Home, house and facilities

Starting-Up

There are many different types of housing in Britain, ranging from the traditional thatched country cottage to flats in the centre of towns. Houses are often described by the period in which they were built (e. g., Georgian, Victorian. 1930s, or post-war) and whether they are terraced, semi-detached or detached. As well as preferring houses to flats, for many people a garden is also an important consideration. Although Britain is relatively small the areas where people live vary considerably: there are new towns and inner cities, suburbs, commuter belts and the open countryside.

1 Read the descriptions of houses below and decide which of them is for the English: a) the most desirable; b) second best; c) less desirable; d) the least desirable.

a. Terraced houses are usually found in inner cities. They can be anything up to 150 years old and were often built by industries to house their workers near the factories. They are built in long rows where each house is attached to the ones on either side. The back of this type of house faces the back of another identical row of houses, so they are often-known as 'back to backs'. In recent years many terraced houses have been renovated; central heating has been added and other improvements made to what was originally a simple and sometimes primitive home with an outside toilet and no bathroom.

b. Semi-detached houses have been built in large numbers since the 1930s, when Britain's towns and cities expanded into suburbs. Each house is part of a pair and is joined on one side to its partner. The semi usually has a small back and front garden, three

bedrooms and a small bathroom. It is the most popular type of house in Britain and could be called the home of 'Mr. and Mrs. Average'. Towns in Britain have areas which contain streets and streets of semis, often with well-kept gardens.

с The detached house stands by itself, usually with a garden all around it. These houses are much more expensive than semis and are often owned by professional people. Most detached houses are to be found in affluent suburbs or in the 'green belt' - a strip of protected open countryside around a city, where no industrial development or major building schemes are allowed. Some large cities (particularly London) also have a ^wcommuter belt' - so-called because the professionals who live there travel (commute) every day to work into the city by train or car. London is surrounded by miles and miles of 'commuter belt'. Some commuters travel up to three or four hours a day to get from their homes to the inner city.

d. Britain is famous for its country cottages which were often built on the country estates of wealthy landowners. The workers on the estate rented the cottages from the landowner and worked on the land. Cottages were also frequently built around a village green. Cottages have low ceilings, wooden beams and sometimes a thatched roof. In recent years some cottages have become second homes, bought by professionals during the economic boom of the 1980s.

e. In the 1950s and 1960s local councils cleared a lot of the slums in the inner city areas and knocked down terraced houses in very poor areas. The people were re-housed in tower blocks on the outskirts of the city or in the centre of the city. Tower blocks can vary from 3-5 storeys high up to 10-20 storeys high. Lach storey contains 5 or 6 flats for famines. In recent years local councils have tried to improve the areas around tower blocks by creating 'green space', children's playgrounds and facilities for the community to use. Some tower blocks in large cities like London

can be very dangerous at night and they have been criticised for their long dark corridors, which encourage crime and vandalism.

f. A bungalow is a small house in which all the rooms are on the ground level. Many old people live in bungalows because there are no stairs to climb. In Britain, large groups of bungalows are often built together on the edges of towns, or in places were people go to live when they have retired from work, such as the south coast. Many people find these groups of bungalows boring to look at.

g. The town house, which can be found in the inner areas of most cities, is an exception to the general pattern. There is great variety regarding both design and use. They often have three or more floors, perhaps including a basement or semi-basement. Although they are usually terraced, those that are well-preserved and in a 'good' area may be thought highly desirable. Many have been broken up into flats or rooms for rent. Most of the comparatively small number of people who rent from private owners live in flats of this kind.

2 Using the information you have read above try to guess which type of house is meant in the following sentences.

1) A.............................. house not only ensures privacy, but is

also a status symbol.

2) Most people would be happy to live in a................................,

reminiscent of pre-industrial age.

3) The dislike of living in.................... is very strong in Britain.

4) In other countries millions of people live reasonably happily in

5).................................. at the end of the row are a bit more

desirable - thev are the most like a semi-detached.

6) А....................................... house usually has no way through

to the back except through the house itself.

7) Many older people dream of going to live in a.........................

when they retire.

