B) Read the following essay, paying attention to the marked words.

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First of all I’d like to say that all of us have our own ideas and dreams about a perfect home, because “home” can’t mean the same to everybody. But I’m sure that for all people home is not just a place to live in. Home is your little world where you live according to your own rules and interests. It's a place where you feel comfort, warmth and reliability, that’s why we say “East or West, home is best” and the English say “My home is my castle”. In my opinion home always awakens the best feelings and high emotions in people’s souls. But what an ideal home is everybody decides for himself.

It goes without saying that nowadays there are a lot of types of dwellings, that’s why everyone can choose a house he or she likes. For instance some people prefer semi-detached houses or duplexes (as the Americans call them). I think that such houses attract them because they are less expensive than mansions or bungalows, for example. You also have neighbors you can always turn to if you need something, but at the same time your neighbors can disturb you while repairing their part of the house or when they listen to music too loudly.

Other people like country cottages. I think that people, who prefer these types of dwelling, are fond of nature, fresh air and they want to have calm and measured rhythm of life. One of advantages living in such a house is that you have your own land where you can grow fruit and vegetables, make flowerbeds and plant various beautiful flowers there that will warm your heart, lay out an orchard, etc. You can also build some outhouses like a green-house, a garage, a tool shed, an arbour. The most important disadvantage of living in a cottage, to my mind, is that it takes a lot of time to get to the nearest town, but if you have a car it isn't a problem for you.

Now I live in a block of flats. It seems to me that it’s the cheapest type of dwelling in a town. Flats can be of different sizes: one-roomed, two-roomed, three-roomed and you can choose a flat you like. If you are going to live alone, for instance, you certainly would prefer a studio to a large detached house in three stores. Besides, among advantages of living in a block of flats some people name that it takes less time to tidy up a flat than a house. But as any type of dwelling a flat has its disadvantages: a noise that your neighbours make when they, for example, drill or hammer or when they organize a party. Sometimes you can depend on your neighbours – imagine such a situation: your neighbours’ tap is dripping and they need it to be repaired, so they block water supply not only in their own flat but also in yours and you have to wait for hours till you can do the washing-up or take a shower. It isn't convenient, but in spite of it the largest part of population in our country live in blocks of flats. I personally live in a flat and I can say that all these disadvantages don't bother me a lot, and in general it's a nice type of dwelling.

But frankly speaking my dream is to live in a detached house. Why? First of all your neighbors can never disturb you, for instance by hammering a nail into the wall. But at the same time if you want to ask your neighbors for something or just have a talk you can visit them. As you have some land around the house you can build outhouses; and if I had a detached house I would build a garage, a summer house, and certainly I would arrange some flowerbeds as I have a green thumb. I hope that one day I will have such a house.

c) Answer the following questions:

Speaking

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 1026