Sharing a Flat

Sharing a flat certainly has some advantages. To begin with, it should be cheaper, and if you are sharing with people that you get on well with, it is nice to have some company at home rather than being alone and on your own. Also the household chores are shared and that is very important. Particularly, when you are younger, and you are living apart from your parents for the first time, it can be very enjoyable to live with people of your own age, whose interests and life-style you share.

However, sharing a flat does have some distinct disadvantages, and the main one is that the flat is not your own. So you cannot do what you want in it. What happens if your flat-mate wants to play music? To a certain extent you have to be unselfish. What is more, there can be little privacy.

I would say that as you get older, it is probably better to live on your own. Having had my own flat for a few years, I would not like to have to share again.

□ WRITING

Use the text as a model to write your personal opinion of sharing a flat.

♦ Listening

Phoning a Landlord

I. Pre-listening task

Here are some words you will hear in the recording. Study their pronunciation and meaning.

there’s nothing extra to pay – дополнительная оплата не требуется

deposit (n) – залог, задаток

that sounds fair – это звучит справедливо

the front-door key – ключ от входной двери

tube station – станция метро (в Лондоне)

II. Listening and compehenstion tasks

Angela is a student at a university. She is looking for a room to let. She saw an advertisement and has decided to phone the landlord. Listen to the recording and find out what information Angela Smiley got from the landlord.

III. Follow up activity

Do you think Angela will rent the room or not? Why?

• Speaking

1. Pretend you are a landlord / landlady. Think of the rules you want to have in your house. Then ask another student these questions and decide if you think he / she would be a suitable person to have in the house.

2. Imagine you want to rent a room in a house. Make a list of questions you want to ask. Then ask another student these questions and decide if you would like to live in his / her house.

3. You try to persuade a friend of yours that it’s very enjoyable to share a room with people of your age. Your friend is of a different opinion.

4. You are going to move away from the hostel. You see an advertisement in the local paper and come to have a look at the room and ask a few questions. Say whether you find this variant suitable or not. Your final decision may be:

1. you like it and are going to rent it;

2. you don’t like the room, you are going to look for another one.

Self Check

Exercise 1. Explain the difference between:

1. a landlord and a lodger;

2. a rent and a deposit;

3. a mortgage and a lease;

4. ground floor and first floor;

5. a cottage and a bungalow;

6. a bedsit and a studio;

7. a villa and a time-share.

Exercise 2. Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.

for at in on of into with

1. She wanted a place ____ her own.

2. He’ll move ____ tomorrow.

3. He’ll move ______ his new flat tomorrow.

4. I share the kitchen ________ three other people.

5. The landlord asked the tenant ________ more rent.

6. My flat is ________ the top floor.

7. My flat is ________ a modern block.

8. The house is _________ good condition.

9. I looked _________ advertisements _______ the newspaper.

10. She pays a rent _______ £ 90 a week.

Exercise 3. Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct position in the passage below.

deposit fee flat advertisement self-contained landlord rent block references accommodation agency

The first thing I had to do in London was to find somewhere to live, if possible a small, one-bedroom (a)__________. I didn’t want to share a kitchen or toilet; I wanted to be independent in my own (b)__________ place. I decided I could pay a (c)__________ of £ 50 a week. I couldn’t find what I wanted in the newspaper (d)__________ so I went to an (e)________. They offered me a nice place. It was in a modern (f)________ on the third floor. I had to pay the agency a (g)_________, and the (h)_________ wanted a big (i)_________ and (j)_________ from my employer and bank manager.