Reading: Family
Lead-in:
Before you read the article, watch the video below and then discuss the two questions below.
1. How many people are there in your family?
2. In your opinion, which is better: large families or small families? Why?
Before you read the article, watch the video below and then discuss the two questions below.
1. How many people are there in your family?
2. In your opinion, which is better: large families or small families? Why?
For the Love of Children
1. Camille and Mike Geraldi really love children a lot and it's a good thing they do because, believe it or not, they now have twenty-two of them! 2. Mike and Camille first met when they were working at the same hospital where Mike was a pediatrician and Camille was a nurse. After dating for two years, they got engaged, and then married, and soon after they had two healthy daughters, Renae and Jaclyn. They bought a large house with a large swimming pool and drove expensive cars, but they still weren't happy. Camille said, "I don't enjoy my life because I feel that I need to do something even more meaningful, like helping other people." Mike and Camille talked about the problem and after a while they did something that few people would even think of doing - they started to adopt babies and toddlers who were mentally and physically challenged. 3. Now the Geraldi family has adopted a total of twenty children, so of course Camille is now extremely busy. She must take care of all the children, but fortunately there are a lot of people to help her. The Geraldi's teenagers, Renae and Jaclyn, like to be as helpful as they can, and, in addition, three adult helpers come to their home every morning. 4. Camille and Mike get up very early, at 5:00 a.m., to greet the helpers. Together they wake up, bathe, and dress the children, and at about 6:00 a.m., Camille goes downstairs and makes their breakfast. After breakfast, two of the helpers take most of the children to school, and at 7:30 a.m. Mike drives his car to work and Camille takes a well-deserved nap. She closes her eyes and naps for about one or two hours, and, after she wakes up, she begins to wash the clothes. She does at least twelve loads of laundry each and every day. 5. After lunch, Camille is even busier because she and the children swim, exercise and play together. Then she gives some of them physical therapy. Twice a week Camille goes to the market near their home where she buys a lot of food. She buys 29.5 liters of milk and 50 jars of baby food each time. Because she buys so much food, she usually spends $750 a week, and sometimes even more. 6. At 5:00 p.m., Camille Cooks dinner; sometimes enough for thirty people a day. Mike comes home later, about 6:00 p.m., and they all sit down in the dining room to have dinner together. After they finish eating their dinner, Mike cleans up the kitchen, and Camille helps Renae and Jaclyn do their homework. Finally, Camille and Mike go to bed at around midnight. However, Camille doesn't get much sleep because some of the children wake up during the middle of the night and need to be comforted. 7. Mike and Camille are always very tired, but they are also very happy, happier than they've ever been. They are proud to take care of their large family, and they plan to adopt even more children in the future. At last, Mike and Camille can say they truly enjoy their lives. |
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