TEXT 4. Everyday Routine

1. Every person has to do a lot of things organizing his everyday life. It takes no difference whether you are a boy or a girl, a young man or an adult person, there is a regular round of duties which you have to do in spite of your wish or desire. There may be shopping, cooking, doing part of the house work, etc. Some of these things you do every day, some - only at weekends, others - occasionally. Anyway, you can't avoid doing them because they are part of your life.

2. The way you are involved in everyday activities depends on your family circumstances. If your parents are busy at work, if you have little sisters or brothers, if somebody is ill in the family you'll have your hands full. If you are an only child in the family with lots of "nurses" you may feel at ease.

3. I live in a full family of five. It's a fairly large family by modern standards. It consists of my parents, my elder brother, my granny and me. You can imagine the amount of homework to be done to make everyone feel comfortable. Each of us likes clean apartments, tidy clothes, delicious food. So, the best way to keep the house is to split the job among the family members so that every member could do his bit of homework.

4. It is really not a bad idea to have a kind of subdivision of labour at home when each person knows his own daily household jobs. My father, for instance, instance, is responsible for all repairs and renovations in the apartment. My mother has a lot of work about the house, but her main duty is cooking, washing and cleaning the apartment on Saturday or Sunday. My elder brother Boris doesn't like housework very much but still he has to something regularly. It is his personal duty to clean his room and take the dog out. He also repairs electrical appliances when they are out of order. He has already repaired our electric iron, my desk lamp and his own shave. Granny is also big help for us. Much of the everyday work is on her shoulders. She does washing up, some small cleaning and cooking, works in the garden.

5. As for me I must admit that this year I'm very busy at school and I hardly do much about the house. Still I have some regular chores. It has my duty for years to go on a short shopping rounds for small things, such as bread and milk.

6. Once a week I clean my room. I'm not a messy person but I have neither time nor desire to clean my room on weekdays. But by the end of the week do it with enthusiasm. I'm not crazy about having everything in its right place but I don't like to have everything scattered about the flat either. So, I try to pile my books, cassettes, clothes, etc. and other possessions.

7. Sometimes I help my mother when she gives the flat a big clean. I dust the carpets, vacuum the floors or do some other things. We usually use different electric appliances to make our housework better and faster. I can also assist my mother to iron clothes or do some other work.

8. Occasionally, when my mother is away from home or my granny is ill I have to do some extra work: cook and wash up, buy food and plan my meals. I am not a good cook, but my vegetable soup is always tasty. I can also boil an egg or fry some meat. I also lay the table and clear away the dishes. If I'm too busy or can't do these things, all the duties are shared with other members of our family.

9. Our family is friendly and we often share the housework. Shopping at the supermarket, for instance, is a kind of our family outing. If we all are free at the right time we go together and choose the goods and push trolley. That's the way it should be.

10. Sometimes I have to visit everyday service establishments: hairdresser's, shoemaker's, tailor's, dry cleaner's, photographer's. At the hairdresser's I have my hair cut and waved. At the shoemaker's I have my shoes and boots repaired, at the photographer's I have my photo taken. Service is generally good, but in some cases it leaves much to be desired.

11. Last year I was at my grandparents'. They are elderly people and need our care and attention. During my stay there I swept the floors and washed them, fed the chickens, collected the eggs and weeded the vegetable-beds. I didn't learn to milk the cow but I helped to feed other animals: lambs, sheep and pigs. Fancy that I enjoyed this work very much.

1. Ask your partner the following questions to find out about his/her household chores. Then, report to the class about his/her everyday duties.

1. Do you see "routine" as a negative term? Why yes? Why no?

2. What is this word usually associated with?

3. Do you feel responsibility for keeping your home?

4. How are household chores divided in your family?

5. What is a necessary part of your everyday routine?

6. What does your brother/sister usually do about the house?

7. How often do you go shopping?

8. Do you press your own clothes or do you have them pressed for you?

9. Who tidies up your room?

10. Do you sometimes have to cook meals for the family? When?

11. Have you ever done any unusual work?

12. What everyday services do you visit?

13. Do the household duties of villagers differ from those of citizens?

14. Which of household chores do you do? How often?

2. Fill in the table with the domestic duties that you, your brother / sister, mother, father usually do.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29