Write the following words in phonemic script and learn their pronunciation.

Text 3 The American Home

American apartments are usually described as studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments. Two- and three-bedroom apartments usually have a connecting living-room; frequently they have two bathrooms. Virtually all apartments have built-in closets with doors, which are used instead of wardrobes. Frequently apartments are without lights but have several outlets for table or floor lamps. Walls are often painted rather than papered. The entrance generally is directly into the living room area; halls are rarely in evidence. Floors are generally covered with wall-to-wall carpeting. Apartment buildings usually have laundry facilities on the ground floor. Almost all apartments have refrigerators, most people now use microwave ovens which provide very convenient and fast cooking. Most apartments and houses have a central thermostat which regulates the temperature.

There are two types of apartments: an apartment in a block of flats which is typically rented and a condominium – an apartment building in which each part is owned by the person living in it, but the building and shared areas are owned by everyone together. In addition there are town-houses which are joint houses or apartments in a compact planned group in a town. Town-houses can be purchased or rented. The rent for the apartments can range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars per month. The purchase price of condominiums and town-houses varies from thirty thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the US the historical preference since the 1950’s has been for people to purchase their own houses in the suburbs rather than in central areas of the cities. Private houses are the most expensive. Real estate firms advertise lands, houses and apartments and provide a market for buyers and sellers. The cost of private houses has escalated sharply in recent years and consequently people have sought to buy town houses and condominiums which generally are cheaper.

A mobile home or a caravan is the cheapest form of housing which can be moved from place to place by a truck. Caravans are located in special mobile home parks. They are usually on the outskirts of cities. Retired people and young people with low income reside in mobile homes which can be purchased or rented.

Vocabulary on the Text

to be described

a studio (apartment)

a connecting living-room

virtually

built-in closets with doors

instead of sth

to have several outlets

to be painted/wall-papered

to be covered with wall-to-wall carpeting

to be rarely in evidence

to have laundry facilities

to use microwave ovens

to provide convenient and fast cooking

to regulate the temperature

a condominium

to range from … to … per month

historical preference

real estate firms

to advertise sth

to provide a market for buyers and sellers

to escalate sharply

in recent years

consequently

to seek to do sth

a mobile home

a caravan

to be purchased

people with low income

to be on the outskirts of cities

to reside in a house

Pronunciation Development

Write the following words in phonemic script and learn their pronunciation.

Apartment, described, studio, connecting, frequently, virtually, wardrobe, outlet, entrance, rarely, laundry, facility, refrigerator, microwave, oven, convenient, thermostat, temperature, condominium, purchased, preference, escalate, consequently, caravan.

2. Divide the following verbs (a) and nouns (b) into 3 groups according to:

a) pronunciation of the ending –ed: described, used, painted, wall-papered, covered, rented, planned, purchased, rented, escalated, moved, located, called;

b) pronunciation of the final consonant –s: apartments, bathrooms, closets, doors, wardrobes, lights, outlets, lamps, walls, halls, refrigerators, ovens, types, town-houses, areas, firms, years, trucks, parks.

3. Mark stresses and practise pronunciation. What have you noticed?

living-room	built-in
bathroom	wall-papered
town-house	wall-to-wall
		condominium

4. Read the following word-combinations. Pay attention to:

a) article+noun

the walls, the entrance, the living room, the temperature, the US, the suburbs, the outskirts;

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