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UNIT 5 Unit 5, Sociology, The Q Classroom Page 91 Teacher: The Unit 5 question is “What does it mean to be part of a family?” What do you think, Yuna? What does it mean to you? Yuna: I always have my family. I can rely on them. Teacher: OK, good. What else? How about you, Marcus? What does it mean to be part of a family? Marcus: What Yuna said—I can rely on them, but also they always can rely on me. My family always has to come first. Teacher: Do you agree with that, Sophy? Your family has to come first? Sophy: Yes, I think that’s true. Maybe I want to go out with my friends or something, but if my family needs me, then they can count on me. Sometimes it’s difficult, but being part of a family means you’re not alone. Teacher: What do you think, Felix? What does it mean to be part of a family? Felix: I agree with what everyone says, but for some people their friends are their family. Sometimes you don’t have a good relationship with your parents and siblings. Instead, you create good relationships with other people. I don’t think your family has to be the people you’re related to. Unit 5, Note-taking Skill, Activity A Page 93 Good evening. It's good to be here with you tonight. As some of you may know, I am now making a trip around the world studying different kinds of families. I've visited countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and I even went to Australia. Everywhere I go, I ask the same questions. How are families here different from families in other places? Why are they different? Then there is another even more important question: How are families the same? Or, in other words, what do families all around the world have in common? Unit 5, Listening 1, Activity A Page 95 Part 1 Interviewer: Today we're going to talk to sociologist Margaret Brown about how families influence us. To do this, Ms. Brown will look at two situations that might help us understand this better. First, she will describe the experience of a man who was adopted as a child. What were his experiences? How was he different from his adoptive family? Ms. Brown: Those are good questions. Here’s a case that might give us some ideas. It comes from a book called Strangers in the Nest by David B. Cohen. Cohen Q2e Listening & Speaking 2: Audio Script ? Copyright Oxford University Press Page 2 of 7 writes about a man who was adopted as a baby. I don’t know his name, but I call him Frank. Frank lived with his adoptive parents, brothers, and sisters for years and shared their experiences. But he said that he always felt that he was different—that in some ways, he didn’t “fit in.” Why? Well, for one thing, he didn’t look like the other people in the family. He also liked to do different things. For example, he liked to fix electronic things. His adoptive parents, brothers, and sisters did not have any interest in electronics. Interviewer: I know what you mean. I have several friends who were adopted, and some of them feel the same way. But you know others don’t feel that way at all. Ms. Brown: Yes, of course, each person is different. Anyway, in this case, Frank eventually met his biological family. He discovered that he had two brothers, and they were interested in electronics as well. Meeting his biological family helped him understand himself better. He no longer felt so different from everyone around him. Unit 5, Listening 1, Activity B Page 95 Part 2 Interviewer: Hmm. That’s fascinating. Now, I know that Cohen also describes a case in which twins are separated at birth. They grow up in different families, and they don’t know that they have a twin. What happens to them? Are they similar or are they different when they grow up? And finally the big questions: Are we born to act in certain ways? And how much do our families influence us? Ms. Brown: OK. Let's take the questions about the twins first. Cohen discusses one of the most famous cases in his book. It involves two men, Jim Springer and Jim Lewis. They were twins, but they were adopted into different families at the age of one month. Neither man knew he had a twin. The twins met for the first time when they were 39. Interviewer: I’m sure they were shocked to learn they had a twin. What did they learn about each other? Ms. Brown: Well, they were very similar—both in the physical appearance that they inherited from their biological parents and their personalities. For example, they both liked math and making things out of wood. But there were even more amazing coincidences in their lives. They both married women named Betty. They both had pets named Toy. The list of small coincidences like these goes on and on. Interviewer: That is amazing. I can understand that they looked alike and had similar personalities. But their wives and their pets had the same names! How can you explain that? Ms. Brown: Well, we can’t really. Maybe that was just a coincidence. Stories like these are interesting, but one story or even ten stories isn’t enough for good scientific evidence. However, in my view, these stories show that we are born with a Q2e Listening & Speaking 2: Audio Script ? Copyright Oxford University Press Page 3 of 7 tendency to have a certain personality. But in the end, our personalities probably come from a combination of biology and family influence. Unit 5, Listening 1, Activity C Page 95 Interviewer: Today we're going to talk to sociologist Margaret Brown about how families influence us. To do this, Ms. Brown will look at two situations that might help us understand this better. First, she will describe the experience of a man who was adopted as a child. What were his experiences? How was he different from his adoptive family? Ms. Brown: Those are good questions. Here’s a case that might give us some ideas. It comes from a book called Strangers in the Nest by David B. Cohen. Cohen writes about a man who was adopted as a baby. I don’t know his name, but I call him Frank. Frank lived with his adoptive parents, brothers, and sisters for years and shared their experiences. But he said that he always felt that he was different—that in some ways, he didn’t “fit in.” Why? Well, for one thing, he didn’t look like the other people in the family. He also liked to do different things. For example, he liked to fix electronic things. His adoptive parents, brothers, and sisters did not have any interest in electronics. Interviewer: I know what you mean. I have several friends who were adopted, and some of them feel the same way. But you know others don’t feel that way at all. Ms. Brown: Yes, of course, each person is different. Anyway, in this case, Frank eventually met his biological family. He discovered that he had two brothers, and they were interested in electronics as well. Meeting his biological family helped him understand himself better. He no longer felt so different from everyone around him. Interviewer: Hmm. That’s fascinating. Now, I know that Cohen also describes a case in which twins are separated at birth. They grow up in different families, and they don’t know that they have a twin. What happens to them? Are they similar or are they different when they grow up? And finally the big questions: Are we born to act in certain ways? And how much do our families influence us? Ms. Brown: OK. Let's take the questions about the twins first. Cohen discusses one of the most famous cases in his book. It involves two men, Jim Springer and Jim Lewis. They were twins, but they were adopted into different families at the age of one month. Neither man knew he had a twin. The twins met for the first time when they were 39. Interviewer: I’m sure they were shocked to learn they had a twin. What did they learn about each other? Ms. Brown: Well, they were very similar—both in the physical appearance that they inherited from their biological parents and their personalities. For example, they both liked math and making things out of wood. But there were even more amazing coincidences in their lives. They both married women named Betty. They both had pets named Toy. The list of small coincidences like these goes on and on. Q2e Listening & Speaking 2: Audio Script ? Copyright Oxford University Press Page 4 of 7 Interviewer: That is amazing. I can understand that they looked alike and had similar personalities. But their wives and their pets had the same names! How can you explain that? Ms. Brown: Well, we can’t really. Maybe that was just a coincidence. Stories like these are interesting, but one story or even ten stories isn’t enough for good scientific evidence. However, in my view, these stories show that we are born with a tendency to have a certain personality. But in the end, our personalities probably come from a combination of biology and family influence. ................
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