39. Accommodation CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR FCE

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR FCE

39. Accommodation

Task 1. VERBS Rearrange the words in bold and write them in the grid on the right. The first letter of each word has been underlined. When you have finished, you will find another word which means 'to make a building like new again' in the shaded vertical strip.

1	I really think we should rocedeta the kitchen. What colour do you think would be best?
2	We need to tern a flat in the middle of town, but I think they're quite expensive.
3	The landlord is going to netexd the lease on our flat.
4	The council want to medoshli our apartment block as they think it's dangerous.
5	I think the landlord is going to ticve us soon; he's says we make too much noise.
6	We plan to seale our spare offices to an American company.
7	The flat is to tle at £1,000 per month.
8	They've bought a new house and are going to meov ni next week.

Task 2. NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

A. Read the descriptions 1 - 14 and decide which type of accommodation is being described in each one. Use your dictionary to look up the meanings of the adjectives in bold.

detached house	semi-detached house	house	mansion
palace	castle	bungalow	cottage
caravan	prison cell	hospital ward	barracks
houseboat	flat

1	It's quite an old house, and the walls are paper-thin, so we can hear everything the neighbours on both sides are doing.
2	There are three of us in here and it's really claustrophobic, especially as we can't open the window and the door is locked all the time. Oh well, only another 7 years to go!
3	The patients on either side of me are really nice, which is good because otherwise this place is really depressing. I hope I get well soon.
4	Towers and turrets, bastions and battlements. Mist on the moat and dragons under the drawbridge. This place is awe-inspiring.
5	It's a bit cramped, but the great advantage is that, when we get fed up with one place, we just attach it to the back of the car and move on.
6	It's lovely out here in the countryside and we try to spend as much time here as possible. It's quite a little house, but very cosy, of course.
7	It's a very large, spacious house with a long drive, beautiful gardens and a view over the golf course. There are fifteen bedrooms, although we don't use them all of course!
8	Although we live in the city, our house stands alone in its own garden. This means that we don't get any noise from the neighbours on either side.
9	Our next-door neighbour likes to play loud music at night, so we moved the bedroom to the other side of the house where there aren't any neighbours directly next door
10	I'm not sure who lives there now, but at one time it was the residence of King George III. It's very grandiose; 120 bedrooms and almost 600 hectares of land.
11	My grandparents bought it last year. Its main advantage is that it only has one floor, so they don't have to worry about climbing any stairs.
12	It's moored on the River Thames near London. It's very peaceful, apart from the noise from the ducks and geese.
13	The block where we live is next to the underground station. It's smaller than our old house, of course, but we have a great view from the 8th floor.
14	There are fifteen of us in here, but the sergeant-major makes sure we keep it tidy. If we don't, we get extra guard-duty!

B. The box below contains a list of words giving the names of different rooms and other parts of a house or flat. These words have all been joined together, and to make it more difficult for you, they have all been written backwards! Can you separate them into individual words?

roolftsrifroolfdnuorglaireanoisiveletyenmihcfoorynoclabecarretnedragsriatscittamoord ebmoorhtabrallecllahnehctikmoorgninidmoorgnivil  ←Start here, and read backwards.

British English	American English
Ground floor            = First floor First floor                 = Second floor Garden                     = Yard Terraced house        = Townhouse Detached house       = One-family house Flat                          = Apartment Bungalow                = Ranch house Caravan                   = Trailer

In American English, the living room is sometimes called the den.

In Cambridge exams like the FCE and the CAE, American English is acceptable, provided you use it consistently.

Task 3. IDIOMS, COLLOQUIALISMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS Look at the following sentences and decide whether the explanations which follow them are TRUE or FALSE.

1	The hotel is a real home from home. The hotel is not very comfortable. TRUE / FALSE
2	He lay down on the sofa, opened a bottle of beer and made himself at home. He behaved differently from the way he did in his own house. TRUE / FALSE
3	His new job is nothing to write home about. His new job is not very exciting or special. TRUE / FALSE
4	The pub serves homely food. The food in the pub is not very good. TRUE / FALSE
5	I had to tell her a few home truths. I had to tell her some unpleasant facts about her. TRUE / FALSE
6	Cheer up, we're in the home straight now! We've been working on a long project and have almost finished it. TRUE / FALSE
7	James lives in cardboard city. James lives in a very comfortable house. TRUE / FALSE
8	The staff in the hotel were very accommodating. The staff in the hotel were very helpful. TRUE / FALSE
9	Caron is my flat-mate. Caron lives in the flat next door to mine. TRUE / FALSE
10	It's been a long, hard project, but we're almost home and dry. The project is almost successfully finished. TRUE / FALSE
11	We need to drive the hammer home as soon as possible. We need to start working as soon as possible. TRUE / FALSE
12	I took a job working as a home help. I took a job helping people to move from one home to another. TRUE / FALSE

ANSWER KEY