VOCABULARY BANK

Houses
1 WHERE PEOPLE LIVE suburbs or outskirts?
The suburbs is a residential area outside the
a C o m p le te th e P rep o sitio n c o lu m n w ith in o r on. center of a large city.
Littleton is a suburb of Denver.
Preposition
The outskirts is the area around a city that is
1 I live the country, surrounded by fields. in the farthest from the center of the city.
They live on the outskirts of Vancouver.
2 I live the outskirts of Boston, about 5 miles from
the center of the city.
b 4 19))) L is te n a n d c h e c k .
3 Hive a village (a tow n/a city).
4 I live in Del Mar, a small town the West Coast. c C o v e r th e P re p o sitio n c o lu m n . S a y th e
s e n te n c e s w ith th e c o r r e c t p re p o s itio n .
5 I live the second floor of a large apartment
building. d D e s c r i b e w h e r e y o u liv e t o y o u r p a r t n e r .
6 I live Littleton, a suburb of Denver about 11 miles
from the center of the city.

2 PARTS OF A HOUSE OR AN APARTMENT BUILDING

a M a tc h th e w o rd s an d p ic tu re s .

An apartm ent building A house

b a lc o n y /'b selk o n i/ 1 c h i m n e y /' t ji m n i/
b a s e m e n t /'h e ism o n t/ d e c k /d ek / /
e n t r a n c e /'e n t ra n s/ p a t io /'p te tio o /

first f l o o r g a te /g e il/

/ f a r s t fla r / r o o f /r o f /
(BritE g r o u n d f l o o r ) ste p s /s te p s /
1 to p f l o o r / t u p fla r/ w a lk w a y 'w a k w e i/

w a ll/w a l/

b 4 20))) L is te n a n d c h e c k . C o v e r th e w o r d s a n d lo o k a t th e
p ic tu r e s . T e s t y o u r s e lf.

3 DESCRIBING A HOUSE OR AN APARTMENT

a M a tc h th e d e s c r ip tio n s a n d p h o to s .

I live in a cabin in the woods. It’s old and I live in a modern apartment
made of logs. The rooms have very low in the city. It’s spacious and
ceilings. There’s a fireplace in the living room, very light, with wood floors
and it’s very cozy in the winter. and big windows.

b 4 21))) L is te n a n d c h e c k . F o c u s o n h o w th e h ig h lig h te d p h r a s e s a r e p r o n o u n c e d ,

c C o v e r th e d e s c r ip t io n s a n d lo o k a t th e p h o to s . D e s c r ib e th e r o o m s .

^ 3 chimney or fireplace?
In English, chimney only refers to the structure on the roof of the house.
Fireplace is the place where you burn wood or coal.
roof or ceiling?
Roof is the top part of a house. Ceiling is the top part of a room.

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 Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave
and grow old wanting to get back to.
John Ed Pearce, US journalist

IB Ideal home

1 GRAMMAR second conditional 2 PRONUNCIATION sentence stress

a M a t c h t h e s e n t e n c e h a lv e s . a L is te n a n d c o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s .

1 I f w e h a d t h e t im e , 1 If I exercised m o r e . I ’d b e a lo t h e a lt h ie r .
2 I w o u ld lik e m y a p a r t m e n t m o r e 2 I ’d ________________ m y o w n _________________ i f I h a d a
3 L u k e w o u ld b e a b le to g e t a jo b in T o k y o g a rd en .

4 I f m y s is t e r d id n ’t w o r k s o h a r d , 3 W o u Id y o u ________________ a _________________ i f y o u h a d

5 I f w e b o u g h t a b ig g e r h o u s e in t h e s u b u r b s , en ou gh m oney?

6 I f t h e y c o u ld liv e a n y w h e r e t h e y w a n t e d t o ,
7 W e ’d h a v e m o r e p r iv a c y
8 I w o u ld n ’t w a n t t o liv e i n N e w Y o r k C ity ,
a s h e c o u ld s p e n d m o r e t i m e w i t h h e r c h ild r e n ,
b t h e y ’d m o v e to C a l i f o r n i a ,
c i f h e c o u ld s p e a k b e t t e r J a p a n e s e .
4 I f it w e r e m y h o u s e , I __________________________________ th e
k it c h e n b ig g e r .
5 I __________________________________s o h a r d i f I d id n ’t h a v e
p a y s o m u c h r e n t.
b L is t e n a g a in a n d r e p e a t t h e s e n t e n c e s . C o p y t h e r h y t h m
c M a tc h th e w o rd s w ith th e s a m e so u n d s.

d w e ’d d o t h e h o u s e w o r k o u r s e lv e s . 1 c o s y ------ a su b u rb
e i f w e d id n ’t h a v e t o s h a r e a n a p a r t m e n t , 2 c e il in g "------- b k it c h e n
f u n l e s s I e a r n e d a lo t o f m o n e y 3 to w n c w a lk w a y
g i f it w e r e o n t h e t o p f lo o r , 4 c o u n try d sh o w er
h w e ’d b e a b le t o h a v e a d o g . 5 s p a c io u s e g ro u n d
6 b a lc o n y f b asem en t
b C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s w ith th e c o r r e c t fo r m o f th e
v e rb s in p a r e n th e s e s . U s e th e s e c o n d c o n d itio n a l. d L is te n a n d c h e c k . T h e n lis te n a g a in an d

