English Language Listening Library Online
Mixer 76 | Intermediate B1

Family Size

Listen to six people talk about how big their family is and where they are now.

Jeff, Canada
speakerI have a, by modern standards, I have a big family: seven people. My parents, my mom and dad. I have a sister, an older brother, two younger brothers and myself and the neat thing about my family now is my sister lives in America, one brother lives in Australia, one brother lives England, one brother lives in Canada and I live in Japan, so we are spread out all over the world.

Arienne, Norway
speakerIn my family there are five people: my older brother, my younger brother and myself and of course my parents. We also have a dog but he is unfortunately very sick so we might not have a dog for very much longer. My family lives about an hour away from me in Norway. I live in Oslo which is the capital and they live in a very small city south of it. (word / word / words)

Rebecca, Australia
speakerHow many people are in my family? There are four people in my family: my mother, my father, my younger brother and myself. I actually don't live with my family anymore. I live in a country town three hours away, so I don't get to see my family very much. At the moment, we also have two dogs as well, which is nice.

Sabriya, Oman
speakerThere are five people: my father, my mother, my younger brother, and my younger sister. Unfortunately, they are all way from me now and I miss them so much.

Swinki, Kenya
speakerHow big is my family? I'm the youngest in the family of five childen. My sister, whose right ahead of me, has a baby so I could say that we are six kids in the family. Everyone lives in Kenya. I'm the only one who lives abroad and we love each other. We used to hate each other up till seven years ago but now we are in love with each other.

Tini, Vietnam
speakerHow big is my family? Like we have four people in my family and we are pretty much a nuclear family, of course there are my mom, my dad, myself and my little brother. He's called Kevin. And we used to have a dog, and we named him Lulu.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!

by modern standards

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I have, by modern standards, a big family.

When we discuss a topic 'by modern standards,' that means we use the knowledge, beliefs, and opinions that are common today, not the past. Notice the following:

  1. He has, by modern standards, a poor education.
  2. A millionaire, by modern standards, is not rich.

spread out

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We are spread out all over the world.

Here, 'spread out' means in many different places around the world, not just in one particular location.  Notice the following:

  1. Branches of the school are spread out all over the city.
  2. The cows were spread out across the field.

as well

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We also have two dogs as well.

The phrase 'as well' means 'in addition'.  It is often interchangeable with the word 'too'.  Notice the following:

  1. I have a car, a motorcycle and a mountain bike as well.
  2. I have a car, a motorcycle and a mountain bike too.

right ahead of me

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My sister is right ahead of me.

Here, 'right ahead of me' means a little older.  Notice the following:

  1. We're twins, but my brother is minutes ahead of me.
  2. Today's your birthday?  Mine is tomorrow so you're right ahead of me!

nuclear family

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We are pretty much a nuclear family,

A 'nuclear family' includes the father, mother and children, but not aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.  Notice the following:

  1. I grew up in a nuclear family.
  2. Only one nuclear family living in a house in South East Asia is very rare.

Vocabulary Quiz

modern • spread out • as well
ahead of me • nuclear
  1. I would like hot tea .
  2. He got his driver's license a few days .
  3. We all decided to and look for the dog.
  4. This is a vacation for our family. no friends are invited this year.
  5. By standards this plane doesn't go very fast.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

One Minute English Video

Speakers
Mixer Video #76
Do you have a big family?

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