Children and the family Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

Children and the family

Exercise 1

Complete definitions 1 – 15 with words and expressions from the box. You will not need all of the
words and expressions from the box.

adolescence      adolescent       adopt       authoritarian       birth        rate       bring        up        dependent       divorced      extended family        family life        formative years        foster       foster child        foster family      freedom       infancy     infant        juvenile       juvenile delinquency      lenient        minor (noun)        nuclear family       nurture                     over-protective        protective          raise         rebellious         relationship         relatives        responsible            separated       siblings       single         parent         single-parent         family        strict        supervision          running wild      teenager        upbringing       well-adjusted

1	__________ is the period in someone's life when they change from being a child to being a young adult. A boy or a girl who is at this stage in their life is called an __________.
2	A __________ is someone who has not reached the age at which they are legally an adult.
3	Your brothers and sisters are sometimes referred to as your __________.
4	A couple (for example, a husband and wife) who are __________ no longer live together. If a married couple get __________, their marriage is legally ended.
5	A __________ is a family that looks after someone else's child in their own home for a period of time. A child who lives with this family is called a __________. The verb is __________.
6	A __________ is a formal word for a young person, and can also be used as a word for a young person who has committed a crime.
7	A __________ child is one who is mentally strong and able to deal with problems without becoming upset. A child who is badly behaved and refuses to obey his / her parents, teachers, etc., can be described as __________.
8	Your __________ are those in your life when your character and beliefs are most strongly influenced.
9	If you bring someone else's child into your family and legally make him or her your own child, we say that you __________ him / her.
10	A __________ is a child between the ages of 13 and 19.
11	An __________ is a baby or very young child. This period in a child's life is called __________.
12	__________ and __________ both mean the same thing: to take care of children while they are growing up.
13	An __________ is a family group that includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. A __________ is a family unit consisting of a mother, a father, and their children.
14	A __________ or __________ parent is one who makes their children follow rules and behave in a very “correct” way. The opposite of this is __________.
15	A __________ is a child or other relative to whom you give food, money, and a home. This word can also be an adjective.

Exercise 2

Use your dictionary to check the meanings of the other words and expressions in the box.

Exercise 3

Complete this case study with appropriate words and expressions from the box in Exercise 1. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

Bob's problems began during his (1) ________________. His parents got (2) ________________ when he was young, and neither of his parents wanted to raise him or his brother and sister, so he was (3) ________________ by a (4) ________________ chosen by his parent's social worker. Unfortunately, his foster-father was a strict (5) ________________ and often beat him. Bob rebelled against this strict (6) ________________ and by the time he was eight, he was already (7) ________________ stealing from shops and playing truant. By the time he reached (8) ________________ sometime around his thirteenth birthday, he had already appeared in court several times, charged with (9) ________________. The judge blamed his foster parents, explaining that children needed (10) ________________ parents and guardians who would look after them properly. The foster father objected to this, pointing out that Bob's (11) ________________ – his two brothers and sister – were (12) ________________ children who behaved at home and worked well at school. This has raised some interesting questions about the modern family system. While it is true that parents should not be too (13) ________________ with children by letting them do what they want when they want, or be too (14) ________________ by sheltering them from the realities of life, it is also true that they should not be too strict. It has also highlighted the disadvantages of the modern (15) ________________ where the child has only its mother and father to rely on (or the (16) ________________, in which the mother or father has to struggle particularly hard to support their (17) ________________). In fact, many believe that we should return to traditional family values and the (18) ________________ family: extensive research has shown that children from these families are generally better behaved and have a getter chanceof success in later life.

Exercise 4

Now try this essay. Use words and expressions from the vocabulary box in Exercise 1, and any other words or expressions that you think would be relevant.

Some people believe that children nowadays have too much freedom. Others believe that children are protected too much by their parents. Which of these statements do you agree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your decision.

ANSWER KEY