1 If I h ad m o r e tim e . Vd p ain t m y r o o m m y s e lf , re p e a t th e w o rd s.

(h a v e , p a in t)
2 L u c y ’s r o o m ________________ b e t t e r o r g a n i z e d i f
3 VOCABULARY houses
s h e ________________ i t m o r e o f t e n , ( b e , c le a n )
3 I ________________ m y c a r t o w o r k i f 1 _________________ a C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s w ith in o r on a n d a p h r a s e
a p a rk in g sp a ce , (n o t ta k e , n o t have) fr o m th e b o x .

4 ________________ y o u _________________ y o u r jo b i f y o u
the fourth floor the outskirts a suburb
________________ a lo t o f m o n e y ? ( k e e p , w in ) the West Coast the woods
5 J a c k ________________ h i s m o t h e r e v e r y d a y i f h e
1 W e ’r e lo o k in g a t a p a r t m e n t s o u ts id e o f t h e c it y . W e
________________ a g ir lf r ie n d , ( n o t c a l l , h a v e )
w a n t t o liv e in a suburb .
6 W e ________________ s o o f t e n i f o u r s t o v e _________________
2 S a r a b o u g h t a s m a l l c a b i n __________________________
b ro k e n , (n o t e a t o u t, n o t b e)
b e c a u s e s h e lo v e s lo o k in g a t t h e b ir d s a n d t r e e s .
7 I f I ________________ a b ig a r g u m e n t w ith m y n e ig h b o r s
3 H e r e ’s y o u r k ey . Y o u r r o o m i s ____________________________
b e c a u s e o f a p r o b le m , I ________________ a w a y , (h a v e ,
4 I ’d lo v e t o liv e b y t h e o c e a n , m a y b e
n o t m ove)
•
8 I f o u r h o u s e ________________ s o s m a l l, y o u ______________
5 C h r i s l i v e s __________________________ o f t h e c it y , s o h e h a s
a l l s ta y t h e n ig h t , ( n o t b e , c a n )
to c o m m u t e d o w n t o w n e v e r y day.
9 ________________ y o u _________________i f y o u _______________
y o u r a l a r m ? (w a k e u p , n o t s e t)
10 I f w e ________________ a n o t h e r b a t h r o o m , t h e r e
________________ a li n e f o r t h e s h o w e r , ( h a v e , n o t b e )

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b C o m p le te th e a d s.

This 1modern apartment is on the

2t____________ fl_____________of a building 4 LISTENING
with magnificent views of the Charles River. a L is t e n t o a g u id e g iv i n g a t o u r o f E l v i s P r e s l e y ’s h o m e ,
It has three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a G r a c e l a n d . N u m b e r t h e p la c e s a n d p a r t s o f t h e h o u s e i n t h e o r d e r
large 3sp____________ kitchen. The living y o u h e a r a b o u t th e m .
room has a 4w____________ fl_____________
a T V ro o m □ e d in in g r o o m □
and there is carpet in all the bedrooms. There
is a large5b____________ outside the living
b m u s ic r o o m □ f b asem en t □
room with space for a table, chairs, and c liv in g r o o m □ g t h e w a lls □
plants. There is a garage in th e 6 b___________ d th e fr o n t d o o r m
with room for two cars. b L is te n a g a in a n d a n s w e r th e q u e s tio n s .

1 W h e n w a s t h e h o u s e b u ilt ?
In the early twentieth century.
2 H o w lo n g d id E lv is P r e s le y liv e i n G r a c e la n d ?

3 W h e n d id h e g e t m a r r ie d ?

4 H o w m a n y c h ild r e n d id h e h a v e ?

5 H o w m a n y T V s d id E lv is P r e s l e y h a v e i n t h e T V r o o m ?

6 A t w h a t t i m e d id E lv is P r e s le y u s u a lly w a k e u p ?
T h i s o l d - f a s h i o n e d 7 c ________________
is s i t u a t e d o n a q u i e t m o u n t a i n r o a d .
7 O t h e r t h a n e a t in g m e a l s , w h a t d id E lv is P r e s le y lik e t o d o i n t h e
I t h a s a k i t c h e n , li v i n g r o o m , a n d
d in in g r o o m ?
t w o s m a l l , b u t 8 c ________________
b e d r o o m s . A ll t h e r o o m s h a v e lo w
8 O n w h a t f l o o r d id E lv is P r e s l e y ’s p a r e n t s h a v e a r o o m ?
9 c ________________ , a n d t h e w a l l s a r e
m a d e o f 101_________________ T h e r e is a
11 f ________________ in t h e li v i n g r o o m , c L i s t e n a g a in w i t h t h e a u d i o s c r i p t o n p . 7 4 .
h u t th e h o u s e a ls o h a s c e n tr a l h e a t.
T h e r e is a s m a l l 12 d ________________ o n
t h e s id e o f t h e h o u s e w i t h a p r e t t y
v ie w o f t h e m o u n t a in s . S e v e r a l
b e a u t i f u l s t o n e 13s________________ le a d
t o t h e f r o n t 14 e ________________ o f t h e
h ou se.

