Никоненко Тамара Петрівна

   Belonging to a family is one bond almost everyone in the world shares, but family patterns vary from country to country. What are families like in the United States?
   Nine out of ten people in the USA live as members of families and they value their families highly. Most of the Americans say that family is very important to them. “Families,” they say, “give us a sense of belonging and a sense of tradition, families give us strength and purpose. Our families show us where we are. The things we need most deeply in our lives – love, communication, respect and good relationships – have their beginnings in the family.” Families serve many functions. They provide conditions in which children can be born and brought up. Families help to educate their members. Parents teach their children values (that is what they think is important) as well as daily skills. They also teach them common practices and customs, such as respect for elders and celebrating holidays. But the most important job for a family is to give emotional support and security.
   When Americans speak about families, many of them mean a “traditional family”. A traditional American family is one in which both parents are living together with their children. The father goes out and works and the mother stays home and brings up the children. There are two children in a traditional American family: an elder daughter (called “Sis”) and a younger brother (“Buddy” or “Junior”). This does not mean that such size of family or order of birth is statistically more common in the United States than in other countries, but this is the typical structure when a traditional American family is pictured in illustrations or advertisements.
   But most American families today do not fit this image. The biggest change is that in many families both parents work outside the home.

   This happened many years ago when I lived in Paris and was very poor. A lady had read a book of mine and wanted to have a talk with me. She asked me to give her a small luncheon at a restaurant, which she named. I was very young and I couldn’t say “no” to a lady. I had only eighteen francs, all the money till the end of the month. “A small luncheon will not cost more than fifteen francs”, I thought.
   So we met at the restaurant, which she had chosen. She was a woman of forty, and she talked a lot. When the waiter brought the menu, I saw that the prices were very high, but she said, “I never eat much for luncheon”. And she ordered a piece of salmon. “Will you have anything while we are preparing it?” asked the waiter. “No”, she answered, “I never eat more than one thing. I want caviar”. I knew that I had not enough money to pay for caviar, but I couldn’t tell her that. For myself I ordered the cheapest thing on menu, a beefsteak. “What will you drink?” I asked her. “My doctor lets me drink only champagne!” It seemed to me that my face became white…
   She ate the caviar, and ate the salmon, she drank champagne and took a peach, which was not in season. She talked of art, literature and music… But all I wanted to know was what the “small” luncheon would cost me.
   “You know”, she said as she was eating the ice-cream, “I usually don’t eat luncheon. I have a cup of coffee in the morning and then dinner. But if I must eat luncheon, then I never eat more than one thing”.
   The bill came, and when I had paid it, I had the whole month before me and not a penny in my pocket. I am not a bad man. But I’m glad that today she weighs more than three hundred pounds (about 130 kilogrammes). So I had my revenge at last.
Vocabulary
a luncheon – пізній сніданок
salmon – лосось
champagne – шампанське
caviar – ікра
I had my revenge – Я був відомщений.