Vocabulary exercises feng shui

Change your room to change your life!

According to this Chinese philosophy, if you recognize your home to allow positive energy to flow, good health, wealth and happiness will be yours.

Your living-room

Feng shui is all about your balance. Try to arrange sofas and chairs in a square around a circular table. Avoid an L-shaped arrangement as this leaves a missing corner. The centre of the living room should be left clear. Make sure there is a lot of light, which will promote good energy.

A bookcase is bad feng shui, as its sharp corners generate negative ‘arrows’, and if you have one you ought to put a climbing plant on it to combat this effect.

Put plants in the corners of the room, as they attract good energy and will energize your wealth, but not ones with sharp leaves such as yuccas or cactus. Fresh flowers also bring good energy, but throw them away as soon as they begin to die, and don’t have dried flowers.

Mirrors are vital because they reflect energy. Round and oval ones are best, but they should not be opposite each other, nor should they reflect a door, otherwise your good fortune will go out of it.

To promote harmony between the members of the family, have photos of them around the room, preferably smiling. If you want to find a partner, energize the south-west corner of your living room or bedroom by placing a floor light at least 1.75 m high there, and turn it on every evening. Surround yourself with ornaments and objects in pairs, such as ducks or birds.

To avoid blocking the positive energy in the room, keep everything tidy. Don’t accumulate too many unnecessary things. Take a look at every object, and ask yourself, “Do I really need it? Do I really like it?” If the answer is no, get rid of it.

Your bedroom

You should have the head of your bed placed against a wall, as this gives you a sense of security. Avoid having a bed under a window, as you are exposed to danger and bad energy from outside. If this is possible, use blinds or heavy curtains to cover the window. Never sleep in a place where you can’t see the door – you should always be able to see someone who’s coming in.

Avoid hanging pictures or lights above your bed, as this leads to a subconscious feeling of threat. Don’t put mirrors opposite the bed either, as they ‘break up’ the image, and therefore the relationship reflected in them.

Keep lighting low and soft, and decorate preferably with dark colours. Do not hang paintings of fierce animals, abstract subjects, or water in the bedroom it suggests financial loss. Make sure you never put plants in the bedroom, and don’t have a TV facing the bed, or at least cover it when it is not in use.

Don’t use the same room for your bedroom and your study, as the different energies will be in conflict. If you have to do this, try to separate the areas either symbolically with plants, or with a screen. Cupboards are better than open shelves. Put away piles of files or unfinished work – don’t leave them on your desk. Being tidy promotes positive energy. Wherever you study make sure your desk is in the north-east corner, especially if you are preparing for exams, as this area symbolizes education.

Ex. 5. Do you know anything about the philosophy of feng shui, e.g. where it’s from, what it,s about? In pairs, read and remember how you can put feng shui ideas into practice. A read about the living-room. B read about the bedroom.

A tell B about:

• arranging the furniture

• light

• bookcases

• plants and flowers

• Mirrors

• family harmony

• finding a partner

• being tidy

B tell A about:

• where to put your bed

• where not to put pictures/lights/ mirrors

• lighting

• paintings

• plants and TV

• studying in your bedroom

• being tidy

Ex. 7. Match these objects with a part of the house. See if your partner agrees.

Object

1. empty suitcases

2. a fireplace, a mantelpiece

3. wine, coal

4. a desk, bookcases

5. a doormat

6. banisters

7. wardrobe, chest of drawers

Part of the house

1. the cellar

2. the staircase

3. the porch

4. bedroom

5. the lounge

6. the loft

7. the study

How many of these objects are in your own house? What part of your house are there in?

Ex. 8. Put the items in the chart (some can be found in more than one room).

bedside table blinds bookcase ceiling chest of drawers curtains dishwasher fireplace oven rug radiator/heater sink (plant) pot tap toilet wall wardrobe washbasin

cooker sofa washing machine kettle socket alarm clock towel freezer coffee table printer mirror pillow cushion carpet desk mug frying pan hi-fi dustbin computer

kitchen	bathroom	bedroom	living room	study	any/all rooms

Practice saying the words. Underline the stress. Add several your own words to each column.

Which things haven’t you got at home?

Ex. 9. Where are these things? Are they inside the house? Are they outside the house? Are they on the house?

a television aerial the chimney a corridor a satellite dish a drainpipe the attic a garden gate a lamp post a path the roof

Ex. 10. Describe the usage of each appliance. Answer the questions.

answer phone food processor microwave oven hoover/vacuum cleaner fridge CD player cordless telephone washing machine iron dishwasher video recorder (VCR) hair drier

1. Which of them do you have? How often do you use them? What for?

2. Which of them do you find absolutely necessary and which could you do without?

3. How did people manage when these things did not exist?

Ex. 11. Complete with the verbs. Say which things you’ve done today.

answer change clear/lay empty hang up wash up lock/unlock put away tidy (up) turn on/off

1 __________ the heater/oven/tap

2 __________ the rubbish bin

3 __________your bedroom

4 __________ the things on the floor

5 __________ a plug, a bulb

6 __________ the table

7 __________ the phone

8 __________ the dishes

9 __________ the door

10 _________ your coat

Ex. 12. Fill in prepositions and adverbs where it’s necessary. Read the text once again and retell from the third person.

