!

   Determined (obstinate, stubborn, pig-headed)

   Thrifty/economical (miserly, mean, tight-fisted)

   Self-assured (self-important, arrogant)

   Assertive (aggressive, bossy)

   Original (peculiar, weird, eccentric, odd)

   Frank/open/direct (blunt, abrupt, brusque, curt)

   Broad-minded (unprincipled, permissive)

   Inquiring (inquisitive, nosy)

   Generous (extravagant)

   Innocent (naive)

   Ambitious (pushy)

                                                                                     (see
   Vocabulary in Use Upper-Intermediate, CUP)