HOUSING

The way of housing has changed a lot during last centuries and even in last decades. Now people prefer houses with central heating, cold and hot water, gas and electricity. They would consider living in an old medieval castle or chateau very uncomfortable although it could be fairly romantic. In the present there is almost no difference between the standard of living in towns and in the country. Nowadays village people would hardly live in low cottages with small windows and thatched or shingled roof, lit only with a candle or an oil lamp. They would neither fetch water in buckets from the well outside the house nor go on foot several kilometres to the nearest shop. People in the country has got used to comfortable houses with up-to-date furnishing, fitting and equipment. In the contemporary village low cottages were replaced with detached or terraced houses. City people live mostly in large housing estates consisting of uniform prefabricated blocks of flats which are so very similar that one could get lost easily when he is not a native there. Fortunately these concrete-panel housing estates are situated on the suburbs of towns and cities while their centres usually keep the original historical character owing to various architectural styles preserved there. Living in a typical housing estate has both advantages and disadvantages. People can appreciate wide choice of facilities offering various services (dry-cleaner's, hairdresser's, barber's, laundry, supermarkets, schools, regular services of public transport). On the other hand they are sometimes bothered with the conditions in the block flats - it often happens that the lift is out of order or people are without hot water or without water at all, the central heating does not work properly. Flats on the top floor are usually too hot during summer and too cold during winter. There are few trees and lawns but prevailing areas of concrete in the housing estate. When people want to reach real nature, they have to use their car or bicycle. No wonder that a lot of people long for a house of their own, surrounded with a garden. A typical detached house in the town or in the country looks like this: It has usually two floors and an attic. The house foundations are made of stone. The front of the house is light with quite large windows having brown or white frames. The house has a gabled or flat roof with chimney, a lightning conductor, a TV aerial and a satellite dish. At the edge of the roof there are eaves. On the ground floor behind the house there is a terrace with a small table, chairs and a parasol. The house has usually two entrances - front and back. In the basement there are a cellar, small workshop, garage and a shed for keeping garden tools in. While a wine cellar and a special cellar for storing fruit and vegetable during winter season is built near the house at the back. In front of the house there is usually a front garden with flowers or some bushes. It is common that houses in the village have small yards with some farm outbuildings at the back, such as a hen house, a rabbit hutch, or a pigsty for raising animals and poultry there, and a back garden with a few vegetable beds, greenhouse and fruit trees. On the other hand city people prefer the house without the yard. They like their back garden with a terrace just behind the house where they can have a rest, a green lawn, a small pool with water lilies, ornamental bushes and trees planted on the lawn and a rock garden. All area of the garden is surrounded with a fence or a railing. When people like privacy, they plant a row of thick bushes along the fence which make natural green wall. On the ground floor of the house there are usually a spacious hall, kitchen, living room and dining room. When you enter the house you can leave your coat at the coat hanger. There is usually a mirror, a shoe-cabinet and a built-in-wardrobe. When there is enough room in the hall, a occasional table with a phone or a wicker table with chairs can be there and potted flowers, of course. On the walls you can often find small pictures - some drawings or pieces of graphic art. The doors lead from
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the hall into the living room, dining room and the kitchen. The living room is a place where all members of the family spend a lot of time together. So every family tries to furnish it comfortably and make it as pleasant and cosy as possible. There is usually a living room suite consisting of a big couch and two armchairs. In front of the couch there is a round or square coffee table with the top made of wood or glass. The top is covered with a white cloth. The pieces of furniture are arranged along the walls. The TV set with video stands on top of one of the cabinets. On the shelf under the TV there is a hi-fi stereo tower. The colour of the soft carpet on the floor matches the colour of the living room suite. The walls of the room can be decorated with several pictures with natural scenery, with a still life depicting a bowl with some fruit or with a