2. Find the English equivalents in the text:

план действий, размещать (x4), основные советы, видеть отражение двери, символизирует трудности, убеждаться, беспорядок, поверхность стола, потеря возможностей и богатства, накапливать, рассеивать(ся), «колющая» энергия, фирменный знак, настольный фонтан

3. Find the synonyms to the following words:

fascinating theory, profits, arrangement of things, perfect position, wealth, critical, inactive and damaging power, restriction of chances, aquarium, to increase your richness

4. True or false?

1) Feng Shui helps to place pieces of furniture and other accessories in a proper way.

2) Feng Shui is a popular modern trend in design that has recently appeared.

3) According to Feng Shui you can locate objects in strictly definite places.

4) According to Feng Shui there are four sectors in your home.

5) Each sector corresponds to a definite aspect of our life.

6) It is necessary to follow Feng Shui instructions if you want to have prosperity.

7) A heavy shelf can crash down on you at any moment.

8) The space around your desk should not be blocked.

9) Plants in your office can produce a negative energy.

10) Hanging crystals and mirrors accumulate good energy.

11) It is obligatory to have candles and aquarium in your office.

12) You must place the logo of your company in your office.

5. Match the words to their synonyms:

1) to attract a) to be a sign of, to indicate, to mean

2) to place b) to guarantee, to make sure

3) to symbolize c) to limit

4) to avoid d) to pull towards you

5) to cramp e) to stay away from

6) to ensure f) to locate, to situate

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate form of these verbs:

1) He … the book carefully on the shelf.

2) Please, …that all lights are switched off.

3) If you don’t place the objects in an appropriate Feng Shui way, it will … a bad energy to your home.

4) The owl … wisdom and learning.

5) You’d better … placing sharp things near your desk.

6. Combine the words into phrases:

1) to run a) business contacts

2) to follow b) a home office

3) to bring c) business

4) to attract d) good energy

5) to situate e) prosperity

6) to accumulate f) feng shui instructions

Fill in the gaps with these phrases:

1) According to Feng Shui some objects can … .

2) It is necessary … in sectors which correspond to career, wealth, skills and fame.

3) He didn’t … in furnishing the room.

4) She wants … when she graduates from the university.

5) According feng shui, the proper placement of office machines will … .

6) Some people don’t believe that if you design a home office in a feng shui manner, it … .

7. Answer the questions:

1) How can feng shui help us in decorating?

2) What is feng shui?

3) Remember your working place at home. What is arranged according feng shui? What does not correspond to the directions of feng shui?

4) Are you a follower of feng shui? Do you follow feng shui directions in designing your home? Why?

8. Find any picture or photo of an office. Describe the design of the room from the point of feng shui. Use the following phrases in your description:

to be located (to be situated, to be placed) in a sector of …

the sector corresponds to …

it is an ideal location (position, place) because …

to bring prosperity, to attract business contacts, to support in your life

to symbolize

to create negative energy, to accumulate good (positive) energy

9. Project. Draw a sketch of a study (office, working place) where objects and furniture are arranged in accordance with feng shui directions. Describe it using phrases from the text and ex.8.

TEXT 10

1. Read the text

Feng Shui Bagua Map

The feng shui bagua map is an octagonal shaped map, which allows you to evaluate in feng shui terms any living or working space. The feng shui bagua is a very important feng shui tool and indispensable when we wish to harmonize a place and the elements in it.

According to the feng shui bagua map, each part of your house corresponds to a different life aspect. The life aspects are nine and each one of them has its own characteristics and elements. By properly harmonizing each of the bagua areas within your home or working place, you will be harmonizing each area of your life.

The nine life areas symbolized in the feng shui bagua are: prosperity, fame and reputation, relationships and love, family, health, creativity and children, skills and knowledge, helpful people and travel, and career.

Prosperity is the area which you should pay attention to when you are having money related problems, its color is purple and the elements you should use in it are wood and water.

The feng shui bagua life area called fame and reputation is the one, which should be paid attention to when wishing a reputation improvement of any kind; it is represented by the red color and its most important elements are fire and wood.

Relationships and love area is the one which should be improved when looking for starting or improving a relationship of any kind. Its color is pink and the elements are earth and fire.

