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. 8. a) 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

b) What items do you consider to be advantages or disadvantages of town and country life? Why? Where would you prefer to live? Give your reasons.

Ex. 9. Read the list of places situated in a town and answer the questions.

church

supermarket

petrol station

pub/restaurant

museum

cinema

library

department store

hotel

post office

1. What do people use these places for?

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

3. Which of them do you consider most important? Why?

Ex. 10. 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. 11. Fill in the correct word derived from the word in brackets.

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 quiet life in the country. (CROWD)

4. The house was so big that they couldn’t afford to _____ it. (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 one of the ____ of living in the city. (ADVANTAGE)

Ex. 12. Answer the questions below.

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 the nearest 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 flowerpots on the window-sills?

19. Have you got a rich library at home?

20. How did you furnish your room?

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. What do you do about the house?

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