Тема 2. Where and how people live Text 1. Houses in Britain

Towns and cities in Britain have grown a lot in size over the last two centuries. The oldest houses are usually those closest to the town centre. Many people live in the suburbs, areas on the edge of a town.

Some people prefer to live in a village and travel into the nearby town to work. Villages are considered to be pleasant places to live, as they are quieter and less polluted than towns and are closer to the countryside. They usually contain a range of houses, including old cottages and new houses and bungalows.

Many British people prefer to buy a house rather than renting one, because they can decorate or alter it to suit their own taste and because they believe they will have more privacy. Young people and those who cannot afford to buy a house live in rented accommodation.

The largest and most expensive type of house is a detached house, which is not joined to other houses and has a garden all round it. Detached houses have at least three bedrooms and one or two bathrooms upstairs, and one or more living rooms plus a separate dining room and kitchen downstairs.

Semi-detached houses, or semis, are extremely common. They are built in pairs with one house joined to the other along one side. These houses usually have two or three bedrooms. There is a separate garden at the front and the back for each house.

Bungalows have only one storey, and this makes them especially popular with older people. They are mostly found in villages or on housing estates.

High-rise blocks of flats, sometimes over 20 storeys high with several flats on each floor, were built in many towns in the mid 20th century. Many have since been pulled down because they needed a lot of repairs and because people did not like living in them.

Text 2. American houses

In the US there is plenty of space, except in big cities, so many houses are large and have a lot of garden around them. Most are detached, but there are also duplexes, which are similar to British semi-detached houses. Ranch-style houses are built on one floor only. Mansions are very large houses where rich people live.

In the cities many people rent an apartment in an apartment building. Apartments usually have no more than three bedrooms, and are rented furnished, An apartment with only one room may be called a studio or a lot. A building in which the apartments are owned by the people who live in them is called a condominium or, in some places, a co-op.

People look for different kinds of homes at different points in their lives. Students and young professional people tend to live in apartments near city centres. When people get married and have children they often move out of the city and buy a house in a suburb. In most suburbs it is possible to tell how much money people have by the size of their houses and yards.

Text 3. How american and british families live

The American family consists of a mother and father and their two children, aged 7 and 10. They are dressed casually but well. They live in a suburban ranch-style house with a garden around it in a town in Texas. The US flag flies on the front of the double garage, between two deer heads, which are hunting trophies. The family owns two smart cars and also a dune buggy. They have a bicycle each.

There are comfortable beds, sofas and chairs, and matching wooden furniture from each room of the house. Kitchen appliances include a washing machine, a dryer and a dishwasher, and various electrical gadgets. There are two televisions and a stereo system. Personal possessions used for leisure activities include a piano and a guitar, and two sewing machines. There are various toys including balls and a doll’s house (AmE dollhouse). A display of books around, and more on a bookcase visible inside the house. The mother is holding the family’s most valued possession, a Bible. Tied to a fire hydrant, one of the father’s souvenirs is the family’s pet dog.

The British family also consists of two parents and their two children, aged 13 and 15. The parents are dressed in casual but good quality clothes and their children are in school uniform. They live in a suburban semi-detached house in a town in southern England. They have two cars, and each member of the family has a bicycle.

In the front garden and on the road there is a selection furniture and kitchen appliances, and a television, stereo system and radio. There are also lamps, pictures, ornaments and vases of flowers. A traditional tea with crumpets is laid out on the table. The family has put out many personal possessions, which illustrate their hobbies and interests. The father is holding the tiller (румпель) of his sailing dinghy (шлюпка), which is parked in front of the house next door. This is the family’s most valued possession. Nearby there is gardening equipment and barbecue. A cricket bat and pads and a boogie (=surf) board are displayed in front of the garage. There is an exercise machine on the path and a squash racket leaning against the blanket chest.