CATEGORIES:

Biology Chemistry Construction Culture Ecology Economy Electronics Finance Geography History Informatics Law Mathematics Mechanics Medicine Other Pedagogy Philosophy Physics Policy Psychology Sociology Sport Tourism

WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD?

HOUSEWORK

Words in context. Read the following passage and do the exercises.

Mr and Mrs Turvey both hated housework. They were a very untidy couple who never put things away. When they went to bed, for example, they always left their clothes In a mess on the floor. Their kitchen was a mess. too. Even though they had a dishwasher, they always left the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and only did the washing-up when there wasn't a clean plate to be found in the house. It was the same with their clothes. They never put them into the washing machine until there was nothing else left to wear. The living room always looked as though a bomb had just gone off. There were things everywhere. There was thick dust on every piece of furniture and the carpet had not been cleanedfor weeks.

And the bathroom!

One day. when Mr Turvey couldn't find one of his shoes, and Mrs Turvey couldn't see her face in the bathroom mirror, they decided it was time to get the house cleaned. So they found Marie, a foreign student at a local language school, who needed some extra money.

Marie came to the house and worked all day long. She washed and dried all the clothes. Then she got out the Iron. She ironed the clothes, folded them neatly and put them away. She swept all the dust off the floors with a large broom. She took a wet cloth and wiped the dust off every surface in the house and then polished the furniture until it was shining. She got out the vacuum cleaner and cleaned all the carpets. In the kitchen the floor was filthy. It was too dirty to wash with a mop, so Marie got on her hands and knees and scrubbed the dirt off with a scrubbing brush. Finally she made the bed and, when she had finished, the house looked spotless.

Mr and Mrs Turvey came home that evening. There was nothing on the floor. There was no dust on the furniture. The wood was shining and you could Smell the polish. In their bedroom all their clothes were neat, clean and tidy. 'So what do you think?' Mrs Turvey asked her husband.

'It looks nice and tidy.' he said, 'but how are we ever going to find anything?'

Fill in the words.

spotless dirty untidy filthy in a mess clean tidy neat

1. _____________________ is similar in meaning to ______________________

2. _____________________ is similar in meaning to ______________________

3. _____________________ means very, very ______________________

4. _____________________ means very, very ______________________

What do you use to clean the house? Match the objects in the box with the actions below. More than one answer may be possible, but there is always one best answer.

a) a broom f) a cloth

b) a dishwasher g) a mop

c) a vacuum cleaner h) an iron

d) a washing machine i) a scrubbing brush

e) polish

____________ to wash clothes 6. _____________ to wash the kitchen floor
____________ to sweep the floor 7. _____________ to clean the carpet
____________ to make clothes smooth 8. _____________ to wipe surfaces
____________ to scrub the floor 9. _____________ to make furniture shiny
____________ to do the washing

Just for fun

Imagine you are working for a company that makes products used in housework. It is your job to think of a name and an advertising description for new products.

Example: a new type of vacuum cleaner.

Name: Vroom

Sentence: Vroom gets your dirty carpet clean in seconds.

Think of names and write sentences for these products.

1 a washing powder for clothes 3 a liquid for washing dishes 5 an iron

2 a furniture polish 4 a dishwasher

Think about

Are you a tidy person?
Who does most of the housework in your home? What kind of housework do you do and how often?
What kind of housework do you most hate doing? What kind of housework do you least mind doing?
Which of the following machines is the most useful for housework: a dishwasher, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner?

WHERE DO YOU LIVE

Richard:Um … I like my present home because – because it’s in the country to start with and surrounded by fields and because it’s sort of the end of a no-through-road so very few people drive past, it’s on, an old dirt track. Mind you, you hear them when they do. And because it’s an old cottage and I like … it’s got an open fire and things like that and I’m a bit of a romantic.

If I had a lot of money I’d keep the house I’ve got but I’d get a nice flat in the middle of London, another one in the meddle of Cardiff, because I work in those two places, and I think a small chalet in the Alps – that’d do me.

Karen:My ideal living room would contain absolutely everything that you need for everyday life. In fact it would even have the bed in it because I cannot stand having to go upstairs and downstairs having left something that I needed upstairs to bring back down. So I’d have all mod cons and every single thing you could imagine that you n … you might need throughout the day there.

Kate:I like my present home because it’s … in the suburbs, in that there are a lot of trees around it but it’s only about half an hour’s ride from the centre of town. And it’s got this ridiculous parch at the end of the garden that’s owned by my next-door neighbour that has ducks and … er … chickens and … and geese, w… who are like guard geese and who quack in the night if there are strangers about. I like that.

Nick: I like my present home because it’s a flat near the City … er … about ten minutes out of the City and that’s very convenient for getting in, for cycling in, which is what I do. Er … and it’s also got a lot of amenities close to it: there’s a swimming pool, cinema, library, theatres. Er … it’s … er … some very good markets as well: fruit and vegetable and clothes and that’s why I like the present flat that I’ve got.

If I had a lot of money, I’d keep the flat that I’ve got in London and I’d buy one out in the country, probably up North, which is where I came from originally. Er … in fact, I could probably buy a house up there if I had a lot of money. So that’s what I’d do. I’d have the two places: one for a ‘pied a terre’ in London and one for going up to at the weekends.

Melinda:I wouldn’t mind moving home if I had enough money to move into the country and live in the sort of house I’d really like to live in … um … something really old, with lots of land … um … preferably a beach to wander on in the mornings. Er … yes, I’d move home for that!

a. Work in pairs and discuss which of these homes you would like to live in and why. Give your reasons.

b. Share your opinions about your parents’ home. Speak about the advantages and disadvantages of its location and the things you would like to have in your neighbourhood.