Sharing a Room

A. Students’ Hostel

Active Vocabulary

alarm-clock a long way from; a pretty long way from

as a matter of fact at odd hours

built-in furniture delighted (= I am delighted) to tell you

fairly in advance

light and heat are extra lined with trees

living conditions on both sides of

payable weekly in advance price limit

quite enough for the two of us

right away right opposite

spacious suit two girls sharing

superficial there is no place like home

the usual run of things this can’t be helped

to be anxious to be in its place

to count on to cut one’s costs

to get used to to move away from

to move in to settle down

to take a bed to be up to one’s ears in studies

to feel close to miss smb badly

to feel homesick at times work conditions

a room to let

Exercise 1. Use the given words in two “there is / there are” sentences. In one place the propositional phrase at the end, in the other – at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: There is a park opposite the house. In the park there are lots of old trees and nice flowers.

1. armchairs, two, comfortable, near the window; between, coffee-table. 2. big, double bed, in the bedroom; a bedside rug, on the floor near the bed. 3. wardrobe, big, in the hall; things, many, in. 4. sofa, one, in the lounge; above, wall-lamp. 5. in the left-hand corner, armchair, comfortable; cushion, on. 6. round, table, big, in the middle of the room; a few, chairs, around. 7. opposite, the front door, coat-rack; a lot of, coats, on.

Exercise 2. Use the words in brackets to complete the description.

Example: There is a large window in the room. On the window-sill there are flowers. (beautiful) The flowers are beautiful.

1. There is a small table near the window. On the table there is a computer. (quite new) 2. There are twin beds in their bedroom. On the beds there are bedclothes of the same colour. (dark green) 3. There is a big vase on the table. Under the vase there is a table-runner. (very beautiful) 4. There is a big wardrobe opposite the door. On the wardrobe there are a few hats. (belong to…) 5. There are many shelves on the wall. On the shelves there are a lot of house plants. (make the room cosy) 6. There is a cupboard by the left wall. Near it there is a fridge. (keeps the provisions fresh) 7. There is a bedside cabinet near the bed. There is a reading-lamp on it. (very convenient) 8. There are a few chairs around the table. Opposite the table there is a bookcase. (full of books)

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with “it is” or “there is / there are”.

1. … a beautiful picture. 2. … three drawers in the table. 3. … fine roses in the vase. … a present from a friend of mine. 4. Hurry up! … no time to lose! 5. … the only room to let. … no other rooms here. 6. … not a pantry. … no pantry in this flat. 7. … no gas in the house. … an electric cooker, … very convenient. 8. … a pity … no telephone in your room. 9. … two large windows in the bedroom, so … quite light. 10. … really a nice table but … no place for it in my room.

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences using the words in brackets and the phrases: “you see”, “one can see”, “you can notice”, “one can notice”.

Example: Opposite the piano (a few bookshelves). Opposite the piano you can see a few bookshelves.

1. On the top shelf (some English books). 2. In the drawers (a lot of spoons, forks and knives). 3. To the left of the photo (a small picture). 4. Behind the curtain (a few shelves). 5. Next to the kitchen sink (a built-in cupboard). 6. Over the table (a beautiful pendant lamp). 7. On one of the shelves (some small boxes). 8. On the dressing-table (a powder-box and a few small boxes with rings).

Exercise 5. Build up sentences using the given word combinations and the phrases of “there is / there are” or “to hang”, “to lie”, “to stand”, “to be placed”:

a lamp with a pretty yellow lampshade; a few albums with family photos; a table with a nice table-cloth; a bed with a still life above; a dressing-table with a dressing-stool in front of it; a few shelves with books; a refrigerator with a nice samovar on it; two single beds with bedside cabinets near them; a shelf with house plants on both sides; two armchairs with a standard lamp between them; a small table with a telephone.

Exercise 6. Fill in the blanks with the proper article.

We have … nice flat with … modern conveniences. It is on … fifth floor of … nine-storeyed house in … Green Street. As … building is tall it has … lift. … lift can take you to … floor you like. In our flat there is … balcony, … telephone and, of course, … central heating, … electricity, … cold and … hot water. … rooms are square. … largest is … sitting-room. In … evening we all gather there to watch … television. Sometimes we sit down around … table which stands in … middle of … room and talk about … events of … day. All … members of … family like to be at … home together.

Exercise 7. Fill in the blanks with prepositions or adverbs if necessary.

If you enter … our kitchen you’ll see a window right … the door. There are light nylon curtains … the window and lots … flowers … the window-sill. … front … the window stands a dinner-table … four chairs … . … this table we usually have meals. … the wall … the left … the table there are a few shelves … different kitchen things. … the floor … the shelves there stands a fridge. We can’t do … it, especially … summer. … right wall, … the fridge you can see a sink and a base unit … it. We try to keep our kitchen … good order, so it is always clean and tidy. Come and have tea … us … some day!

Read Mary’s letter to her parents in which she describes her life in a students’ hostel.