WHERE WE LIVE
A. Read the text and try to define the aspects we are going to deal with while studying the topic.
I would like to tell you a few words about my home. To begin with, I want to tell you that I live in Kyiv, one of the largest and oldest cities of Europe. It is one of the most ancient cities located on the picturesque banks of the Dnieper river.
Our family live in a new flat in one of the largest newly built residential areas. We moved into our flat seven years ago. It is a three-room flat on the fifth floor of an eight-storey building. It consists of a living room, a study, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, two larders and a lavatory. There are two balconies in our flat: the first one is in the living room, the second – in the bedroom. Our flat has all modern conveniences: central heating, running cold and hot water, electricity, telephone and gas. Besides, there is a lift and a garbage disposal in our block of flats. The layout is very nice, I must admit. The rooms are light, though not very large. In my opinion, it’s a quite modern-looking flat. The windows face the park in front of the building and the view is really wonderful.
Our living-room is quite a big room of about 19 square metres. It is the largest room in our flat. As my parents don’t like much furniture in the house, so in the living room there are two comfortable armchairs and a sofa, a coffee-table and a nice thick carpet on the floor. Opposite the window there is a wall unit, but it doesn’t take much space in the room. Of course there is a colour TV set, a stereo cassette-recorder and a
record-player in the living-room. A nice chandelier is hanging from the ceiling and there is a standard lamp to the left of the sofa. During the day, the light comes in through the window, but at night when it gets dark, we switch on the light and draw the curtains across the windows. We like to entertain guests in this room.
And now I would like to describe our study. At first it was my daddy’s room, but as I grew older, it has become mine. Frankly speaking, I’m very happy to have a room for myself, that’s why I always try to keep it tidy and cosy. There is a sofa, a writing table, a bookcase, and a wardrobe in my room. On the wall there are some shelves full of English and Ukrainian books. There is a radio set on the shelf and a dressing table next to the sofa. In the chest of drawers I keep clean linen and handkerchiefs and in the wardrobe I keep my clothes, which I hang on coat-hangers. I have two water-colours on the wall above the sofa.
But the most popular and favourite place with all of us is the kitchen, as we spend most of our time there. We all are not big-eaters, but use this place to have a chat about our problems and life.
In the kitchen there are some stools, a table, a cupboard, a sink with water taps, a fridge and a gas cooker. Of course, we usually have our meals there.
We like our flat very much. It is important that our house is rather close to the underground station and we can easily get to any place we like.
B. Make a class survey and then report about the following things.
Use these phrases:
Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
How about answering....?
Excuse me, I’d like to know....
I was wondering whether.......
1. What kind of house do you live in?
- detached house
- semi-detached
- terraced house
- bungalow
- cottage
- block of flats
- multi-storey building
- weekend / summer house
- skyscraper
- maisonette
- mansion
- bed-sitter (bed-sitting room)
- private
- residential building
- public building
- personal possessions
- real estate / property
2. Is it your permanent or temporary residence?
- permanent
- temporary
3. What is the house made of?
- brick
- stone
- wood
- prefabricated blocks
- concrete
4. Is the house new or old? Is it kept in good condition?
- shabby
- dilapidated
- repaired
- in good repair
- architecturally unpretentious
- derelict
- redecorated
- (recently) renovated
- renewed
- restored
- well-kept
- imposing
- impressive
5. Is the house large or small?
- cramped
- cluttered
- poky
- medium
- lacking in space
- roomy
- spacious
6. Is it nice and well-appointed?
- pleasant-looking
- attractive
- sumptuous
- having all modern conveniences
- gas, electricity, hot and cold running water, a chute, a lift, a telephone
- central heating
- air conditioning system
7. Where is it situated? What’s your address?
it is situated
- in the centre of
- due west of the centre
- half an hour’s drive from
the district is
- some distance from the city centre
- in one of the suburbs
- on the outskirts of the town
- in a very remote part
- just a stone’s throw from the centre / within a stone’s throw of
- within easy reach of
- within five minutes’ walking distance
- centrally located
- on a convenient traffic route
- far from the city centre
- in a quiet residential area
- the house commands a good view of the river / the lake / the woods
- to look south / north / west / east
- to look over / to overlook
8. What is there around your house?
- in front of the house there is a lawn / a flower bed
- at the back of the house there is a vegetable (kitchen) garden / a patch
- at the side of my house there is a garage / a shed / a barn / a well
- at the other side there is a conservatory / a greenhouse /a hothouse / a garden / a backyard / a playground / a sports ground
- on the top of my house you can see a chimney / a television aerial / an antenna / a satellite dish
- the house is enclosed by a fence / a hedge with a gate / a stile in it
- a path / a drive leads to
9. What are the other parts of the house worth mentioning?
- the roof is made of tiles (slates)
- there is a spacious loft / an attic with a few dormer windows
- there is a skylight / a gutter / a drainpipe
- there is a cellar / a basement which can be used for a lot of purposes (we keep a stepladder, mops and brooms there)
10. What can you see in the premises?
- an arbour
- an orchard
- a court
- a kennel
- a stable
- a hayloft
- a hen-house
- a cowshed
- a pigsty
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