Practising Vocabulary

1 Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the underlined phrases.

1) I live in a Council House. 2) Rents are quite reasonable in this part of the city. 3) I hope you’ve settled down comfortably in your new home. 4) We’ve just moved in, that’s why our living room is in such a mess. 5) I like built-in furniture, it’s so practical. 6) Please, wipe your feet on the mat before you come in. 7) There’s plenty of room for a fridge next to this kitchen cabinet. 8) The kitchen smells of gas. 9) The tap is leaking. I’ll have to get the plumber in to have it repaired. 10) We’ve been looking for domestic help for quite a while. 11) I do some little repairs in the house, once in a while. 12) Is there a socket where I can plug in the tape-recorder? 13) The waste-bin is full again. I’ll empty it. Are there any more bin-liners? 14) We keep our skis up in the attic during the summer. They are out of the way up there. 15) The light-switch for the stairs is on the landing as you come out of your bedroom.

2 Match the words from the list with the explanations.

bridge bungalow caravan castle cottage

semi-detached house terraced house tower

a) A strong building made in the past to defend people against enemies. ...castle…

b) A small house on wheels which is pulled by a car.

c) A house which is one of a pair of houses joined together.

d) A small house with only one floor.

e) This carries a road or railway over a river.

f) A house which is part of a row of houses all joined together.

g) A small house in the country.

h) A tall building standing alone, or as part of a castle or church.

3 Use the words given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. The first sentence is an example.

Moving House

Moving house is said to be the third most (0) ...stressful... STRESS

experience you can have (coming after the (1) ..... DIE

of a close relative, or a divorce). The reason for

this is partly the (2) ........ involved, but also the ORGANISE

feeling of (3) ........ caused by completely changing SECURITY

your environment. Of course, a (4) ...... approach can SYSTEM

help ease the difficulties, especially on the day of

(5) ............. . Plan your packing carefully or, better, REMOVE

employ a (6) ........... company to pack and move RELY

your things.

This will (7) ......... lessen the amount of damage CERTAIN

to your (8) .............. It’s also a good idea to take POSSESS

out (9) ............... . Some worry is, of course, INSURE

(10) ....... but try to keep calm and look forward to AVOIDABLE

life in your new home.

4 Choose the correct word underlined in this sentence.

a) Will you be at home/at house later this evening?

b) Paul’s room is at the top of the stairs/steps opposite the bathroom.

c) Can you remember to clean the wash-basin/sink in the bathroom?

d) The rooms downstairs are so low I can touch the roof/ceiling.

e) Tony is a keen cooker/cook and always uses an electric cooker/cook.

f) You’ll find plates in the cupboard/wardrobe next to the fridge.

g) Ann was sitting at/to her desk, but Chris was sitting in/on an armchair.

h) I won’t be long. I’m just going upstairs for a bath/a bathe.

i) Lisa didn’t like doing homework/housework, so she paid a cleaner.

j) Under the house there’s a cave/cellar where we keep our old things.

5 Replace the words underlined by one of the words from the list.

capital crowded international isolated

local neighbouring rural urban

a) It’s much healthier to live in a country area, far away from the city. ....rural....

b) Sue has just moved to a nearby town.

c) We lived in the middle of nowhere in an out of the way cottage.

d) Paris is the most important city of France.

e) There is not a lot of world news in this newspaper.

f) I do my shopping at the neighbourhood shops, not in the town centre.

g) At weekends the town centre is always full of people.

h) There is far too much pollution nowadays in city areas.

6 Use two words from the list to make a word and use the new word to complete the sentence. One word is used twice.

dust room book down flower stairs wash ash basin

chair bin key arm bed case dish hole tray washer

a) It’s very cold in my .................., and I find it hard to sleep.

bed+room=bedroom

b) Sarah spent all afternoon sitting in a large .... in front of the TV.

c) I left my socks soaking in the ........................... in the bathroom.

d) Do you think you could put all your rubbish outside in the ...... ?

e) There is a beautiful ........ full of roses right outside my window.

f) Don’t worry about the washing-up. We’ll put everything in the ........................................................................................................ .

g) I can’t open the front door. Something is stuck in the ............... .

h) If you really insist on smoking, please use this ......................... .

i) Can you come ................ ? There’s someone at the door for you.

j) In this .......................... are the dictionaries and an encyclopedia.

