Английский язык для студентов университетов. Чтение, письменная и устная практика (стр. 12 из 42)
2. Мы откровенно поговорили и сошлись на том, что я буду помогать жене по дому: мыть посуду, иногда гладить, выносить ведро и, само собой разумеется, раз в три месяца буду делать генеральную уборку.
3. У тебя есть возможности приобрести практический опыт. Только не ленись, и ты всему научишься. Домашние дела утомительны, но если ты все будешь откладывать на завтра, твоя квартира скоро будет в ужасном состоянии.
4. Я хочу почистить ванну и раковину на кухне, но у меня нет ни чистящего средства, ни просто порошка. Может, хозяйственное мыло сгодится. Если как следует потереть жёсткой щёткой, то все пятна отойдут.
5. Пока Сюзанна стирала в ванной бельё, телефон все время звонил именно тогда, когда у неё руки были по локоть в мыле. Приходилось каждый раз вытирать их о передник и то и дело бегать к телефону.
6. Моя тётушка сожгла очередное платье.Она такая рассеянная, что каждый раз, когда гладит, что-нибудь подпалит.
7. Мои друзья полны надежд. Они купили посудомоечную машину и теперь радуются, что посуду будут мыть один раз в день, да и то не своими руками. Конечно, это так экономит время и силы!
8. Мне нравится пылесосить. Это удобней, чем подметать пол шваброй. Нагибаться не надо и специальными щетками можно убрать пыль под любой мебелью — диваном, креслом, плитой. Совсем не тратишь никаких усилий.
9. Я посадила пятно на блузку. Потёрла осторожно мыльной тряпкой, но пятно не сошло, а, наоборот, стало ещё больше.
10. Когда ведёшь хозяйство, приходится заниматься обычными утомительными делами: стиркой, уборкой, мытьём посуды, гладить, готовить.
11. Мой сын совсем неопытен в домашних делах. Поэтому, когда он моет посуду, ему не приходит в голову, что сначала надо всё аккуратно разобрать, вымыть чашки и стаканы, затем — тарелки и приборы, а уж в самом конце — жирные кастрюли и сковородки.
12. В раковине высилась гора посуды и даже на полу стояли кастрюли. Стол был усыпан очистками и уставлен мисками. В общем, на кухне был ужасный беспорядок.
13. Мэри развесила бельё на верёвке и прикрепила прищепками. Чулки повесила пятками вверх.
14. Я смертельно устала после генеральной уборки. Но ничего не поделаешь. Само собой ничего не делается. Приходится тратить время и силы, чтобы привести дом в порядок. Зато как чисто теперь в доме!
Exercise 25
Problem points.
Read the passages below and say what you think of men sharing house chores with women. Give your reasons. Ask your groupmates 1) if they find it necessary to distinguish between men's and women's domestic chores;
2) if men can manage domestic chores properly; 3) if they have ever met an ideal househusband; 4) what they think of feminists.
A.
Waiting for my wash in one of Virginia Tech's laundries, I watched a young man doing what was obviously his first load of laundry.
After finding a free sorting table, he carefully separated his clothes into three piles — lights, darks and whites. As he did so he smiled to himself, perhaps proud of remembering his mother's instructions. Then, after starting a machine and adding detergent, he confidently loaded the wash tub — with all three piles.
(from «Readers Digest»)
B.
Claudia thinks of herself as a feminist. She is sure that women should have the same rights, power and opportunities as men. A housewife, to her mind, is an unwaged worker and she just cannot put up with it. So she is trying to change her husband's daily routine making him share the house chores with her. Unfortunately, he is not much of a househusband, unlike my husband who is strikingly different and is really handy.
