I'M SERVING A SENTENCE TOO

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 775.

Technology's role

Another possible factor is technology. Most people have access to a car or good public transport making increased distance between family members less problematic than it would have been 50 years ago.

The ubiquitous nature of telephony - particularly mobile phones - has made family contact easier, although the internet has not yet become a major method of family communication.

In the poll less than a third of internet users said they used it to contact their family every week and only 8% made contact every day.

Perhaps the most intriguing explanation for the up-beat view of family life discovered in this poll is that it reflects the increasing importance we place upon it.

The global fascination with genealogy and family trees may stem from the same psychological need to understand who we are in a world where identities can easily become blurred.

Despite the changing nature of family life, perhaps we value those ties more than ever.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7078004.stm 05 Nov 2007

• Summarize the article.

While Sakina Fitzpatrick knows her husband deserves to pay for his crime, she is also suffering. So often, it's prisoner's families who become innocent victims.

She thought he'd gone to borrow some money from a friend. The hours passed and he didn't return. Then the police knocked at the door. She stood there while they said her husband, Patrick, had been arrested and would be charged with armed robbery. ‘It's hard to explain what goes through your head at a time like that. I knew my husband had been in trouble in the past, before I met him, but he had been so good with me and he loved our children. But he was out of work and I think he just got desperate.'

Patrick was sentenced to eight years and nine months. Sakina has remained loyal to him, visiting him regularly with their three children, Gemma, James and Paul. Like many prisoners' wives, Sakina is a typical loving, law-abiding mother and housewife. Far from moaning about the sentence, she says: ‘In a way, Patrick was lucky not to get longer. He did wrong and he's paying for it.'

Sakina is now 26 and her life revolves around her family. Money is very short and her council flat is tidy but threadbare. She has a god for protection but says: ‘I do feel defenceless, especially in the middle of the night, but I must be strong and cope because of the children. Gemma's always been a daddy's girl. Patrick watched her being born and they've got this very close bond. Now Gemma only sees her dad twice a month, in jail. I always take the kids.' Sakina can spend up to 90 minutes with Patrick in a large visiting room. They're allowed to hold hands during the visit and the children can sit on his lap. ‘We're all excited when we go and miserable when we leave,' she says.

One of Sakina's biggest problems is money. She admits: ‘I'm in a lot of debt because I put bills off in order to feed the children properly. Patrick's always saying I should go out more but you get used to being alone and I don't want to mix. I can't afford to go out anyway. I can't really afford to live.'

‘Being a prisoner's wife is worse than being a widow because then you have to accept your husband has gone and get on with your life.' Of course, people ask why she stays with Patrick. ‘They don't usually come straight out with it. Most people say they don't know how I cope after all he's done. You've got to have a very strong relationship to stick it out but I've told him I won't put up with it or put the children through it again.'

She often wonders what the future will hold for her family. A prison record inevitably means finding work is harder. ‘We've both changed a lot too. I've got to cope with the bills and children while he doesn't have to worry where he lives or what he earns. I really can't wait for him to come out but I know we'll both have to adjust a lot.'

• Which of the following provides the best explanation of these words and phrases that appear in the text?

1. to pay for his crime

1. to pay a sum of money to a court
2. to be punished
3. to give help to those he injured

1. arrested

1. stopped by the police
2. put in prison
3. noticed

1. law-abiding

1. breaking the law
2. consulting lawyers
3. respecting the law

1. moaning

1. making a noise
2. being angry
3. complaining

1. They've got this very close bond

1. they depend on each other
2. they feel great affection for each other
3. they have a tense relationship

1. a prison record

1. the maximum time spent in prison
2. a song describing life in prison
3. being known as a person who's been in prison

· Answer the following questions.

1. When the police knocked on Sakina's door, did she have any reason to suspect her husband?
2. How does Sakina justify her husband's action?
3. Does she agree with what he did?
4. Why does Sakina keep a dog?
5. How often do the children see their father?
6. What is Sakina's financial situation like?
7. What do most people think about Sakina staying with Patrick?
8. What is Sakina's view if Patrick breaks the law again?
9. Does Sakina anticipate any difficulties when her husband gets out of prison?

· Find English equivalents to the following words and word-combinations:

1. расплачиваться за преступление

2. невинные жертвы

3. обвинить в вооруженном ограблении

4. быть без работы

5. был доведен до отчаяния

6. приговорить к восьми годам

7. остаться преданным кому-либо

8. законопослушный

9. совершил правонарушение

10. ее жизнь сосредоточена на семье / вращается вокруг семьи

11. сидеть на коленях

12. отложить оплату счетов

13. говорить прямо (напрямик)

14. мириться с чем-либо

15. судимость

16. что ожидает их в будущем

• Summarize the text.
• Retell the text.

· Write a composition on the theme “The importance of family life” (about 100 words). Use the Active and Core Vocabulary, and Word Combinations.

Make use of the following points:

- different views on family life

- advantages and disadvantages of family life

- roles of family members, their responsibilities

- problems that may have bad influence on family life

- society and a family

- characteristics common to all family forms