3 Try to explain which of these homes is the best for the following people.

a) an old couple; b) a couple with two young children; c) a family of six; d) two students; e) a musician who practices at home; f) a writer who finds it hard to sleep.

VOCABULARY FOCUS

1 Characterize the following types of houses which have not been mentioned previously. Use a dictionary if necessary.

a.	caravan	d.	dwelling	g-	palace
b.	castle	e.	hut	h.	tent
c.	houseboat	f.	mansion	i.	cabin

2 Study the kinds of flats given below. Speak on their good and bad points. Which one is more to your liking?

• A basement is a part of a building consisting of rooms that are partly or completely below the level of the ground.

• A bed-sitter, (formal bed-sitting room) is a rented room which has a bed, table, chairs and somewhere to cook in

it; a combined bedroom and living room, especially one

that is rented and serves as somebody's residence.

A maisonette is a small apartment on two levels which is

part of a larger building but has its own entrance.

A penthouse is a luxurious apartment or set of rooms at

the top of a hotel or tall building.

A self-contained flat has everything that is needed within

itself (its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance).

A studio (UK also studio flat, esp. US studio

apartment) can also be a small apartment designed to be

lived in by one or two people. It usually has one large

room for sleeping and living in, a bathroom and possibly a

separate kitchen.

3 Draw a plan of a house and point out where the following parts are situated.

a.	attic	e.	ground floor	i.	backyard
b.	loft	f.	basement	j-	gate
с	balcony	g-	cellar	к	. fence
d.	first floor	h.	porch	1.	front door

*4 All of the words below can be used instead of live. Using a dictionary if necessary, match then? with their definitions.

a.	inhabit	c.	occupy	e.	settle	QTQ	lodge
b.	reside	d.	squat	f.	stav	h.	dwell

1) to start to live in a place (after moving from somewhere else)

2) [of large groups of people or animals} to live in a country or area

3) to live in a place for a while as a visitor or guest

4) [formal] to have one's home in a place

5) to be in (a house or room)

6) [literary or old use] to live in a place

7) to stay in someone else's home in exchange for paying rent

8) to live in an unused building without permission and without paying rent.

*5 Complete the following sentences with the missing words which answer the question 'Where do they live? '.

1) Most English families live in a h........... house

2) A king lives in a p...................................

3) A monk lives in a m.................................

4) A nun lives in а с....................................

5) Soldiers lives in a b.................................

6) A prisoner lives in а с..............................

7) A gipsy lives in а с...........................................

8) An Eskimo lives in an i............................

9) A bee lives in a h....................................

10) A bird lives in a n..................................

1 I) A dog lives in а к..................................

12) A horse lives in a s................................

13) A pig lives in a s.....

14) A spider lives in a w.

6 Fill in the blanks with the wonts of the same root. The first is given as an example.

	Verb	Noun	Adjective	Adverb 1
1.	house	house
2.	dwell		resident
3.
4.			inhabitable
5.		longer
	accommodate
7.				comfortably
8.			urban
9.	rent
10.		decorator
11.	--------	_____		homeward

7 A Make two lists of word combinations and set. expressions with the words 'home ' and 'home \ Use a dictionary if needed.

e.g. home

homework

home town/country/land

homecoming

home-made

House

housework household housing housewife

Continue these lists as long as von can.

В Write down six sentences of your own using any items from the lists above.

73

8 Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

The well-known saying, 'An Englishman's home is his castle', illustrates the desire for privacy and the importance attached to ownership which seem to be at the heart of the British attitude to housing.

Flats are not popular just because they do not give enough privacy. As important as privacy is the opportunity of individual self-expression. People like to choose the colour of their own front door and window frames, and also to choose what they are going to do with a little bit of outside territory, however small that may be.

The possibilities of displaying individuality, offered by the front garden, are almost endless. In any one street, some are paved, some are full of flowerbeds with paths in between, others are just patches of grass, others are a mixture of these.

Just as the British idea of home is a mental concept as much as a physical reality, so is the idea of domestic comfort. The important thing is to feel cosy that is, to create an atmosphere which seems warm even if it isn't really warm.