tapestry. On the window sills there are flowerpots. The curtains reach down to the floor. Next to the living room there is a kitchen. It is rather big with a dining recess in the corner near the window. It is helpful when the furnishing and equipment are arranged efficiently in the kitchen so that the housewife can have everything she needs at hand - cup- boards with dinner sets, cups and saucers, bowls, glasses, all cook- ware and with other utensils, a sink for washing dishes and a plate rack. There are also a refrigerator, a freezer, a stove, a microwave oven and a grill. When there is enough room in the kitchen, the housewife may wish to have a dishwasher and a washing machine there. Some women are proud of the kitchen which is decorated in the rustic style - with decorated plates on the wall, with spice boxes and pottery on the shelves and blue-white printed tablecloth or tablemats. When the house is big enough, the family can use the room next to the kitchen as the dining room. The dining room usually contains a big round or square table and chairs, a big cabinet with china dining sets, coffee and tea sets, cutlery, glasses and other things necessary for laying the table, such as tablecloths, table-mats and napkins. The room looks cosy when the vase with fresh flowers is on the dining table and some potted flowers are on the flower table near the window. Upstairs there are usually bedrooms of parents and children and a bathroom. Ordinary bedroom has a double bed with pillows and blankets and with two bedside tables. There are several pieces of furniture for keeping bed linen and clothes in - a large wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a few cabinets, which are arranged along the walls. Near the window there is a dressing table consisting of a large mirror and a small cabinet for cosmetics and a small round chair. On the floor there is a soft carpet. A suitable children's room should be spacious. It contains a bed, a bunk bed or a cot, several cabinets for clothes and toys, a writing desk with a lamp and a chair. Children like their room decorated with bright colours. The walls are usually covered with patterned wallpaper and posters. Favourite children's toys (e.g. toy-cars, toy-animals or dolls) are displayed on the shelves or cabinets. Almost every family has a good-natured argument over who will be the first in the bathroom. Men are often right when they say that it takes women a long time to have a shower or a wash, to comb their hair, clean their teeth and put on their make-up. Men declare that they spend less time in the bathroom. When the bathroom is a spacious room, besides a bath and a washbasin there can be a bidet, a towel rail with towels, an automatic washing machine and a bathroom cabinet with toiletries above the washbasin. Tiny bathrooms, which are common in blocks of flats, contain a small bath or only a shower. Almost all children like animals. They wish to have a pet of their own. It is easy when you live in a house - you can have a dog or a cat. But it is more difficult to keep a pet animal in a small flat. In that case it is better to buy some small animal - a white mouse, guinea pig, hamster, tropical spider, some caged bird or a gold fish. No matter how furnished the house or flat is. Inside there can be expensive up-to-date furniture or very simple furnishing. But this is not the main thing. We like our house or flat not because of comfortable
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furnishing, but because it is our home where we live together with people we love. Whenever we are on holiday or somewhere else, we often feel homesick because our home is the place where we like to return.
Questions on the text: 1. How has the standard of living changed? How and where did our ancestors live a few centuries ago? 2. Are there any differences between the standard of living in a town and in the country? What advantages and disadvantages does the living in a housing estate offer? 3.What do a common front and back gardens look like? What do city and village people usually grow in the back garden? 4. What can we usually find outside a house - on the roof, on the front of a house? 5. What is the typical layout of a two-storey house like? How can be all the rooms in the basement used? Which rooms are usually situated on the ground floor and the first floor? 6.Describe ordinary furnishing, equipment and decoration of each room in a common house - a hall, living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom, childrens room, bathroom? 7. How can be an attic or a loft used?

VOCABULARY:
