Inside an English house

Hi, my name is Erik. I live in a small town in the south east of England.

I live in a detached house. This means that my house is not joined to another house. My house is made of bricks and tiles.

In my house there are three rooms downstairs and three rooms upstairs. We have central heating which keeps our house warm. Some houses have an open fire place but we don't. (Over 90 per cent of homes have central heating.)

Rooms Downstairs

Kitchen

If you come into my house through the back door, you will find yourself in the kitchen. This is the room where food is stored and cooked.

In my kitchen there is a fridge (refrigerator ), a freezer under the fridge where mum freezes things.

We have cupboards for food and for plates etc. We have an electric cooker. It has four rings on top and a grill and oven underneath. Microwave is very quick and easy to use. We use it to cook our food quickly. Mum washes our clothes in washing machine and hangs them out in our garden to dry. I help my mum wash up the plates in the sink. We wash the dishes in washing up bowl in the sink. We take the bowl out when we wash our hands. We have a dishwasher. We put our plates, cups and cutlery in here to wash them.

Living Room

Some people call this room the lounge. It is where the television is and the comfy chairs.

In my living room there is a table with chairs the place where we eat our meals.

In America I think they call this a sofa. It is a comfy 2 seater chair. We have Television, DVD Player and Video Recorder.

Bathroom

Most houses have a bathroom upstairs but ours is downstairs.

In my bathroom there is a toilet, a bath ( We fill the bath up with water and then climb into it to wash ourselves.), a sink with two taps (one for hot water and one for cold; I clean my teeth at the sink and also wash my hands and face), a shower ( I like having a shower rather than a bath.), a laundry basket ( this is where I put my dirty clothes for washing).

Rooms Upstairs

The three rooms upstairs are all bedrooms. They all have carpets on the floor, apart from my room. The bedrooms are kept warm by radiators in each room.

Bedroom

In my bedroom I have my own computer, wardrobe - to hang my clothes in ,cupboards with drawers for my other clothes, cupboards for all my toys, bookcase for my books, my bed. My bed is high up as I have my desk underneath it and my computer. I have my own television.

Outside my House

We have a back garden and a front garden. In the back garden there is a swing and a lawn (an area of grass) for me to play football on and to ride my bike. Mum likes to grow vegetables in the garden and plant flowers. At the bottom of my garden is a river. In the front garden is a small lawn surrounded by loads of flowers and plants.

EXERCISE 4. Answer the following questions:

1. Where do most people live in England?

2. How many people own their homes?

3. Do some British rent a flat from a private landlord?

4. What is a mortgage?

5. What are houses in England like?

6. What types of houses do you know?

7. The rising cost of houses is a big problem, isn’t it?

8. What was the average house price in 2007?

9. What was the average wage per year in 2007?

10. What is inside an English house?

11. What is there on the ground floor ( downstairs )?

12. What is there on the first floor ( upstairs )?

13. Do they usually have a back garden and a front garden?

14. Do people love to grow vegetables and plants in their gardens?

EXERCISE 5. Be ready to speak on one of these topics:

1. Housing in the UK.

2. A typical British house.