Claudia regards my husband as the perfect model and thinks I am lucky to have such a partner. And it is true. John helps a fair amount with the household work. He is quite helpful when we do a thorough cleaning. Taking down and putting up the curtains, tidying up, vacuuming the rooms — all this is his part, to say nothing of the man's work which he has to do from time to time. If something goes wrong — the plumbing may get clogged or start leaking or the tap may start dripping — I never call a plumber. John can mend it himself. If an electrical appliance — be it a mixer or a washing machine — gets out of order we never call a maintenance worker as my husband can fix anything. If our flat needs decorating it is John who papers the rooms, plasters the walls and the ceiling. Once Bobby broke the window and my husband glazed it in no time. We do not need a TV repairman — John can even fix televisions. All my friends say he has a wonderful pair of hands. Last year he finished building our country house and we have quite a large lot — so my husband's spare time is used in gardening and we can always enjoy fresh vegetables. Isn't it nice? Well, my dear, dear husband — he never keeps track of what he does. We really share everything with him. My son and I, we usually break things while my poor husband sets them right.
And how about Claudia's husband — a victim of feminism? Just fancy! She made a list of the house chores he is supposed to do this week. She wants him to nail the picture. Frankly speaking, I doubt he could pound a nail in let alone hang a picture. Mind you, he can tell a hammer from a spoon, but Claudia wants him to paint the floor in the kitchen, and I am sure if he did the paint would peel in a week. She hopes he will cover the bathroom wall with tiles but he can't stick a thing.
You may think he is not a man. But he is. I think him very, very intelligent and generous and well-mannered. The problem is he is no match for a feminist wife. She may do her best to change him but the most he can do is take their dog for a walk. Even then, watching them it's hard to tell who's taking who.
Exercise 26
Work in pairs. Ask your partner the questions given below and find out how his/her family keeps house.
1. Who runs the house in your family?
2. Do other members share household chores with your mother?
3. What work about the house do you do every day and what is done once a season?
4. What makes your home cosy?
5. What labour-saving devices do you have at home?
6. Do you vacuum the floor or sweep it with a broom? Do you ever use a mop to clean the floor?
7. Is your flat crammed with things or does it have just a minimum of furniture in it?
8. How often is a thorough turn-out done in your family? Are you usually tired after the thorough clean-up?
9. How often do you redecorate the rooms? Do you do your own redecoration and repairing or do you prefer to have it done?
Exercise 27
Give the Russian equivalents to the following English idioms including some words and word combinations used in the Lesson. Try to understand whether they have anything to do with the topic discussed.
washto wash one's dirty linen in the public it will all come out in the wash
sweepa new broom sweeps clean iron to have (put) many (too many) irons in the fire
dustto shake dust from one's feet to dust somebody's coat for him to throw dust into somebody's eyes to give somebody a dusting
dustbinto throw into the dustbin (waste-basket)
soapsoft soap
messto clear up the mess to (be) in a mess
houseto keep a good house (table)
to keep the house
to put one's house in order
Exercise 28
Highlight the meanings of the English proverbs and use them in situations of your own.
1. As is the workman so is the work.
2. No pain no gain.
3. Haste makes waste.
4. A stitch in time saves nine.
5. Well begun is half done.
Exercise 29
Translate the quotations and comment upon them.
'A woman's place is in the house ... and the Senate.'
Bumper sticker, Washington, D.C.
'Housekeeping ain't no joke.'
Louise May Alcott
'There was no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse.'
Quentin Crist
'The whole process of homemaking, housekeeping and cooking which ever has been woman's special province should be looked on as an art and a profession.'
Sarah Joseph Hale
Exercise 30
Role-play "The Meeting in the Women's Club"
Setting: Women's club "Housewives United".
Situation: Housewives of York community usually gather on Saturday evenings in their women's club. On this day they have a chat about their domestic chores.
Characters:
Card I-II Rosie and Lizzie Two sisters who often help each other.
Card III-IV Lola and Paula. Two divorced friends, feminists, who hate domestic work.
Card V-VI Gracie and Tracey. Two widows who live alone now but go to see their married daughters every week and help them about the house.
Card VII-VIII Molly and Dolly. Two friends, mothers of families with five children.
Card IX-X Anita and Augusta. Two career women with no children. Anita is lucky to have a househusband.
WRITING
Exercise 1
Learn the spelling of the italicized words from Introductory Readingand exercise 1 on page 93 and be ready to write a dictation.
Exercise 2
In the table below, list in note form the advantages and disadvantages of:
1. handwashing;
2. machine washing;
3. sending the washing to the laundry.
