Variant 1

Task 1. Match the definition with the correct word

1.b 2.i 3.g 4.a 5.c 6.f 7.h 8.j 9.d 10.e

Task 2 Give the names of the indicated items of furniture:

1.radiator 2.curtains 3.carpet/mat/rug 4.armchair 5.sofa/settee/couch 6.fire-place 7.standard lamp 8.coffee-table

9. chiming clock 10.mantelpiece

Task 3 Write the number of each drawing next to the correct word:

1. i 2. b 3.e 4.a 5.f 6.g 7.d 8.j 9.h 10.c

Task 4. Complete each part sentence with one of the endings;

1. d 2. e 3.c 4.b 5.a

Task 5. Each sentence contains an inappropriate word. Underline this word and then replace it with a word from the box;

1. towel 2. gate 3.floor 4.bookcase 5.step

Task 6. Listen to 5 students share their opinions about halls of residence. Which of them:

	Student1	Student2	Student3	Student4	Student5
a) has experience of living in the halls of residence?			+		+
b) speaks about the lack of privacy in the halls?	+			+
c) sees advantages of living in the halls?		+			+
d) considers halls a good life school?		+	+
e) mentions regulations you have to obey?					+

TAPESCRIPT

1. I remember talking to my cousin who was about to finish her second year at university. She'd been staying in the students' dorm from the very beginning and had lots of stories for a curious soon-to-be-a-student me. Being the kind of person who is easily tempted I was terrified. I couldn't imagine myself, a diligent girl, sharing the room with a bunch of crazy fellows and having dozens of neighbors whose sanity is just as questionable. You know what I mean, don't you? All those endless parties, tea breaks which last till the small hours, lack of silence or any sort of privacy, people coming at any time they need to borrow your frying-pan, common facilities, water and electricity cuts, and so on. Well, there are still a number of things to be added to that list. You can add them without my modest help.

2. God's favour, I never had to live in the dorm. I managed to rent a flat for myself. Actually it's hard to say with absolute certainty whether I should feel lucky avoiding this "fun life". Despite all inconveniences there is a wide array of advantages to it. You are never alone; someone is always there not to let you feel lonely and miserable. A students' dormitory is a perfect place for those who want to learn patience, tolerance, coexistence, who want to be free of any biases, who want to get ready to live in any kind of society and survive in the most unfriendly environment.

3. If you didn't live in a hostel, you were not a real student! A hostel is a real school of life. While living in a hostel, you can try yourself in different roles, because you must do everything yourself, only sometimes with the help of your neighbours. You can be a carpenter hammering the nails, repairing some pieces of furniture, locks and so on; a plumber cleaning sinks and locks that were choked up; an electrician repairing wall outlets and different domestic devices. You can be a cook, a sewer, and a teacher helping your junior friends to do their homework. You can even try to be a "big boss", if you are a head of a section. You have a great number of opportunities to learn the things that you have never thought you need. They say that the best teacher is your own experience. And don't think that life in a hostel is a constant struggle for surviving. It is a merry atmosphere of students' life. You are among the friends who are always ready to help you and share with you both their meal and their knowledge.

4. As I live in a flat, I've got a sketchy idea about students' life in a hostel. But from my friends' complaints about it I can conclude that life is difficult there.

In the hostel you will find neither luxury nor superb accommodation, just the necessary things: plain furniture, central heating, running cold and hot water, electricity. In every room there live two or three people. If you find the room very cramped for living, you can't but resign yourself to the inevitable. There's no telephone, no gas (as there are electric cookers in the hostel). If electricity is cut off, you won't be able even to warm up your food (if there is any). You can't be independent here: you have to share a kitchen, a toilet, and a bath with several people. And there-is one more problem — how to organize your study time. It seems that the time is slipping away here. You are constantly distracted by drop-in visitors, whom you have to deal with and it's rather difficult to tackle your daily tasks. From the previous considerations I conclude that living in the hostel is not a piece of cake. To survive in these awful conditions you have to be smart, energetic, efficient and hardy. And if you can afford to be independent in your own self-contained place, avoid living in the hostel.

5. Living at a hostel ... well, for me it's, first of all, living among people, like in a small town. Here you have its own administration and its population: your neighbours and some strangers. Corridors are like streets that link separate apartments with their own secrets. Every student who lives here has duties and rights. You get cheap lodging and new friends but you can't come late, otherwise you'll sleep outside, and you have to get along with your new enemies.

As students of all the years live together you get a unique opportunity to come into notes on various subjects, drafts of research work, textbooks and sound advice whenever you need it.

At a hostel the big students' family usually gather on special occasions such as formal and informal holidays. You will be amazed by the wide range of parties. Students' imagination gives birth to carnival-masquerades, discos, concerts, competitions and so on. Surely, you won't get bored, but ... you can fail your exams or something like this if you have them the next day as you might not have even a petty chance to learn the subject or at least to prepare cribs. It's common known that it is easier to overcome hardships all together. So in the evening a small group of students make their way in corridors (it is quite possible that the electricity was cut off) to bathrooms Ю wash before going to sleep. When they reach their destination, it might appear that wafer was cut off, so ... c'est la vie.

But anyway you'll get valuable experience of living on your own, without parents' support. Whether it tempers or overwhelms, it depends utterly on the person.