1. Types of HOUSES, RESIDENCES: a) People can live in: house, building, flat / apartment (AM), one-room flat = bed-sitter, three- room flat, block of flats/ apartment building (AM), housing estate, block, bungalow [bang lu] (= a low house), villa [vil], detached house [di'tt] (= a free-standing separate house), semidetached house (=a house connected with another similar house), terraced house [terst] (= a house in a row of similar houses), a row of terraced houses, cottage (= a small house in the country), weekend cottage = weekend house, farmhouse, bachelor accommodation; b) Historical residences: castle, palace [pls], mansion [mnn], country house, chateau [tu] (pl.chateaux / chateaus [tuz]), stately home [steitli] (= a large country house /chateau containing valuable works of art, furniture which can be visited by people); c) During the holiday people can stay at: hotel, ... (see the topic TRAVELLING, item 11,12); 2. OUTSIDE the house: a) In the garden, near the house: fence, railing [reili], hedge [hed], gate, garage, stone foundations, front/ back garden, fruit tree, orchard [o:d], vineyard [vinja:d], rock garden, pool, summerhouse, greenhouse, garden shed [ed], grass, lawn, flower / vegetable bed, hotbed, dog's kennel; b) Door: front / back door, doorstep = door sill, doormat, door plate with a name, doorbell, knocker [nok], letter box, pigeon-hole [pidn hul], lock with a key, handle; c) Window: blinds [blaindz], Venetian blinds [vi'nin], window box with flowers, balcony, French window, window frame [freim], window sill; d) Roof: gabled roof [geibld], flat roof, tile [tail], chimney, eaves [i:vz], lightning conductor, aerial [eril], satellite dish; 3. INSIDE the house ROOMS & FURNISHING: a) Floors / storeys: in the basement, on the floor / storey [sto:ri], ground floor, first floor, top floor, upstairs, downstairs; b) Passage, hall, lounge [laund]: landing, stairs, staircase,
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stair-carpet, handrail, mirror, coat hanger, built-in-wardrobe/ cupboard, occasional table with a phone, shoe cabinet, wicker table with chairs [wik] c) Living room: carpet, table, tablecloth, chair, round table, coffee table, living room suite [swi:t], couch [kau], sofa, armchair, rocking chair, cushion [kun], sideboard [saidbo:d], bookcase, bookshelf /shelves, fireplace, mantelpiece [mntlpi:s], cabinet, cupboard, ceiling light, chandelier [nd'li], spot light, lamp, adjustable ceiling lamp, standard lamp, glass / porcelain vase [po:slin], painting, picture, tapestry [tpistri], clock, wall-clock, alarm clock, cuckoo clock, hall clock, wallpaper, curtain, lace curtain, radio, TV set, video player, record / compact disc player, hi-fi stereo tower [stiriu], amplifier [mplifai]; d) Bedroom, children's room: single / double bed, cot [kot], cradle [kreidl], bunk bed [bank], pillow, sheet [i:t], linen [linin] (1. bedclothes, 2. for setting the table), bedclothes [bedkluz], blanket [blnkit] (=made of thick woollen cloth), quilt [kwilt] (with soft material inside), pillow / blanket case, bedspread [bedspred], wardrobe, drawer [dro:], chest of drawers, dressing table with a mirror, bedside table, hanger, mattress [mtrs], parent's wedding photo, writing desk, posters, computer, desk lamp; e) Bathroom, toilet: wash-basin, bath, shower, mirror, towel, soap, sponge [spand], tooth-brush, tooth-paste, comb [kum], electric shaver, bathroom scale [skeil], lavatory [lvtri] / toilet, bidet [bi:dei], potty, toilet paper, bathroom cabinet, hair drier, toilet things = toiletries, cosmetics (cosmetics and make-up: see the topic SHOPPING,CLOTHING, page 3); f) Kitchen, kitchenette [kii'net], dining room: dining recess [ri'ses], kitchen unit, kitchen dresser, cupboard, sink, tap with cold / hot water [tp], plate rack [rk], dish cloth, tea towel, electric /gas stove with an oven [avn], cooker, hot plate, gas ring, calendar [klind]; g) Other rooms in the house: cellar, attic [tik], loft, junk room [dank], pantry [pntri]; 4. Kitchen UTENSILS : a) Cookware: pots and pans, casserole, pressure cooker [pre], pot lid, sauce pan, frying pan, kettle; b) Chinaware and earthenware [:nwe]: chinaware, ovenware, pottery [potri] (= earthenware used as a decoration or for serving meals in, not for cooking in), cup and saucer, mug [mag], jug [dag], plate (soup / flat/ dessert plate), soup pot, tea/coffee pot, saucer boat, bowl, dish (1. a bowl from which a meal is served at table; 2. a meal brought to table); c) Other utensils: jar [da:], tea-tray [ti:trei], wooden spoon, twirling stick [tw:li], ladle [leidl], peeler [pi:l] (e.g. potato peeler), tea egg, strainer [strein ], grater [greit], opener (e.g. tin opener, bottle opener), sieve [si:v], funnel [fanl], corkscrew [ko:kskru:], scale(s) [skeil(z)], lemon squeezer [skwi:z], knife (pl. knives), bread knife, chopping board [opi], rolling pin, pastry board [peistri], egg-slicer, chopper, meat beater, mincer [mins], grating machine; d) Things we need for laying / setting the table: tablecloth, table-mat, plates, cutlery / silverware (=tablespoons, teaspoons, coffeespoon, fork, knife), sugar tongs [taz], sugar bowl, salt shaker/ bowl, cruet-stand [kru:it], napkin, coffee/tea china set, glasses, toothpicks [tu:piks], candlestick [kndlstik], beer glass, goblet [goblit]; (see the topic FOOD & DRINK, p.4, item 6) 5. LABOUR SAVING DEVICES and EQUIPMENT of the household: a) Electrical appliances: refrigerator / fridge, freezer, dishwasher, electric / gas stove, oven, grill, microwave oven, toaster, fryer / frier, filter coffee maker = percolator [p:kleit], liquidizer [likwidaiz] / blender (AM), mixer, coffee grinder [graind], washing machine, waste disposer
