Housing /Living Conditions
Устройство городской квартиры/загородного дома. Flat / Cottage Layout
My Flat
There is no place like home. I would like to tell you about my home. Our family lives in Novosibirsk, at 12/1, Smolenskaya Street, flat 23. We have a nice three-roomed flat with two loggias on the seventh floor of a multistory block of flats in one of the largest newly built residential areas. There are passenger and goods lifts in our house to move people and different heavy large-size things as well as family pets separately. There are parking spaces and a big supermarket in our building. The supermarket is on the ground floor and it’s very convenient to do everyday shopping.
We are satisfied with our flat where we moved only a year ago. It’s very comfortable, well planned and with all the modern conveniences (with every convenience): electricity, running hot and cold water, central heating, air conditioner, electric stove, cable television, telephone, Internet access, storage space and refuse chute. To my opinion it’s quite a modern-looking flat. The layout is perfect. The rooms are spacious with lots of light from windows on three sides. The living room windows face the park in front of the building and the view is really wonderful. We often watch beautiful breathtaking sunrises and sunsets because our kitchen looks east and the bedroom looks west. There is an entry with a coat closet, a box room, a laundry room and a larder in our flat. We store our hoods, jackets and coats in the coat closet which is close to the front door. The box room is used as a storage room where we keep our household appliances, sports outfit and old things.
Our bedroom is the largest multipurpose area and a place of refuge in our flat. We can relax when we feel tired during the day and my parents sleep for the night there. Furniture and other items in the bedroom are for my parents’ taste. It includes a double bed, two bedside tables, a wardrobe, a built-in closet ['klɔzɪt], a small dressing table with drawers and a mirror, some accessories (such as lamps, telephone, a flat-screen TV, an alarm clock) and a carpet. My dad installed some gadgets that allow him to control the lights, television set and stereo from the bed. The bedroom set includes two armchairs, a pouffe [puːf ], a small table and a chest of drawers. The furniture upholstery matches the wallpaper and makes the room comfortable to be in.
But the most popular and favorite place with all of us is the kitchen. The living room, in spite of its name, is no longer the lived-in room in our flat. The kitchen has taken over this honor. It has become the heart of our home, reserving the living room for our guests. For us the kitchen is the place, where we not only cook our food, dine and even entertaining our guests, but have a chat about our problems, have tea or just have a rest. I think it is indeed our family room. My mum always has flowers in the kitchen. They caress the eyes by blooming in winter and blur the lines between seasons making our kitchen cozy and friendly. Flowers also decorate other rooms bringing joy all the year round.
Our kitchen is rather large, very light, functional and fully-fitted modern kitchen with a sink with taps for hot and cold running water. We have got large and small electric appliances such as an oven, a kitchen stove, a microwave oven, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a coffeemaker, a toaster and other food processing machines. The kitchen cabinets are arranged according to a modular design. There are knives of different kinds, ladles, can openers, pots, pans, and kettles of all sizes, shapes, and materials specifically suited for certain ways of cooking food. There is a kitchen cart and an extension table with some chairs around it and two stools in the kitchen. Next to the kitchen there is an air-conditioned larder or pantry where our foodstuffs are kept in cabinets.
Scientific enlightenment suggests showers are a good way to clean up our act. I like showers for day-to-day cleaning. I love the feel of the little drops splashing feverishly over my skin, so if I want to freshen up I shower. But I prefer a nice hot soak in a bubble bath for relaxing. It depends on what mood I am in. Our bathroom can serve to all my needs and desires. It is stylish and with all necessary plumbing fixtures - a stall shower with sliding doors in order to protect the floor from spraying water, a bathtub with a shower integrated into it, a sink or hand basin, a flush toilet and a bidet ['biːdeɪ]. Ceiling, wall and floor are decorated with ceramic and smooth plastic which are impervious to water and readily and easily cleaned. Such surfaces are cold to the touch, and we use water-resistant bath mats or bathroom carpets to make the room more comfortable though the floor is heated by conduits heater.
Lighting across the entire bathroom space is uniform and bright. It minimizes glare and highlights skin and hair with a tinge of yellow light. The mirror area has two sources of light to eliminate any shadows on the face while all the activities like shaving, showering, grooming etc. Electrical appliances, such as lights, heaters, and heated towel rails are installed as fixtures арматура, with permanent connections without plugs and sockets.
We wash, dry and iron our clothes and bed linen in the laundry room (also called a utility room) which is next to the bathroom. It is equipped with an automatic washing machine, a clothes dryer, a large basin, called a laundry tub, for hand-washing delicate articles of clothing such as sweaters, and an ironing board. There are some storage cabinets, worktops (countertops) for folding clothes and all necessary domestic electric appliances.
Our second loggia is the kitchen extension. It also became a place of relaxation. We use it to entertain friends or it can be used for dinner. It is our favourite place to gather as a family and have a cookout.
