I.1. Look through the statements and try to outline the problems to be discussed.

1. Tastes differ. Different countries have different kinds of accommodation.

2. Men make houses, women make homes.

3. Children and husbands learn to do housework.

4. Renting an apartment is much simpler than buying a house.

2. You’ve got some information about Pam’s new flat. Describe it. Replace the words in bold type by the synonyms given in the box

Dear John,

My new flat is really lovely! It’s got four big rooms – a spacious lounge with dining area, two bedrooms and a large kitchen which looks out onto the garden. There’s another large window in the lounge with a super view of the park opposite, which lets in lots of sunshine in the afternoon. It’s fully equipped with central heating but so far I haven’t thought of any furniture! There are no carpets down yet and all I’ve got is a bed and a table and some chairs. Oh, and I forgot to say that it’s on the ground floor and quite near the shops, which is very convenient for me because I’ve got a memory like a sieve and I’m always forgetting to buy something!

Do come and visit me! I’m sure you won’t mind sleeping on the floor if I haven’t got another bed by the time you come. I can show you the town and we can go into the country too while you’re here. I know you’d enjoy it here! Please write soon.

Love, Pam

couch; furnishings; living room; like; nice

suitable; provided; faces; floor covering; scenery;

3. Tell your friend about the most traditional types of housing in Great Britain choosing the right preposition from the brackets.

In Great Britain, families prefer to live (at, in, into) houses rather than flats.

There are different types of housing (on, at, in) Britain. Terraced houses are attached (with, to, for) each other in a long row. They are usually found in towns and cities and many were built in the 19^th or early 20^th century as houses (for, with, without) workmen. Today, Victorian terraced houses are very popular city homes.

(At, in, on) the 1930’s a large number of semis were built. They share a central wall. Typically, a semi has a small garden (to, at, in) front of it and a fence divides a larger garden (on, at, in) the back. Semis are still built where land is expensive.

A detached house has land (below, round, above) it. More and more modern homes are detached, although (to, towards, in) areas where building land is expensive, the houses may be very close (at, with, to) each other.

Country cottages are often old stone buildings which were part (of, for, on) a farm. Today many people who work (in, on, at) the cities buy cottages so that they have a place to go (in, on, for) the weekend.

A bungalow is a house where all the rooms are (in, on, at) the ground floor. As there are no stairs, many older people dream (after, of, for) going to live in a bungalow when they retire.

A block of flats. In the 1950s and 1960s local councils cleared a lot of slums (in, from, on) the inner city areas and knocked down terraced houses (on, in, about) very poor areas. Block of flats or tower blocks can vary (for, with, from) 3-5 storeys high up to 10-20 storeys high. Each storey contains 5 or 6 flats (of, to, for) families. But people don’t like to live (with, in, without) them because there are many social problems.

4. You’ve bought a new flat. Decide with your partner what furniture you would need to make it comfortable. Use the words in the box below. Say which room(s) each piece of furniture would normally be used in.

Sitting room	Bedroom	Kitchen	Bathroom	Entrance Hall

sideboard chest of drawers dressing table shelf

stool hat-stand dresser mirror carpet .lampshade wall-unit

cupboard wardrobe armchair cooker sofa desk bookcase