unit 10 Family
1 Questions we ask about families
2 Talking about your family
Listen to the first part of a conversation
What are you doing after the class? Have you got time for a coffee?
No,I've got to go.I'm going round to my sister's for dinner.
She gets a bit annoyed if I'm late.
Oh right.Where does she live?Pinedo.
Right,that's nice part of town.What does she do?
She's a doctor.She works in the Central hospital.
Oh,OK.So how old is she?She must be a lot older than you.
Yes,she's 35 years old,so she's almost 15 years older than me.
Wow.That's quite a big age gap.
So what's she like? Do you get on?
Yes,she's really nice.We're actually quite similar.
She's probably a bit more organised than I am,
but she's quite funny and very easy to talk to.
You know,she's never treated me like a baby or her little sister.
That's good.So is she married?
Yes,she got married when she was really young.
I think they've been married for around twelve years.
It wasn't long after they graduated.
OK,so have they got any kids?
She's actually pregnant at the moment.
It's her first baby.
Really?That's great.When's it due?November.
Oh right.It's quite soon then.
Yes,it's quite exciting.It'll be my first time as an aunt.
Anyway,what about you? Have you got any brothers or sisters?
Yes,I've got two older brothers and a twin sister.
You're twin.Wow.Do you look very similar?
I don't think so.We're not identical twins,if that's what you mean.
Alison's a bit taler than me and her hair is darker.
But yes,people are always confusing us.
People she's met sometimes come up to me and say hello
and start talking to me and I've got no idea who they are.
Right.That must be quite annoying.
It's OK.I'm used to it.It can actually be quite amusing!
So what's she like?I mean,have you got similar personalities as well?
Not really.She's a lot quieter than me.
It's usually me who does the talking when we go out
and she's a more serious person than I am.
For example,she's very hard-working.
Her job's really important to her.She doesn't go out very much.
I guess I'M more relaxed,but she's my twin,
so we're always going to be quite close.
Jerry Taylor has the same surname as the famous Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor,
but that's not the only thing they have in common.
They're both in their seventies.
They were both born in England and they both then moved to America.
They've also both been married eight times.
They may be extreme examples,but in the West,
more and more people are getting married and divorced not just once,
but two or three times.
many political and religious leaders are worried about this growing trend.
I just wanted to discover why this happens and what goes wrong.
I went to interivew Jerry to find out.
So what's the longest you've been married?
That was my third marriage-to Lisa-Marie-and it lasted six years.
Sadly,she died suddenly of a heart attack.
She was only 40.Nobody knows why it happened.
She didn't smoke or drink.
She went out shopping one day and never came back.
It was terrible.She was the love of my life.
In some ways,we didn't have that much in common.
She was ten years older than me.
She was a teacher,but she was quiet and kind.
She didn't get angry about any of my bad habits.
My shortest marriage was my fifth one-that only lasted six days.
Six days!Why was it so short?
Martha,my fourth wife,
had just left me for another man and I was feeling really bad,
so I went on holiday.
One day,I was having a meal on my own in the hotel restaurant.
A single woman was sitting at the next table.
We started chatting and she joined me at my table.
Her name was Rita.She was really good-looking
and I couldn't believe she was interested in an old guy like me.
It turned out that her husband had just died.
We fell in love and got married two days later!
The manager of the hotel came to our wedding.
We had a big party with all the other guests.
I bought her the most expensive diamond ring I could find.
It cost me $ 50,000! of course,we were booked on different flights home.
Mine was leaving at nine in the morning,hers left at eleven.
When I met her flight in Los Angeles,there was no sign of her!
She just disappeared.
I never heard from her again-and she didn't send the ring back!
So what went wrong with all your other marrigaes?
Well,the frist time,I was just too young.
I was only 20.My girlfriend,Mary,got pregnant.
She was 19 and in those days,first you got married and then you had the baby.
The marriage lasted about a year.
After the baby was born,she didn't really want me around the house.
All my other wives told me I'm a difficult person to live with.
You see,I like to keep things clean and tidy.
Some of them didn't have the same high standards as me.
Little things make me really annoyed.
For example,some of my wives didn't fold the towels the way I like,
or they moved my things around.
Both Donna,my sixth wife,
and Sheryl-she was the seventh-left me because they said I was crazy.
The other thing is,I'm a really big fan of Elvis.
I love him!I have a big collection of records and Elvis bits and pieces,
and some of them hated that.
When Laura,my second wife,
left me,because she found out I was having an affair with Lisa-Marie,
she said she was happy she was going
because she would never have to listen to another Elvis song in her life!
I just couldn't believe it!
So,why do you keep getting married again?
I guess I just don't like living on my own.
And I still believe in finding mrs Right.
And maybe this time I have.
I met Kimberly in Graceland,the home of Elvis.
She loves Elvis too.And she's beautiful.
How long have you been married now?
Nine weeks and it's beautiful.