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 5 READING b M a tc h th e h e a d in g s w ith th e p a r a g r a p h s
in th e a r t ic le . T h e r e a r e tw o e x tr a
a R e a d t h e a r t i c l e o n c e a n d c h o o s e t h e b e s t t i t l e f o r it. h e a d in g s th a t y o u d o n o t n e e d to u se .

1 T o p t ip s o n b u y in g a n e w h o u s e A W h a t w a s th e re b e fo re ?
2 F in d i n g o u t w h e r e y o u r e a lly liv e B F lo w m u c h d o h o u s e h i s t o r i a n s c h a r g e ?
3 T h e m o s t in t e r e s t i n g h o u s e s t o v is i t in L o n d o n C H o w c a n you d o it y o u r s e lf?
D W h a t d o e s a h o u s e h is to r ia n d o?
1 D_ E W h a t d o you n eed to b e c o m e a h o u se
Are you interested in the history of your house? If you are, then you might h i s t o r ia n ?
want to get in touch with a house historian. A house historian’s job is to F W h a t h a s o n e h o u s e h is t o r ia n
find out what has happened to a particular house in the past. They try to d is c o v e r e d ?
discover who built the house, who has lived in the building since it was built,
c L o o k a t th e h ig h lig h te d w o rd s a n d
and what was on the site of the building before. Their research can uncover
p h ra se s. W h a t d o you th in k th e y m e a n ?
all kinds of interesting information.
U s e y o u r d ic tio n a r y t o lo o k u p th e ir
2 _ m e a n in g a n d p r o n u n c ia tio n .
We spoke to house historian Tracy Collins, who told us some of her stories.
One of the houses she had to research was an apartment at 200 Oxford Street d C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s w ith o n e o f th e
in London. She discovered that the author George Orwell had once stayed h ig h lig h te d w o rd s o r p h r a s e s .
with the owners of the apartment. He had slept in the smallest bedroom in 1 T h e p o lic e a r e lookin g into a
the apartment, which was very dark. Later, when he wrote his novel 1964, r o b b e r y a t th e s c h o o l.
he used the room as the inspiration 2 I ’m g o in g t o ________________ m y f a m ily
for the famous Room 101. On another h is t o r y .
occasion, she was looking into the 3 S o m e o f t h e h o u s e s in t h i s to w n
story of an apartment building in __________________________________t o t h e
Orchard Court, also in London. She s e v e n te e n th ce n tu ry .
found out that the apartment had been
4 I d id n ’t p a in t m y liv in g r o o m . I t w a s d o n e
used by spies during the World War II.
b y t h e ________________ o w n e r o f t h e h o u s e .
First of all, the spies were invited to the
5 W h e n t h e w a s h i n g m a c h in e f i n i s h e s ,
building for a job interview. If they were
c a n y o u ________________ t h e c lo t h e s t o d ry ,
successful, they took a training course.
p le a s e ?
After the course, they returned to the
6 Y o u s h o u ld a lw a y s r e a d t h e ________________
apartment for their instructions.Then,
b e f o r e y o u t r y to b u ild a b o o k c a s e .
they were sent on a mission. But Tracy’s
third story is even more dramatic.
When she was investigating a house in
another part of London, she discovered USEFUL WORDS AND
that a murder had happened there! PHRASES
3 _ L e a r n th ese w ord s and p h rases.
However, house historians do not only focus on one particular house.
b o o k case / 'b o k k e i s /
They also find out about the area where the house was built. Some areas
p ro p e rty / 'p r a p a r t i /
are completely different now than they were in the past. One example is
an area in Central London called Belgravia. Today, it is one of the richest t o w e r / 't a o a r /

neighborhoods in the world, but in the early nineteenth century, it was a h a n g (a p ic t u r e ) /1ıæ ŋ /
poorer area. People used to go there during the day to hang their laundry or o v e r lo o k (s th ) / o o v a r 'lu k /
to collect plants for food. At night, many people would avoid the area because re m a in / r i'm e in /
it was full of criminals. s e t t l e ( in a v illa g e ) /'s e tl/
H p la in /p le in /
If you can’t afford to pay a professional to research the history of your p e a c e a n d q u ie t /p is a n 'k w a ia t/
house, you can try to research the past yourself. The best place to start is to t u r n in t o / t a r n 'in ta /
find all the official documents belonging to your house. These should give
you some idea of who the previous owners were. After that, you should
go to the office that has the official documents of your area. Some of these FILE 7
go back hundreds of years! You may not find out anything particularly
interesting about your house, but you'll definitely to enjoy the search.

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