Active vocabulary

dwelling house	} жилой дом
block of flats
a two-room flat	двухкомнатная квартира
sitting-room	} гостиная
living-room
dining-room	столовая
bedroom	спальня
nursery	детская
study	кабинет
bathroom	ванная комната
lavatory / toilet	туалет
kitchen	кухня
to furnish the flat	обставлять квартиру
furniture	мебель
house-hold objects	бытовая техника
central heating	центральное отопление
gas	газ
electricity	электричество
wall unit	мебельный гарнитур (стенка)
dining / writing table	обеденный / письменный стол
bookcase	книжный шкаф
wardrobe	гардероб
cupboard	буфет
built in	встроенный
chair	стул
armchair	кресло
stool	табурет
divan	диван
sofa	софа
TV-set	телевизор
piece of furniture	предмет мебели
hanging lamp	люстра
curtains	шторы
carpet	ковер
to vac the carpet	пылесосить ковер
mirror	зеркало
sink	раковина
towel	полотенце
fridge / refrigerator	холодильник
microwave oven	микроволновая печь
ceiling	потолок
floor	пол
wall	стена
parquet	паркет
linoleum	линолеум
to be painted (green)	окрашенный (в зеленый цвет)
to be papered with wallpaper	оклеенный обоями
to be white-washed	побеленный
tiled wall	кафельная стена
in the middle	в середине
in the left/ right hand corner	в левом / правом углу
to the right of	направо от
on the right	справа
opposite	напротив

Task 1. Read, translate, and retell the text.

The House

A house may be built of wood, stone, brick, concrete. A building may be one-, two-, three- or four-storeyed and higher. There are many multi-storeyed houses in our town now.

American multi-storeyed buildings are called skyscrapers. London houses have mostly 2 or 3 storeys (and only 5% have from 8 to 10 storeys). Our first floor is usually called the ground floor in England. And our second floor corresponds to the English first floor. The Americans call the floors as we do: first, second, etc.

The house we live in is our home. The house may front a street, a park, or a square. It may have a southern, northern, eastern or western aspect. The windows of my room overlook a lane.

When people move into a new flat they usually have a house-warming party.

There may be a one-room flat, a two-room flat, etc. Most of the flats nowadays have all modern conveniences such as: running water, gas, electricity, central heating.

The entrance to the house from the street is called the front-door. There is sometimes another entrance too, leading into the house from the yard, the back-door.

The staircase leads to the upper floors. We go upstairs or downstairs. The staircase consists of stairs (steps). The steps between two landings are called a flight of stairs, and the door of the flat usually opens on to the landing.

When the visitors come, they knock at the door or press the bell. Then one of the inhabitants answers the door (the bell) and the visitor asks if the person he wants to see is in or out.

Task 2. Learn the dialogues by heart.