Use the following structures:
One advantage of doing washing by hand is that you can ...
The trouble with doing your own laundry is that you don't (can't) ...
The main drawback of washing things by hand is that the clothes and linen ...
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| ————— | ————— |
Exercise 3
Expand your notes into a paragraph of 100 words summarizing the main advantages and disadvantages of having a washing-machine as compared to hand washing and taking the washing to the laundry. Write which way of doing the washing is preferable for your family.
Note:
A paragraph is a piece of writing which consists of a number of closely related sentences developing one idea. A well written paragraph should display three features: unity, balanced length and balanced structure.
Unity means that the paragraph deals with one topic only, which may be expressed in the topic sentence opening the paragraph. In further sentences the topic is developed and is logically brought to the last sentence which sums up the ideas.
Balanced length means that neither the paragraph itself, nor the sentences constituting it should be too long (longer than three lines).
Balanced structure means that each sentence must lead to the following one and all must be linked up. All sentences should be arranged in a clear logical order. If the paragraph itself is a part of a larger unit, it must show some reference to the preceding or following paragraphs. To provide this there may be linking sentences. They either take up the thread of previous paragraphs or state the theme for the following paragraphs.
Exercise 4
Write an essay on one of the following topics.
1. How I Did a Thorough Cleaning.
2. I'm the World's Worst Ironer/Washer.
3. Mum Is the Best Housewife I Have Ever Met.
4. Dad Hates Doing Everyday Domestic Chores.
INTRODUCTORY READING AND TALK
Buying foodstuffs in a modern supermarket can be considered a sort of art. It is the art of combating a temptation.
Supermarkets play a dirty trick on the customers: practically every shopper is tempted to buy things he or she does not need or cannot afford.
The mechanism of this lamentable deceit is simple. Firstly, supermarkets are laid out to make a person pass as many shelves and counters as possible. Only the hardest of souls can pass loaded racks indifferently and not collect all sorts of food from them.
Secondly, more and more supermarkets supply customers with trolleys instead of wire baskets: their bigger volume needs more purchases. One picks up a small item, say, a pack of spaghetti, puts it into a huge trolley and is immediately ashamed of its loneliness. He or she starts adding more.
Thirdly, all products are nicely displayed on the racks and all of them look fresh in their transparent wrappings with marked prices. A normal person cannot ignore attractively packed goods. And so one cannot but feel an impulse to buy. And, finally, supermarkets don't forget about those who look for bargains. The so-called "bargain bins" filled with special offers wait for their victims. No one can tell for sure if the prices are really reduced, but it is so nice to boast later that you have a very good eye for a bargain.
So when a simple-hearted customer approaches a check-out, his or her trolley is piled high. Looking at a cashier, running her pen over barcodes, he or she starts getting nervous while the cash register is adding up the prices. And, getting a receipt, he or she gives a sigh of relief if the indicated sum does not exceed the cash he or she has.
Of course, one can give a piece of advice to the simple-hearted: compile a shopping list and buy only pre-planned goods. But is it worth losing that great sensation of buying? One can really wonder.
A lot of people prefer to do their shopping in small shops. The daily shopping route of some housewives includes visits to the baker's, butcher's, grocer's, greengrocer's, fishmonger's and a dairy shop. In the end of the route their bags are full of loaves of bread, meat cuts, packs with cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy products. Only very strong women can call in at the tobacconist's after all that.
The explanation for this housewives' craze is very simple. In every shop their buys are weighed, wrapped up, their money taken and the change given back. Meanwhile they can have a chat with salesgirls and shop-assistants about their weak hearts and broken hopes.
So, friends, go shopping as often as you can. Because the simple truth is: a visit to a good shop is worth two visits to a good doctor.
1. Fancy that you take a little child to a supermarket for the first time. Explain to him what you see around and what one should do.
2. Describe a) the supermarket closest to your block of flats;
b) your favourite supermarket.
3. Say how you buy goods in an ordinary shop and in a supermarket.
4. Say what one can buy in the shops mentioned in the text (baker's, butcher's, etc.)
○ TEXT
Shopping for One
(A story by Anne Cassidy. Abridged)