1. Read the text

If you are looking forward to spruce up a room that you are tired of, but do not want to invest a lot of money, the following tips will help you do some affordable interior decorating.

1. Rearrange the furniture. Pull the furniture away from the walls and position it at new, more inviting angles, and you will change the look and dimension of your room.

2. You’ve always heard "to spruce up a room, paint it." Paint one wall your favorite accent color. The color can be as bold or as subtle as you like. Just make sure the surrounding room complements the color. Now, hang a new piece of art on the wall that has the same or similar colors. You will be amazed at how often your eye is drawn to that area of the room.

3. Bring nature inside. Plants always add a touch of newness to any room. If you do not have a green thumb, look through some magazines to get ideas on using plants to decorate.

4. A new area rug is a great way to soften a room. Find one that complements the room, but also has a touch of jazziness to it. Put it at an angle under a coffee table or dining room table.

1. Make a framed picture collage on the wall.

2. Update your bathroom fittings/fixtures. By coordinating new bathroom fittings with your current fixtures and adding vanity lighting, you can change the appearance of your bathroom.

3. Light up your room with new lamps. You can mix and match lamp bases and shades for a new lighting solution in any room,

4. Replace your cabinet hardware with new pulls and knobs. Plenty of styles are available to help modernize the look of your kitchen.

to spruce up – прихорашиваться; наряжаться

dimension –. 1) измерение 2) размеры, величина; объем; протяжение

green thumb – садоводческое искусство

to soften – смягчать

fittings – оборудование

fixture – приспособление, прибор

vanity – зд. комплект, состоящий из раковины и туалетного столика (тж. vanity unit)

2. Find the English equivalents in the text:

ожидать с нетерпением, допустимый (по средствам), переставить мебель, дерзкий или утонченный, служит дополнением к цвету, произведение искусства, оттенок новизны, пестрый (броский) оттенок

3. Find the synonyms to the following words:

to smarten up an interior, to spend a fortune, more attractive position, to be astonished, the look of the bathroom, door handles, to renovate

4. Answer the questions:

1) What advice is given in the text?

2) Why do people usually want to spruce up their rooms?

3) Have you ever tried to spruce up your room?

4) If you are going to smarten any interior will you follow this advice?

5) Have you got any other design ideas how to redecorate an interior? Can you continue this list of tips and give your own recommendations?

5) What tips did you like best? What advice will you follow?

5. Dialogue. A friend of yours has got tired of his/her room and wants to renew the interior. He/She asks you to give a piece of advice.

PART 3

TEXT 1

2. Read the text.

Where dreams begin

The Sparkles Hotel in Blackpool, England is a family hotel with difference. What makes it stand out from all the other hotels in town, is that each room has its own individual theme. There is the Cinderella lounge, where the chairs are silver slippers and the Lost City of Atlantis dining room, especially designed to be the perfect place for you to enjoy your fish and chips. Every detail in every room of the hotel, even the bathrooms, has been carefully chosen to give it a fun and unique atmosphere.

In fact so much work has gone into making each of the sixteen rooms special, it is difficult to believe that just one year before it opened the hotel was a run-down building with a huge hole in the roof. After replacing the roof and planning a whole new interior, the owner, aptly named Mrs. Sparkle, began to totally transform the place. She says, “It was really hard work redecorating each room, making the curtains, painting the walls and restoring old furniture; but it was fun as well.” Now that the work is finished and each room has its own make believe theme, she has no doubt that it was definitely worth the effort.

Mrs. Sparkle always dreamt about living in a doll’s house and she is very happy that she has been able to turn this fantasy into a reality. “Now I just want to be able to provide a place where other people’s dreams can come true too,” she says.

There are certainly some amazing rooms to pick from. Guest can choose to stay in the Teddy Bear’s Picnic room, the Barbie room, the Ruined Castle room, the Dinosaur room, the Chocolate room or even the African den, which is designed to make you feel like you are deep in the jungle complete with toy monkeys and animal prints. All the rooms are stocked with toys and books so your children won’t get bored, even if the English weather let’s you down.

In addition to the fantastic guest rooms, Sparkles has much to offer its young visitors. Every time you book a room you can be sure that entertainment, most of which is organised by Mrs. Sparkle herself, is included in the package. To give busy parents a break in the morning, there is the games hour in the Sparkle’s den, a large play area, and in the evening, puppet shows and story-telling mean that there is never a dull moment.

Sparkles Hotel offers a fantasy world for the whole family to enjoy. So if you want to give your children a holiday to remember or even to relive your own childhood dreams, Sparkles is the place for you.

to stand out – выделяться

lounge – салон, гостиная

slippers - тапочки

aptly – удачно, метко

amazing - изумительный

to pick from – выбирать

den – берлога, логово

print – отпечаток

to let down – подводить

entertainment – развлечение

puppet – кукольный

dull – скучный

to relive – пережить снова