Family is another feng shui bagua life area and you can harmonize family boundaries by working on it, its colors are green, black and blue and its main element is water.

Health, another life area represented in the feng shui bagua map, can be improved by working on that area of your house. Health colors are yellow, brown and orange, and its main elements are earth and fire.

The next feng shui bagua life area is creativity and children. Creativity and children should be harmonized when having problems with children in the family, when wishing to have children or when wishing to improve our creativity. The colors of this area are yellow and earth tones, and its element is metal.

On the other hand, the colors you should use in order to improve the skills and knowledge life area are black and green and the element you should add is earth.

Helpful people and travel is another feng shui bagua life area, it can be improved by using the colors white and black, and by making sure, it contains the elements metal and water.

The life area of career can be harmonized and improved by using blue and white in the space, which corresponds to it as well as by adding some metal in it.

octagonal – восьмиугольный

family boundaries – семейные узы

2. Find the English equivalents in the text:

оценить, соответствовать аспектам жизни, обладать отличительными признаками, гармонизировать, мастерство (умения), улучшение репутации, улучшить творческий потенциал

3. Find the synonyms to the following words:

feng shui instrument, essential (very important), to focus on

4. Answer the questions:

1) What is the feng shui bagua map?

2) How many life aspects are there in our house?

3) Do they have its own characteristics? What do they have in common?

4) What do these areas symbolize?

5) What color and elements correspond to each life area?

6) What do the necessary colors and elements of the areas help to improve?

TEXT 11

1. Read the text, then think of the title to this article.

Cheap interior design ideas come in many forms these days: from television shows to magazines. The industry is trying to teach the consumer how to design cheap. In the past, ideas such as cheap design would have left most interior designers horrified. The industry of interior design has changed dramatically over the past few years in order to better accommodate consumers.

In its early to mid stages of evolution, interior design was an industry of prestige. Now, due to the demand for design for the average customer, designing on a budget and cheap interior design has become a topic of much interest and acceptance. Of course, you will always find the designers who insist that durability and style of a design is identifiable with the brand name. The brand is associated with the contents therein, which relates back to the price tag. Most everyday people do not relate to this line of thinking. A secret tool to marvelous rooms, which are created using cheap interior design ideas, is a good decision making. By purchasing some slightly more expensive key items of furniture and by cost-cutting on the smaller items or accessories you can save big bucks and still achieve the same look that is achieved in other more expensive, brand name rooms.

The first question that pops into your mind here is “where do I buy the bargain items?” It can be easily answered! Your hunt for cheap interior design ideas and items can begin successfully at any bargain-type store. The stores and availability of items in these stores will vary according to your locations. There are locally known bargain-fairs or stores at which you can by slightly damaged or used items at a fraction of the cost associated with similar store bought items. When buying at these stores, be careful not to overspend. Many of us have a tendency to get overly enthused and purchase items that are not good bargains or ones that we are not very likely to use. Save your money for where it counts. You will find the perfect items in the bargain shop that fit into your lifestyle and space. If you search and search for a certain item and are unable to find it, try to improvise or select another similar item to take its place. Cheap interior design ideas are abundant to the creative thinker who is willing to overcome obstacles with unusual, cheap solutions.

Other places where you can find cheap interior design ideas are yard sales, estate sales, and flea markets. Remember again when shopping in areas such as this that it is easy to get caught up in the moment and overspend. Take your time and comb the items carefully for objects of value. Many times in these types of sales the physically larger items tend to be sold for more than cost value and the smaller valuable items are looked over in haste. Cheap interior design ideas are not limited to large items! If you find an accessory or such, especially if it is part of a group or collection of items, buy it and use it to accentuate your other items.

Cheap interior design ideas are easy to find these days, you just have to know the right places to look and the right items to purchase. Time is the essential element in designing cheaply. Patience pays off in most any situation, including interior design.

due to – из-за, благодаря, обязанный (чему-л.)

identifiable – опознаваемый

to purchase – покупать

to cost-cut – сбивать цену

to pop into – неожиданно появляться

to overspend – тратить слишком много; сорить деньгами

to enthuse – приходить в восторг; проявлять энтузиазм

to be abundant – быть в изобилии