Our House in the Country

We live___ the country __ our own private house. The house was built __ my grandfather. It is made __ wood __ a traditional, decorative Russian style. Recently other kinds __ houses have appeared - ___ them cottages, detached, semi-detached, terraced houses. Our house is not large; there is a porch, a living-room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a pantry. My room is spacious and overlooks__ the south, it’s very light. There are white curtains __ the window. ___ the window there is a desk. There is a sofa __ the left __ the desk. There is a rug __ the sofa. __ the right there are two shelves with books. __ the corner there is a low table __ a radio and CD-player __ it. It’s always clean and tidy __ my flat.

_ front_ the house there is a small garden where we grow tulips, roses, lilac bushes, daisies, daffodils and so on. _ back _the house there is an orchard with fruit trees and a greenhouse in which we plant tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. We breed__ domestic animals: a cow, a goat, a pig with piglings, lambs, hens…

Ex. 13. Put the items into the chart.

Suburbs, forests, housing estates, blocks of flat, open space, crops, traffic jams, rush hour, car parks, wildlife, fields, shopping centres, footpaths, fumes.

Town	Country

What items do you consider to be advantages or disadvantages of town and country life? Why? Where would you prefer to live?

Ex. 14. Read the list of places situated in a town and answer the questions.

church

supermarket

petrol station

pub

museum

cinema

library

department store

hotel

post office

restaurant

What do people use these places for?

Which of them do you visit more often? What do you do there?

Which three of them do you consider the most important? Why?

Ex. 15. Complete the adjectives with –y, -que, -able, -ing, -ed, -ish, -ful, -al, or –ous.

Furniture

old-fashion__

anti__

Atmosphere

comfort__

imperson__

relax__

cos__

Design and decoration

well/badly-design__

styl__

taste__

origin__

practic__

luxury__

Use the adjectives to describe your house or flat and furniture.

Ex. 16. Add an appropriate quantity expression from the box to make the sentence true for you. Compare your answers with a partner.

all of most of several of not (very) many of a few of hardly any of none of

1. ______ my friends live in small villages.

2. ______ the people in my neighbourhood go to work by car.

3. ______ the shops near my home are open on Sunday.

4. ______ the houses in my street have big gardens.

5. ______ my neighbours keep pets.

6. ______ the buildings in my area were built in the last ten years.

7. ______ the people I work with smoke.

8. ______ these exercises are easy.

Ex. 17. Fill in the correct word derived from the word in bold.

1. Without any____ he managed to decorate the whole house. ASSIST

2. The _____ they needed to build the greenhouse cost less than 200 $. EQUIP

3. They moved away from the _____ city, to a quit life in the country. CROWD

4. The house was so big that they couldn’t afford to _____ itr. HOT

5. You should always keep ____ products away from children. POISON

6. The storm caused a ____ amount of damage to the garden. CONSIDER

7. Pollution is only on of the ____ of living in the city. ADVANTAGE

Ex. 18. Cross the odd one out.

1. The roof of the terraced house/ cellar/ semi-detached was in need of repair.

2. The farmhouse/ maisonette/cottage we bought recently is in a perfect country setting far away from the streets of the city.

3. Ellie has a luxurious penthouse/ council flat/ villa by the sea in the south of France.

4. The hotel suite/ bed-sit/ room cost 200 $ per night.

5. Our country cottage is so typical of those in the area with its thatched/slate/marble roof.

6. The new apartment included an antique/ well-equipped/ fitted kitchen.

Ex. 19. Underline the correct item.

1. The property is within easy stretch/spread/range/reach of the shopping centre.

2. You wash up and I’ll clear/clean/empty/tidy away the dishes.

3. Public transport is better in cities than it is in rural areas/places/parts/spots.

4. There is plenty/ample/full/rich room in the drive to park your car.

5. It took me a good/fine/nice/fair hour to find your house.

Ex. 20. Answer the following questions:

1. What city do you live in?

2. Is the district new or old?

3. When was your house built?

4. What’s your address? What street do you live in?

5. How long have you been living in your house?

6. Do you live in a block of flats or a private house?

7. Is your house far from a bus stop? How much time does it take you to get to the university?

8. Have you got a lift in your house?

9. What floor do you live on?

10. How many rooms are there in your flat?

11. Is there a balcony in your flat? What does it overlook?

12. What modern conveniences are there in your flat?

13. What’s your phone number?

14. What places of interest do you have nearby?

15. What can you see through your windows?

16. Are there many shops in your district?

17. What is there in your living-room?

18. Have you got flower pots on the window-sills?

19. Have you got a rich library at home?

20. Describe your room. How did you furnish it?

21. Are the walls of your bedroom papered? What colour do you prefer?

22. What kind of ornaments, decorations have you got in your flat? Have you got holiday souvenirs of various kinds, glass or china figures, wood carvings, ivories, vases, ashtrays, statuettes, ceramics, etc.?

23. What kind of pictures do you have on the walls in your flat? (Landscapes, still-life, abstracts, drawings, water-colours, oil paintings, prints, photographs, posters, engravings.)

24. What kind of floor covering have you? (Linoleum, parquet, carpet, rugs, mats…)

25. Is your kitchen spacious and well-equipped? What labour-saving and other domestic electric appliances have you got in your flat?

26. Is your flat comfortable and cosy? Why (not)?

27. What is your favourite place in your flat?

28. Where does your family like to gather in the evening?

29. Do you like your flat? Would you like to have a flat of your own? What furniture would you like to take into your new flat?

30. Have your got pets? Or would you like to have them and why?

31. Do you help your parents about the house?

32. Have you got problems at home? What causes them?

TEXT B Read some information about various houses which are for sale. Which one is closer to your ideal house and why?