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[weist dis'puz], spin-drier [spindrai], iron, rolling press, sewing machine [sui], vacuum cleaner [vkjum] / hoover [hu:v]; b) Other household utensils: ironing-board, broom, brush, dustpan [dastpn], dustbin / litter bin [lit bin], bucket [bakit], duster, carpet sweeper, ladder [ld]; c) Household equipment and improvement: central heating, bulb, flex, socket [sokit], air conditioning [kn'dini], plug, patterned ceramic tile [ptnd s'rmik]; 6. COTTAGE and FARMYARD with OUTBUILDINGS: a) Outbuildings: yard, barn [ba:n], shed [ed], cow shed, stable [steibl], pigsty [pigstai], hen house, rabbit hutch [ha], beehive [bi:haiv]; b) Garden tools: rake, spade [speid], fork, hoe [hu], watering can [kn], shears [iz], wheelbarrow ['wi:lbru], lawnmower [lo:n mu], shovel [avl], to water with a watering can / with a hose [huz]. 7. What can your DO with things and equipment in your house? a) Door: close/shut, open, lock, unlock, double lock, ring the bell, answer the doorbell, answer the door, knock at the door; b) Window: draw the curtain, let down/pull up the blinds, open the window and air the room; c) Staircase: go upstairs, go downstairs, fall down the stairs, slide down the handrail; d) Electrical appliances: switch on / off = turn on / off the TV / radio / cassette recorder / CD player, replace a bulb with a fresh one, plug in / unplug, turn up / down the radio (TV, cassette recorder etc.); e) Bed: make the bed, strip the bed and change the bedclothes, put on clean sheet and pillow-case, air the bedding; f) Household chores [o:z]: air the room, clean the windows, sweep the floor / stairs, mop the floor, tidy up the room [taidi], do the room, keep the house clean and tidy, polish the furniture / floor, wipe the dust off, vacuum / hoover the carpet; g) In the bathroom: turn on / off the tap, fill the wash basin / bath, have a hot bath, have a quick shower, wash in cold / hot water, dry oneself with a towel, clean the bath / wash basin, wash / shampoo one's hair, comb one's hair, shave, brush / clean one's teeth; h) In the kitchen: turn on / off gas, pour water in the kettle, put the kettle on the gas, wash up = wash the dishes, dry up, cork / uncork the bottle, lay / set the table; i) Laundry: do the washing, launder in a launderette, hang out the wash / laundry, iron with an iron on an ironing-board, spin-dry in a spin-drier, pre-wash the laundry; EXERCISES: 1. Which buildings represent the historical ones? Would you like to try living in one of them if you could return several centuries back? Do you think that living there was comfortable? 2. Make a list of several types of modern houses. Which of them would you choose as your future place to live in? 3. Where can you spend your holiday? What accommodation would you choose if you went on a business journey? 4. Which things can you find a) in the garden, b) outside the house? 5. What can you find inside the house? a) Which rooms are usually situated in the basement/on the ground floor/first floor? b) What furnishing can you find in each room of the house/flat? 6. What labour saving devices and appliances do you use in your household? 7. Would you like to have your own room in the attic? 8. How can you use the loft of the house? 9. What can you do with these things: a) a door, b) curtains/blinds, stairs, d) a lamp, e) a bed, f) a
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laundry. 10. What household chores can you do in: a) a kitchen, b) a bathroom, c) a bedroom? 11. How do you keep your house clean? 12. What do you need for festive laying the table? DISCUSSION POINTS: 1. What is the house/ flat/ room of your dreams? Do you think a large house is easy to keep tidy and clean? 2. What is the kitchen of your dreams? Which kitchen utensils and electrical appliances would you like to have in your own kitchen? 3. Are you satisfied with your flat/house/room? What would you like to change? 4. What do you think about the standard of living in our country? 5. Do you prefer living in the town to living in the country? Why? 6. Did you wish to have a pet animal when you were a small boy / girl? Would you permit your children to have a pet? Why? 7. How would you furnish and equip the room for your children? Which things are in your opinion necessary in the children's room? PREPARE A PRESENTATION ON HOUSING using these topics: 1. Describe your house/flat. Is it large? How many room has your flat / house got? 2. Have you got a garden next to your house or away from the village/town? What do you grow in it? 3. Describe all the rooms of your flat / house and their furnishing. Which kitchen utensils, electric appliances do you use in your household? 4. Have you got a lot of potted flowers in the rooms, window boxes in the windows or on the balcony? 5. Do you keep any pet animals? 6. Do you live in the village? Have you got a farmyard with all necessary outbuildings for keeping domestic animals in?