Housing and Home téma

Housing and Home – maturitná téma z angličtiny: Bývanie a domov

Home (place) is more than place with four walls with a roof and where the people feel safe and relaxed. It is cooking, eating, talking, playing, arguing. Some people feel that home is their birthplace and they feel safe and relaxed.

House (building) is a building for people to live, usually with a garden. Houses are different in differend countries:

In cold countries – they have a fireplace in living room and woodstove in kitchen.
In hot countries – people prefer cool stone floors and carpet. It is a house with no walls. They have blinds to stop rain or sun. In Samoa they have no furniture just rugs.

Proverbs about house and home

„Home sweet home“
„East or west, home is best“
„My house – my castle“

Types of houses

a) A detached house – rodinný dom
(building usually with garden, family house)
b) A semi-detached house – dvojdom
(2 house together with font and back garden)
c) Row houses (terraced) – radové domy
(several houses together)
d) Bungallow – only grand floor (with one level floor)
Typical in Australia, New Zealand.
e) Block of flat – panelák (apartment – AmE)
(large building with a lot of flats), flat is a set of room

Some people who live in cihes have houses in the countryside where they go every weekend – it´s a cottage country cottage.

Cottage in Britain – There are a wooden beams and thatched roof.

Places to live

You can live:

in the centre of the town or in suburb (on area)
in the country (far away from other people)
in village
housing estate – block of flat
residential area

The people if they don´t have enough money, they take a mortgage).

Homeless people

Homeless people – people, who don´t have a home.

don´t have a home because: example – they haven´t a job and they can´t pay rent
lost job, no money
they give all money from alcohol, cigarettes

Typical English and American houses

Typical English house

Downstairs – kitchen, living room, bathroom (dining room)
Upstairs – bedrooms, bathrooms

Typical American house

master´s bedroom with a bathroom
bedroom from children
large living room
toilet, lavatory, loo

Advantages / Disadvantages

1. In the centre of the town or in suburb

Advantages (A): shopping facilities, good health care, good schools, work places, good resonable Internet, bars, disco...

Disadvantages (D): noise, a lot of car, many people, expensive flats...

2. In the country

Advantages (A): calm, nature, mountains, groves, low cost of living

Disadvantages (D): no bars, disco, lesser people, a fore pensioners

3. In village

Advantages (A): around town, low cost of living, houses have a garden, satellite TV, resonable Internet

Disadvantages (D): lesser shops, usually small people

4. Housing estate – block of flat

Advantages (A): park, shops, many people, sportground for children

Disadvantages (D): roads, a lot of cars, noise

5. Residential area