Text 2 Our Flat

Vocabulary

Text 1

An Englishman's Home Is His Castle

Most British people live in houses. The most expensive are detached houses which are usually far from the town centre near to the country­side. There is usually a garden or a lawn near it.

Semi-detached houses are two houses which have one common wall. They are usually nearer to the town centre.

Terraced houses are blocks of flats that are mostly in town centres. They can be small two-storey houses with 1 or 2 bedrooms or large hous­es with 4 or 5 ones.

About 70% of the British own their houses or flats. All the rest rent accommodation. It's often cheaper to buy than to rent and people prefer to own houses or flats.

a detached house [di'taetft] — отдельный дом a lawn [bin] — лужайка

a semi-detached house [semidi'taetft] — дом, имеющий с соседним общую стену

common ['кютэп] — общий

a terraced house ['terast] — дом, состоящий из расположенных ступеня­ми домов

a block of flats — многоквартирный дом two-storey — двухэтажный to own — иметь, владеть the rest — остальные to rent accommodation [a.kDma'deifn] — снимать жилье

EXERCISE Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.

1. What kinds of houses in Great Britain do you know?

2. Which are the best and the most expensive houses?

3. Which kind of houses is the best if you want to live near the town centre?

4. Why do many people prefer to buy houses, not to rent them?

Our family lives in a two-storey terraced house not far from the city centre. We moved in this house a month ago and have just had a house-warming party. Our father wanted a detached house but it cost too much, so we bought a four-bedroom house with a garage. It's a pity we have no garden but all the rest is quite good. We've got all modern con­veniences: gas, electricity, cold and hot running water and central heating.

If you open the front door, you get into a small hall and can see the doors to the kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and garage. (You can also

get into the garage from the street.) There is a built-in closet in the hall where we leave our coats and hats.

Our kitchen is very big and it's also our dining room. Our mum thinks this is the main room in the house. I think she is right. The time when all our family gathers at a big round table there is the best time of the day. There are 8 chairs round the table for our family and our guests. We've got a gas cooker with an oven and also a microwave oven to cook and heat food. It's a pity we haven't got a dishwasher yet but we're going to buy one soon. Our fridge is large and new. It is near the cupboards where we keep all the things for cooking and having meals.

The sitting room is very cosy. There is a sofa, two armchairs, two cof­fee tables, a TV set, a piano and three big mirrors in it. The blinds, the sofa and the armchairs are blue and yellow, the combination of colours I like best.

There are two bathrooms in our house: downstairs and upstairs. There is also a lavatory in each of them.

All the bedrooms are upstairs. Our parents' bedroom is simply but well furnished. There is a double bed, a wardrobe and two standard lamps in it.

My brother's and my bedrooms are furnished in the same manner. There is a little furniture there. Each of us has got a sofa, a shelf, a book­case, 2 chairs and a long desk. My brother's room is in green and white colours, I have chosen dark and light blue for my room.

Our house is light, comfortable and cosy and if I go away for some time, I'm always glad to come back.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-25