Vocabulary exercises

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What place are you from? Do you have a flat or a house? How many rooms are there in your flat (house)? What floor is your flat on? Is it convenient to live on the ground floor? (on the top floor)? Is there a lift in your house?

2. What modern conveniences are there in your flat? Is there a chute for refuse? Do you have a gas or an electric stove? Does it take much time to cook breakfast (to boil the kettle) on a gas stove? What furniture is there in the kitchen? Do you have your meals in the kitchen or in the dining-room?

3. Which is the largest room in your flat? Whose room is it? What is there in this room? What is there in the centre of this room? Are there any pictures on the walls? What is there on the floor?

4. Do you have a room of your own? Is it warm and light? Is it large? What pieces of furniture are there in your room? Where do you keep your books? Is there a wardrobe in your room? What colour are the curtains on the windows? What colour is the wallpaper in your room? Where do you sleep? Are there any armchairs in your room?

Exercise 2. Make up sentences according to the example.

Example: 1. A kitchen – A kitchen is a room where we cook meals.

2. A dining-table – A dining-table is a table (a piece of furniture) at which we have meals.

A bedroom, a study, a wardrobe, a sideboard, a writing-desk, a bookcase, a bookshelf, a sofa.

To sleep, to work, to keep clothes, to keep glassware and dishes, to write and read, to keep books.

Exercise 3. Express your agreement or disagreement with the statements below using the following phrases:

Disagreement: I don’t think so, I’m afraid you’re wrong, on the contrary, it’s not so, far from it.

Agreement: That’s right! That’s a good idea! Excellent! Why, yes, of course. By all means.

1. It is very convenient to live on the ground floor. 2. Now your friends live in the centre of the city. 3. It takes you about forty minutes to get to the University. 4. You keep your books on the writing-desk. 5. There are no modern conveniences in your house. 6. A. lives on the top floor. 7. A gas-stove is better than an electric stove.

Exercise 4. Study the following prepositions and use them while describing your room. The following questions can help you.

at the wall, in front of, in the left (right)-hand corner, to the right of, to the left of, in the centre of, in the middle of, at the opposite wall, above the table, on the wall, at the window, between the windows, round the table

1. Where is your room in your flat? 2. Do you have a wardrobe? Where is it? 3. Are there any armchairs in your room? 4. Do you have a TV set in your room? Where is it? 5. Are there any bookshelves in your room? Where are they? 6. Where is the lamp?

Exercise 5. Insert prepositions or post-verbal adverbs.

1. We have a nice flat … the centre … St. Petersburg. It is … the second floor … a new house. It is a two-room flat … a kitchen. … the kitchen there is a refrigerator to keep food cool … hot weather and a kitchen cupboard … plates and dishes. 2. How many multi-storeyed buildings are there … your street? 3. We have a lot … furniture … our dining-room. 4. Peter has a nice cottage in the country but … any conveniences. 5. The University is not far … my house. 6. Our TV set is … a special little table … the wardrobe … the right … the window. 7. There is no room (места) … (между) the sofa and the bookcase. 8. There are no engineers … my friends. 9. A portrait of Pushkin is hanging … the writing-desk. 10. It is rather dark here because there is no lamp … the table. Put that reading-lamp … the table and switch it … . 11. Who is sitting there … the armchair … front … the TV set? – It is a friend … mine. 12. I think this flat is too small … your family though I’m fond … it. 13. … the right there is a bookcase to keep books … . 14. Are we moving … our new flat next Saturday? Then we must start packing our things. Come … here, Peter. 15. Why aren’t there any curtains … the windows yet? – I’ve got silk ones, but they’re too good … kitchen-curtains. I’m going to buy something cheaper.

Exercise 6. Translate into English.

1. У вас ведь новая квартира? – Да, у меня теперь чудесная квартира в десяти минутах ходьбы от метро. Наш дом – в новом районе. – На каком этаже? – На третьем. – Большая? – Довольно большая: гостиная, кабинет, спальня, ванная и маленькая прихожая. – Ваша квартира со всеми удобствами? – Конечно. Горячая и холодная вода, центральное отопление, газ, мусоропровод и электричество. – В доме есть лифт? – Да. У нас в доме двенадцать этажей.

2. В комнате моей сестры стоит пианино, диван-кровать, круглый стол, стулья и буфет. По-моему, в ней слишком много мебели. В моей комнате меньше мебели, чем в комнате моей сестры.

3. Это самая большая и светлая комната в квартире.

4. На нашей улице три новых многоэтажных дома, в них много хороших и удобных квартир.

5. У моей семьи небольшая, но удобная, хорошо спланированная квартира в центре города. Наш дом на улице Гоголя, а наша квартира на третьем этаже. Моя комната самая маленькая, но очень уютная и светлая. В ней большое окно с красивыми занавесками. Комната очень теплая. В комнате довольно много мебели. Посредине комнаты стоит небольшой круглый стол; вокруг него несколько стульев. Направо от окна – мой письменный стол. Перед столом – кресло. Я очень люблю сидеть в этом кресле, оно мягкое и удобное. На письменном столе – масса вещей: компьютер, календарь, часы, лампа, английские и русские журналы, тетради, ручки, карандаши. Над столом – полка с книгами. Направо от двери – маленький столик со стерео системой на нем. Мы очень любим музыку. В одном из углов – диван-кровать. Рядом с диваном-кроватью встроенный платяной шкаф. Обои в моей комнате светло-коричневые. На стенах висят два портрета моих родителей и несколько фотографий и акварелей. У нас есть телефон. Он в прихожей.

Exercise 7. Ask each other direct questions according to the example.

Example: What is your address?

on what floor her/his flat is

how many storeys there are in their house

if their house is multi-storeyed

if there is electricity, gas and central heating in her/his house

how many windows there are in her/his room

what her/his telephone number is

what furniture there is in her/his room

what there is in the left-hand corner of the room (in the centre, near the window)

what is the colour of the walls of her room

which is the most comfortable room in her flat