Dwelling
Task 1. Read the text and fill in the table.
I lived in a big house as a child. It was in the suburbs of Boston, where most houses had a yard, a lawn, a patio and a garden. When I was little, we used to go on holidays to the country and stay in a caravan. In that rural area there were a lot of mobile homes, farms and even houseboats where people lived and spent their holidays. Once we were even invited to a ranch that looked really expensive and seemed like a real villa or a castle to me. Though I’ve never been to a real castle, I enjoyed visiting the Palace of Versailles when we spent our honeymoon in Paris.
In college I lived in the room in the college dormitory, which I shared with two other girls. After the university, when I just started working, I shared a flat or an apartment with my friend. We each had our own bedroom and bathroom and shared a kitchen. Now I live in a townhouse with my husband. It’s a nice duplex (a two-family, semidetached) house. It’s also quite small but it is in a convenient place and we can visit our friends, who live in a condominium (condo) in the modern apartment building. Our friends in Toronto have just moved to a long townhouse, which is also called a terraced house, row house or a linked house.
My grandmother is in a retirement home now but she used to live in a bungalow in the rural area, which I always thought would be quite nice because you don’t ever have to climb any stairs! But when I am older, I think I would like to live in the suburbs in a beautiful white cottage with yellow roses around the door.
Most of our friends love to spend their free time camping, but my least favourite thing to stay in, is most definitely a tent. They are freezing cold and there’s always at least one spider living in them!
| Where Has the Author Lived | Places She Visited | Places She Has Never Visited |
| _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ |
| _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ |
| _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ | _________________________ _________________________ |
Task 2. Describe the place where you live and compare it to any other type of dwelling using the ‘Key Language’. Write your story.
Key Language
| Describing Places | It’s a place where people can… There you have a choice between … and… The facilities are… It feels/seems/looks… It gives the impression of… Has a tendency to… |
| Comparing Places | In comparison to… Contrary to… By contrast… On one hand… On the other hand… At the same time… |
Task 3. The Interior of the House. Most houses and apartments can be divided into two big zones: the living space and the non-living space. Divide the parts of this space into two categories and fill in the table.
A living room (a sitting room/a lounge/a family room), a bathroom (shower), a lavatory (toilet), a kitchen, a garage, a storage room (box room), an attic, a bedroom, a nursery, a basement (cellar), a dining room (dining area), a study (an office), a recreation room (rumpus room/television room), a loft, stairs, a stair well, a landing, a workshop, a gym, a library.
| The Living Space | The Non-living Space |
| _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ | _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ |
Task 4. Vocabulary Revision. Fill in the table with the italicized words.
To mop, to do, to shovel, to rake, to make, to mow, to clean, to wash, to dry, to vacuum, to polish, to sweep, to dust, to cook, to scrub, to take out/to throw out, to water, to iron.
| A House Chore Verb | Things to Do | |
| the floor, the windows | ||
| the floor, the porch, the steps, the driveway, the pathway | ||
| the furniture, the ceiling, the window sills | ||
| a meal | ||
| the laundry, the dishes | ||
| the room, the house, the apartment, the windows, the cooker, the oven | ||
| the dishes, the floor, the windows, the dog | ||
| the dishes, the surface | ||
| the furniture, the car | ||
| the floor, the working surface, the bath, the toilet | ||
| the carpet, the rug | ||
| garbage, waste, trash | ||
| the grass, the potted plants | ||
| snow | ||
| the leaves, the weeds, the grass | ||
| the lawn, the grass | ||
| the laundry, clothes, curtains | ||
| the bed |
Task 5. Read the text. Match choices (A–G) to (1–5). There are two choices you do not need to use.
House and Home Feng Shui: How To Get Started
1 _____________________________
Get rid of everything you do not love in your house. Clutter Clearing is a long process like therapy, that will help you ‘lighten up the load’. This step is essential in creating harmonious house Feng Shui energy.
2 _____________________________
These two elements are necessary for good feng shui energy (called Chi) in your home. Open the windows often, bring in feng shui air-purifying plants or use an air-purifier. Use as much natural light as possible into your home.
3 _____________________________
They are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Water element is represented by materials such as glass, and plastic (as in windows, and glass table tops), mirrors, dark colours like black and dark blue, and actual water. Wood element is represented by wooden furniture and accessories, by columnar or upright rectangular-shaped objects, the colour green. Fire element is found in red objects, triangular or pointy-shaped objects, furnishings and materials that include leather or other animal symbolism, as well as actual fire such as candles, and fireplaces. Earth element includes ceramic objects and tiles, earth tone colours including yellow, flat or square shapes items, and actual earth that you would perhaps find in a plant pot. Metal element is represented in white objects, round or mounded objects, and metal furnishings including chrome, brass, wrought iron, tin, and stainless steel.
4 _____________________________
The Creative Cycle involves one element ‘creating’ another. For example, water ‘feeds’ or creates wood, wood fuels fire, fire makes earth, earth creates metal and metal holds water. The Destructive Cycle order is different because an element can overpower another one. For instance, water will ‘douse’ or destroy fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, wood seizes earth, earth dams water.
5 _____________________________
Pay close attention to feng shui ‘trinity’ that is deeply connected to your health — your bedroom, your bathroom and your kitchen. Nothing is static in the world of energy, so be wise and keep your home healthy and happy.
A Be Mindful of the Feel of Your Home
B Remember about Five Feng Shui Elements
C Feng Shui Zones
D Have a Good Quality Air and Good Quality Light in Your House
E Clear out Your Clutter
F Learn about Your Birth Element
G Creative and Destructive Cycles