Unit 2 Career Prospects

Susan:	How have your two sons been doing at school lately, Andy?
Andy:	Terrible! James never starts working, and Malcolm never stops working.
Susan:	You are joking, of course, I hear that Malcolm is likely to win all the prizes in the exams this year.
Andy:	Yes, so his teachers say. But he deserves to do well. He’s always been so conscientious and hard-working, and he’s been slaving at his books every evening for months on end recently. He wants to go to Oxford University next year.
Susan:	Maybe he’ll become a university lecturer himself eventually.
Andy:	Maybe. But I think he studies too hard: I sometimes wish he’d go out and enjoy himself for a change.
Susan:	Yes … What about the younger one?
Andy:	Well, James’ teachers say that he has ability, but that he’s too inconsistent and that he rarely does his best. In other words, he’s not bad when he makes an effort, but he’s too idle. He couldn’t care less about exams. He does his homework in ten minutes every evening and then rushes out to play tennis.
Susan:	He’s crazy about tennis, isn’t he? Perhaps he can make his fortune at it. You can make more money from sport than from an old-fashioned profession these days.
Andy:	So I believe. But my wife always worries about the children’s future. She wants James to give up tennis and study law, but I don’t believe in forcing boys to take up careers they’re not out for. I wonder how James’ll develop in a couple of years’ time!

Part II unit 1 Unusual Types of Houses

I

Well, we spent ages trying to save up to buy a house and in the end we realised that we just wouldn’t be able to afford the kind of house we wanted. Er, so then we saw an advertisement for a house boat, er not the kind of thing you used to see on the river in London, but really quite a big boat. Um, it used to be a barge, and it’s not actually in the water any more er, but it’s quite near the river. Er, this used to be a yard where these boats were built in fact. Um, the yard owner had converted a barge into a house, so we bought it. Um, it’s got three floors – we don’t call them decks, no – and er, all together there are four bedrooms, a kitchen, a large living area, two bathrooms and other spaces for storing things. Um, we are connected to the mains electricity and water, and you can see that we even have rather a nice little garden too.

II

Our house as you can see is completely underground, not because we wanted it this way, but when we bought this land and decided to build a house, the local council wouldn’t let us put up a proper one because it would spoil the view. (Laughs) Yes, I found it hard to believe too. Anyway, we decided that we wouldn’t be beaten by them, and so we had plans made for this house. You can’t see much of it from the outside. Down under here the house is actually quite large. It’s very warm, of course, and we get some light from the roof windows, but mainly we have electric lights. It’s got three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. I must admit it did take me a while to get used to it but now I think it’s a really nice house. We go upstairs to the garden in our house…

III

This house, as you can probably see, actually used to be a railway tunnel. The tunnel is about a hundred metres long and at its highest point is about five metres high. We had to have the whole tunnel lined with concrete first, and then we started planning how to use the space. The railway line itself was closed over thirty years ago. So we have the front door here, and then lots of rooms behind it. We haven’t used all the space in fact, it’s just too big. We have about the same amount of space as there would be in a three bed-roomed house, but all the rooms are rather long and thin. We have a living room with different levels and I can tell you that when we play the stereo it sounds absolutely fantastic. It’s a very comfortable house, and I would thoroughly recommend it, though one of the children did use to have nightmares in which trains started coming through the house…

IV

My house is probably one of the smallest houses in Britain, though I read recently about a man in London who has made a house in the passage between two houses. My house used to be a garden summer-house, the kind of place where the family would go and have their tea on Sunday afternoon. I bought the land it was on so I could have a bigger garden when I lived in that old house over there, but just recently I sold the house and got planning permission to move in here. It’s round, and there’s just about room in it for me and the cat. I’ve got one room where I sleep and cook, and there’s a tiny toilet with a basin outside there. That’s my bathroom. I think this house looks very nice from the outside, and I’m quite happy living in it, it’s quiet, and I like a peaceful place. It’s a bit difficult inviting people here, though, because it’s rather a tight squeeze for two people. And it does get rather cold sometimes.