2. Render the story into English.

У нас хорошая квартира в новом многоквартирном доме. Наша квартира на четвертом этаже, в ней есть все современные удобства. В квартире три комнаты, кухня, ванная комната, при­хожая.

Гостиная - самая большая и удобная комната в квар­тире. Спальня меньше по размеру, чем гостиная, и не такая светлая, потому что в ней только одно окно.

Третья комната - мой кабинет. Она небольшая, но очень уютная. В ней мало мебели, только самое необходи­мое. В пра­вом углу стоит шкаф с книгами, журналами, дисками и сувенирами. Рядом стоит стол для ноутбука. В левом углу мой любимый диван с мягким пледом и несколькими подушками. Рядом с окном стоит шкаф для моих вещей два стула. По-моему, этот ка­бинет - самая лучшая комната в нашей квартире.

Но самое теплое место в нашей квартире - это кухня, место, где вся семья собирается каждый вечер не только для того, чтобы поужинать вместе, но также и для того, чтобы поговорить и отдохнуть.

Мне нравится английская пословица: "Мой дом - моя крепость", потому что моя квартира - действительно, моя крепость.

3. Translate the dialogue into Russian using a dictionary if you need it. Memorize it.

– I hear you have moved to а new apartment, Steve. Is it true?

– Yes, it is. One of these days we will arrange а housewarming party and I want you and your wife Carol to be present.

– Thank you for the invitation. How do you like your new apartment?

– It is very comfortable. It is a three-bedroom apartment with modern conveniences: electric stove and а lot of built-in cupboards.

– On what floor is it?

– Our apartment is on the tenth floor of а high–rise dwelling house.

– Is it far from the centre of the city?

– Rather. It takes me about an hour to get to the centre by bus and by underground. If I drive a car, it takes me thirty minutes.

– I see. Have you bought new furniture?

– We have bought wall units, two armchairs and а new refrigerator. We are planning to buy two carpets and а dining set.

– Good luck!

– Thanks.

4. Translate the parts of the dialogue into English and reproduce it.

– Я слышал, вы собираетесь переезжать на новую квартиру.

– Совершенно верно.

– Когда Вы собираетесь переехать?

– One of these days we will move to а three–room apartment with all conveniences.

– На каком этаже ваша квартира?

– It is on the seventh floor of а high-rise house.

– Есть ли в доме лифт?

– There are three lifts that work round o’clock.

– Мусоропровод в квартире?

– No, it is not. The garbage chute is on the staircase.

– В каком районе этот дом?

– The house is in а new district, which is far from the centre of the city.

– Сколько времени надо добираться до центра?

– It takes me twenty minutes to get to the centre by car.

5. Complete the dialogue and reproduce it.

Pete: Hello, Nick. Have you moved to a new flat?

Nick: (Answers in the affirmative)

Pete: What is your address?

Nick: (Gives his address)

Pete: How long does it take you to get to the office?

Nick: (Answers)

Pete: What kind of flat is it?

Nick: (Describes the flat and invites Pete to the house-warming party (новоселье) next Sunday)

Pete: Thanks, most willingly.

5. Make up a story about your home. Include the following information.

1. Locality

   1. advantages

   2. drawbacks

2. Building

   1. design

   2. number of storeys

   3. elevator, etc

   4. floor

3. The flat

   1. modern conveniencies

   2. rooms

   3. balcony or loggia

7. Self-study tasks

1. You have come to your granny who lives in the other city. Tell her about your flat after the refurbishment (ремонт)

2. Offer your friend to improve his/her kitchen and give more modern look to it.

Look around your flat. Find something you’d love to improve. Or modernise.

4. GRAMMAR

1. Ask your friend:

2. Живет ли он в старом или новом доме;

3. Где находится его дом;

4. Как можно добраться до его дома;

5. Какая у него квартира;

6. На каком она этаже;

7. Есть ли у него телефон;

2. Agree or disagree with the statements.

1. There are three rooms in our flat. They are a living-room, a bedroom and my room.

2. There is only one window in the living-room and it is very small.

3. There is a large carpet on the floor and another one is on the wall.

4. My mother cooks tasty things in the bathroom.

5. We wash our face and hands, clean teeth in the kitchen.

3. Make these proverbs negative/positive and interrogative.

a. There is no rule without exception.

b. There is no smoke without fire.

c. There are no roses without thorns.

d. Where there is a will there is a way.

e. There are spots even on the sun.

f. There is no place like home.

3. Read the letter and compare Jane’s room with your room paying attention to the underlined adjectives. Look at the model.

Model: Jane’s room is large but mine is larger.

Dear Mum!

Here I am in Moscow, in my room in the hall of residence. The room is not large but it’s nice and comfortable, with a bathroom. It has a little kitchen too. It looks on to the back yard which is very green. I’ve got a TV-set and a telephone here.

The halls are not very far from the university I go there by metro. It’s very convenient. I like the district very much. It’s so beautiful.

How are you? Hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Jane.

5. WRITING

a. Write an essay describing your flat or house.

b. Write an essay on your dream house.

VI. SUPPLEMENTARY READING

1. BRITISH HOMES

1. Read the text.

    It is often said that an Englishman’s home is his castle; home occupies a special place in the heart and mind of most Englishmen.

1. About 80 per cent of British people live in houses built close together. Detached houses are usually in expensive suburbs, quite far from the town centre. Terraced houses and blocks of flats are mostly found in town centers. They can either be very small two-storey houses with one or two bedrooms or large houses with three or five floors and four or five bedrooms.

2. About 67 per cent of people in Britain own their houses or flats. Most of the rest live in rented accommodation. People in Britain buy houses or flats because there is not enough rented accommodation and what there is can be expensive.

3. Council flats1 and houses are built and owned by the local council. After the Second World War a lot of council flats¹, known as tower blocks, were constructed. Some were as high as 20 storeys and so badly built that they had to be pulled down thirty years later.

4. Modern housing estates² are built differently now. There might be a mixture of two-storey terraced houses together with a four-storey block of flats. There are play areas for children and there is often a community centre³ where people who live on the estate can meet.

5. Since 1980’s council tenants have been able⁴ to buy their own homes very cheaply if they have lived in them for over two years. By 1993, 1.5 million council houses had been sold, but only 5,000 council houses or flats were built to replace them. This means that it is now very

difficult to find cheap housing or rent.

6. Most British houses have a garden and many British people spend a lot of time in it. Most gardens, even small ones, have flowers and a lawn. If you don’t have a garden, it is possible to grow flowers and vegetables on an allotment⁵ which is a piece of land rented from the local council.

Notes:

1 муниципальное жилье

2 микрорайон

3 центр общения

4 здесь – жители могут

5 здесь – участок