7 Complete each sentence with a word from the list.

carpet curtains cushion drawer

pillow radiator settee socket

a) Is that chair comfortable, or would you like to use a ....cushion......?

b) Peter couldn’t use his computer as there wasn’t a .................................. in the room.

c) This house has central heating, and there’s a ...... in every room.

d) I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the ......................................................................................................... .

e) Could you draw the ................................ ? Someone is staring through the window.

f) My bedroom has a fitted ........................................... which covers the whole floor.

g) The knives and forks are in the second ...................... on the left.

h) Come over here and sit next to me on the …….....…................. .

8 Choose the most suitable word underlined in each sentence.

a) We arranged to meet in the centre of town in the main place/square.

b) Their cottage is in the heart of some beautiful country/countryside.

c) The children spent all day playing on the sandy beach/seaside.

d) I dropped my ice-cream on the earth/ground, so I couldn’t eat it.

e) This footpath/pavement leads across the fields to the village.

f) There was a wonderful scenery/view from my hotel room.

g) You can’t stop here. Car-park/Parking is not allowed in this street.

h) Helen decided to leave the country/land and work abroad.

i) Buses pass the bus station/stop outside my house every ten minutes.

9 Complete each sentence with a verb from the list in a suitable form. You can use a verb more than once.

drop finish get look move put take turn

a) I’ve got nowhere to stay tonight. Can you ...put.... me up ?

b) We’ve bought a new house but we can’t ..... in until next month.

c) Adrian doesn’t ................................ on with his neighbours, because they are so noisy.

d) Jan likes cooking, but she says it ................. up a lot of her time.

e) Don’t forget to .............. off the television before you go to bed.

f) Helen has done most of the decorating and plans to ......................................... it off tomorrow.

g) I have a large room, and it .............. out onto a beautiful garden.

h) Karen and Mike live next door and they often ....... in for a chat.

10 Fill the gaps in this passage with this, their, a, the, or 0 (i.e. no article). Give a summary of the text.

60% of families in ............ UK own ............ own homes after borrowing money (known as ............ mortgage) from ............ building society or bank. They have to make ............ monthly repayment of ............ total sum (plus interest) for 20-25 years. Borrowers can usually borrow ............ sum equivalent to three times ............ annual salary, but need to put down ........... cash deposit of 10% of ........... purchase price. ............ people in Britain tend to move ........... home several times in ........... lives. ............ typical pattern is for ............ young couple to start as ‘first-time buyers’ in ............ small flat or house, then move to ........... larger house when they have ............ family and, when ........... children have left ............ home, to move into ........... smaller house or bungalow. Usually they move into ............ other people’s houses or into ........... new home that has been built on ............ new estate by ............ builder. Families in ............ lower income groups are more likely to live in ............ rented accommodation, for example in ......... council house or flat.

Moving home can be ............ stressful experience, only slightly less traumatic than ........... bereavement or divorce. Often ........... buyer and seller of ............ house are part of ............ ‘chain’, where ............ sale of one house depends on ............ whole series of strangers doing ........... same thing at ............ same time. If one deal falls through at ........... last moment, ........ whole chain breaks down and no one is able to move.

11 Complete each part sentence a) to h) with one of the endings 1) to 8).

a) Please sit down and make yourself. 4) at home, while I make tea.

b) Many of our language students share …………............…….... .

c) I like Do-It-Yourself, but I’ve decided to have …...........……... .

d) Alan seems to have so many clothes that he can never find ….. .

e) If you can’t find the house you can always ask for …….....…... .

f) Susan lives on the tenth floor of ……….............................….... .

g) If you are short of money you can buy ….......................……... .

h) As we live in a semi-detached house, we hear ……........…….. .

1) room for all of them in the wardrobe.

2) a block of flats on the south side of the city.

3) directions at the bus-station.