XI. Fill in the blanks with comfortable or convenient. In cases where both are possible, explain the difference in meaning.
1. Will ten o’clock be a ... time for you? 2. There isn’t much food value in packet soups but they’re very ... . 3. I think you will be more ... in the armchair. 4. I want to put on some more ... shoes to go shopping. These are hurting me. 5. The Red Arrow is the most ... overnight train to Moscow. 6. The bed in the hotel was very ... . 7. Foil is very ... for storing food and for cooking, too, for example, roasting chicken. 8. The medical report said that the patient was ... . 9. I like this skirt because it’s so ... . 10. Their flat is more ... than mine. 11. In the evening he liked to relax in a ... chair and read or watch television. 12. It’s very ... to book tickets by telephone. 13. Is your timetable … this term? 14. (Hostess to guest) Please make yourself … . 15. – Instant coffee doesn’t taste like real. – No, but it’s very … . 16. –This settee can be pulled out to make a bed. – How .." ! 17. A successful barrister has a very ... life. 18. The hours (of work) are not ... for women with children but the management refuses to change them.
XII. A) Scan the text for some particular information about the most traditional types of housing in Great Britain. Housing in Britain
In Great Britain, families prefer to live in houses rather than flats. Over 70% of people live in houses and only about 20% live in flats. About 35% of people own the houses they live in, or buy them with money borrowed from a bank or building society.
T
here
are different types of housing in Britain. Terraced
houses are
attached to each other in a long row. They are usually found in towns
and cities and many were built in the 19th or early 20th century as
houses for workmen. Today, Victorian
terraced
houses are very popular city homes. In earlier times, terraced houses
were also called town houses. These have three or four stories and
very large rooms, and town houses are now very expensive and
fashionable.
In
the 1930’s a large number of semis
were
built. They share a central wall. Typically, a semi has a small
garden in front of it and a fence divides a larger garden at the
back. Semis are still built where land is expensive.
A
detached house has
land round it. More and more modern homes are detached, although in
areas where building land is expensive, the houses may be very close
to each other.
Country cottages are often old stone buildings which were part of a farm. Some country cottages are very old and they may have a thatched roof. Today many people who work in the cities buy cottages so that they have a place to go for the weekend.
A bungalow is a house where all the rooms are on the ground floor. As there are no stairs, many older people dream of 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 the inner city areas and knocked down terraced houses in very poor areas. Block of flats or tower blocks can vary from 3-5 storeys high up to 10-20 storeys high. Each storey contains 5 or 6 flats for families. But people don’t like to live in them because there are many social problems.
The country mansion. Very few of the British live in country mansions. Today many mansions are used as restaurants, hotels, old people’s homes, etc.
Many British people are lucky enough to live in their own homes, and the great majority of these have a small garden. However, housing is a problem in many cities. Many young people have to live in, or share, small one-room flats called bedsitters, and the homeless are still a problem.
b) Complete the following sentences:
Most British people live in a …
Most people in Britain … their house or a flat.
Terraced houses are joined to each other to form a …
Detached houses are usually in the …
Country cottages are very old and usually have a … roof.
A bungalow has all the rooms on …
The British don’t like to live in blocks of flats because …
Few British people live in …
Most British homes have a …
A lot of young people in Britain have to live in …
c) Make a list of the differences in housing types between your country and Britain.
d) In which house would you like to live? Why?