11. Look at Picture b and try to make your own design changes transferring this area into a study (at least 80 words).

Lesson 12,13,14

FURNITURE

All styles are good except the tiresome sort.

Voltaire

You have to concentrate hard on customer values and taste but you also have to predict what customers are going to like that they do not yet know about.

John Towers, former Chief Executive Rover Group

1. Warm up discussion

Ttry to describe the pieces of furniture to another student. Write a list of as many uses of them as you can think of. How important is each one in your life?

2. Translate these sentences. Mind the - ing forms.

1. We relax on comfortable couches and we store various belongings in chests, dressers and bookcases.

2. In addition to being useful, furniture is designed to make our surroundings more pleasant.

3. Such items, including rugs and carpets, curtains draperies, lamps and pictures, are called furnishings.

4. The Federal style of American furniture recalls the beginning of the federal system of government in the United States.

1. Decide whether these statements are true or false.

• All furniture is made of wood.

• Examples of furniture are exhibited in the museums.

• Furniture provides comfort and convenience only.

• A TV set is also a piece of furniture.

• Rugs and carpets can serve as pieces of furniture.

4. Read the text and check your answers.

Furniture

Furniture consists of chairs, tables, beds, and other pieces that provide comfort and convenience in our daily lives. Many kinds of furniture are used in homes, schools, and offices. We relax on comfortable couches, and we store various belongings in chests, dressers, and bookcases. Desks provide a place for study and paperwork. Numerous television sets and phonographs have handsome cabinets, and so they also serve as pieces of furniture. In many homes, a piano is an impressive piece of furniture.

In addition to being useful, furniture is attractively designed to make our surroundings more pleasant. Furniture works with other decorative and useful objects to beautify a room. Such items, including rugs and carpets, curtains, draperies, lamps, and pictures, are called furnishings.

Most furniture is made of wood or wood products. But furniture makers also use glass, metal, plastics, and a variety of other materials.

Certain pieces of the finest furniture rank among the world's greatest works of art. Over the years, expert designers and artisans (skilled craftworkers) have created richly decorated furniture in various styles. Many of these artisans were regarded as artists equal to the most famous painters and sculptors of their day. Today, museums display examples of their furniture as masterpieces of art.

People who study the history of furniture have given names to the different styles. Some styles are named for important people. For example, Louis XIV furniture is named for King Louis XIV of Prance. Other styles are named for historical periods. Thus, the Federal style of American furniture recalls the beginning of the federal system of government in the United States. Still other styles, such as art nouveau, take their name from an art movement.

The history of furniture can be seen as a series of styles that become popular for a time and then fall from fashion. Designers then revive earlier styles, adapting them to fit the taste of the time.

Most furniture made today is still designed to be practical, comfortable, and easy to maintain.