N: great. My family came to visit me.
I: oh, you must be very happy. How many people are there in your family?
N: my immediate family is very large. It’s my mother, my father, my two older brothers, my younger sister and me.
I: I have a small family. They are my parents, my younger brother and me.
N: I thought you were the only child in the family. Didn’t China practice the only-child policy in the early 1980s?
I: yes, it did. But my parents are ethnic minority people. It’s a preferential policy for an ethnic minority family to have two children.
N: interesting. What do you think about families with only one child?
I: the child must feel very longly. My younger brother is 10 years younger than me. Before he was born, I used to be the only child and always dreamed that I would have a younger sister or brother one day.
N: do you get along well with each other?
I: yes, we are very close. He is 12 years old and very smart. He always makes us laugh a lot.
N: you are very lucky to have such a nice family.
I: thank you.