Despite the reverence they tend to feel for 'home', British people have little deep-rooted attachment to their house as an object, or to the land on which it stands. It is the abstract idea of 'home' which is important, not the building. This will be sold when the time and price is right and its occupiers will move into some other house which they will then turn into 'home' - a home which they will love just as much as they did the previous one.

Most British people do not 'belong' to a particular place, nor are they usually brought up in a long-established family house to which they can always return. Perhaps this is why they are not usually content to rent their accommodation. Wherever they are, they like to put down roots. So, the desire to own the place where you live is almost universal in Britain.

В Give word-combinations, using the adjectives in the box and any nouns that match them:

74

own private individual mental domestic cosy particular abstract content physical universal

e.g. own (house, family; experience; duty; fate)

С Discuss with your partners what 'privacy¹ and 'self-expression' mean.

D Speak on the mental and physical components of the British concept of 'home'.

*9 Comment on the following English proverbs. Give their Russian or Belarusian equivalents.

• Men make houses and women make homes.

• An Englishman's home is his castle.

• Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

• Charity begins at home.

DISCUSSION FOCUS

1 Work in small groups and find out from your partners:

• if they like or dislike their present home

• what differences between homes in their country and Britain are

• about the advantages and drawbacks of living with your (one's) parents

2 Which of the facilities in the list do von use often? Which ones do you think are important* Are there any other facilities not mentioned which you would like to have in your neighbourhood⁹

⁷⁵

What Do You Need in Your Neighbourhood?

Important Useful Not important

launderette _ library

cinema _ supermarket

bank _

post office _ swimming pool_

tennis courts _

newsagent's _

football pitch __

basketball pitch__

park

restaurant _

clothes shop __

art gallery _

bus stop __

video hire shop

hairdresser __

pharmacy __

pub/cafe __

3 Describe the location of the house you live in. Make use of the vocabulary given below.

A Th e house you live in can be located

• in a superb modern complex

• in a side street

• in a lane

• in the city centre

• in the suburb

• in a residential area of the city (select area)

• on the main road

• off the main busy road / with heavy traffic

• far from the city centre

• convenient for public transport

• near the metro station

• close to the bus stop

• about.....metres from.....

• some minutes' walk from.....

• handy for.....

• a stone's throw from.....

В A house can:

• overlook the river.....

• look over the public library.....

• face the garden.....

• have a lovely/pleasant view on...

С Name essential services/facilities that make life in your neighborhood easy and pleasant, i. e. a park, a shopping center, a cinema, etc.

Discuss with your partners what your ideal living room ' contain

4 A

should contain.

В Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

We were to move in in a week and we spent every spare minute we had in the house, making preparations. We got some wallpaper and paste, and borrowed buckets and brushes. We stripped the walls, and papered them, and I cleaned the place out and polished the big metal grate in the living-room. When we'd done that, on the Sunday evening, we looked round with pride. "Of course," Charlie said doubtfully, "it would look better if we had a bit of furniture." We had bed linen and towels that Charlie's mother had given us as a wedding present and some odds and ends of cutlery and crockery. Joe urged us to buy our furniture on the never-never system, and offered to lend us the money. Even though I hated taking it we agreed to accept the loan. We got a bed, oil-cloth for the living-room floor and a rug. That was all. We

needed a table, but decided to get one second-hand. My grandfather gave us a chair and a small dresser. Nora and Joe gave us a little chest-of-drawers and another chair. We had newspaper curtains and a newspaper table-cloth bul we were pretty pleased with ourselves and our new home.

Jane Walsh

1) Make a list of the furniture items and other household things the newly married couple got for their first home.

2) If von were in their place, would you need anything else essential for starting a family life'*

3) Do you think the never-never or hire-purchase system is really helpful for many people, young couples in particular?

*C Discuss with your partners the problem of flat repairs. Speak on the advantages and drawbacks of a) doing it by yourselves, b) having workmen to do it for you. Try to use the following words and express ions:

to re/decorate bright blinds

to install gloomy burglar alarm

to do up outdated smoke detector

to restyle modern electrical wiring

to freshen up attractive fitted carpets

to renovate ugly utility room

to build in worn-out curtains

to finish built in chandelier

to enlarge convenient rug

to remove shabby settee

to transform cosy cushions

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14