They say a man’s home is his castle. My flat is my home where I take shelter when I want to get away from the rest of the world. I like my home very much and miss it badly when I am away. In such moments I feel homesickness because I connect many pleasant things with my home, my dearest parents, friends, flowers, music, books and so on. That’s why I always look forward to homecoming and am delighted to meet my parents and relatives.
1. Give a detailed description of your flat by answering the following questions:
At what address do you live? Please write down your name and address in your exercise book. (Your address is the number of the house, flat, and the name of the street and the town where you live.)
Do you live in your own house or in a block of flats?
Which floor is your flat on?
When did you move to your flat?
Is your flat well-planned?
Is your flat comfortable?
How many rooms are there in your flat?
Have you got a loggia (built-in closets, box rooms)?
Where do you usually have your meals?
Is there much furniture in your flat?
What colour are the walls in your room?
Are there any pictures on the walls of your flat?
Do you change your furniture round from time to time?
How often do you redecorate your room?
What is there in your room?
What is your kitchen like?
Tasks
1. Give a detailed description of your flat by answering the following questions:
At what address do you live? Please write down your name and address in your exercise book. (Your address is the number of the house, flat, and the name of the street and the town where you live.)
Do you live in your own house or in a block of flats?
Which floor is your flat on?
When did you move to your flat?
Is your flat well-planned?
Is your flat comfortable?
How many rooms are there in your flat?
Have you got a loggia (built-in closets, box rooms)?
Where do you usually have your meals?
Is there much furniture in your flat?
What colour are the walls in your room?
Are there any pictures on the walls of your flat?
Do you change your furniture round from time to time?
How often do you redecorate your room?
What is there in your room?
What is your kitchen like?
Word list
angry – злой
apartment – квартира
armchair – кресло
at home – дома
bed – кровать
blackboard – школьная доска
bookcase – книжный шкаф
builder – строитель
building – здание, строение
built-in – встроенный
buy (bought – bought – buying) – покупать
cake – торт
care – забота
careful – осторожный
carpet – ковер
castle – замок
chair – стул
chalk – мел
cocktail – коктейль
cocoa – какао
coffee – кофе
comfortable – удобныйcomfortable – удобный
conveniences – удобства
cream – сливки
cupboard – буфет, стенной шкаф
desk – парта
dining set – столовый набор
disctrict – район
dwelling – жилой
electric stove = electric cooker – электроплита
elevator = lift – лифт
fastfood – еда в «забегаловках»
fireplace – камин
flat – квартира
flat = apartment – квартира
food – еда
furniture – мебель
high-rise – высотный
high–rise house – высотный дом
home – дом (в абстрактном смысле)
hot-dog – сосиска в тесте
house – дом (в смысле здания)
housewarming party – новоселье
I am glad to hear it. – Рад слышать это.
I hear… – Я слышал…
icebox – холодильник (морозильник)
ice-cream – мороженое
ill – больной
invitation – приглашение
it takes me 10 minutes to get home – я добираюсь до дома за 10 минут
lamp – лампа
lemonade – лимонад
lollipop – леденец
meal – еда, блюдо
modern conveniences – современные удобства
mustard – горчица
nice – милый, хороший, замечательный
nicely – мило, хорошо, замечательно
office – учреждение, контора, офис
pepper – перец
pie – пирог
piece – кусочек
piece of chalk – кусочек мела
pizza – пицца
punctual – пунктуальный
reading lamp – настольная лампа
roll – рулет
round o’clock – круглые сутки
salt – соль
sausage – сосиски, колбаса
shelf – полка
sideboard – шкаф
sink – раковина
soda water – содовая
sofa – диван
soft drink – прохладительный (безалкогольный) напиток
soup – суп
spice – приправа
standart lamp – торшер
stool – табурет
sugar – сахар
sugar free – без сахара
sweetmeats – конфеты
sweets – сладости, конфеты
table – стол
tea – чай
teacher – учитель
the centre of the city = the city – центр города
tired – уставший
tired – уставший
to adore – обожать
to be glad – быть довольным
to be ill – болеть
to be left – быть левым
to be right – быть правым
to boast – хвастаться
to build – строить
to care – заботиться
to catch cold – простудиться
to cry – кричать, плакать
to dislike – не любить
to drive – управлять машиной
to dwell – жить (в доме)
to forget – забывать
to get angry – злиться
to get offended – обижаться
to get surprised – быть удивленным
to get tired – уставать
to get tired – уставать
to hate – ненавидеть
to have a cold – быть простуженным
to interfere – вмешиваться
to invite – приглашать
to like – нравиться
to love – любить
to make smb. angry – разозлить кого-либо
to move to – переезжать
to move to a new apartment – переезжать на новую квартиру
to offend – оскорблять
to remember – вспоминать
to remind – напоминать
to shout – кричать, ругаться
to surprise – удивляться
to teach – учить
to travel – путешествовать
tonic – тоник
umbrella – зонт
unforgettable – незабываемый
wall units – мебельная «стенка»
wall units – мебельная стенка
wardrobe – платяной шкаф
we have got everything we need – у нас есть все, что нужно
writing table – письменный стол