VI. In five minutes write down as many things as you can think of. You should write your routines in full sentences, using adverbs of frequency.

Use these adverbs of frequency: always; very often; usually; normally; from time to time; twice / once a week; rather seldom; ever; scarcely; rarely; never.

VII. Tell about your daily routine when a child. Compare it with your present daily routine. Think about the following points: studies, everyday activities, leisure activities, food / clothes, likes / dislikes.

Use the following phrases:

When a child I used to …, but now I …

I never used to …

I spent most of my time …, but now I …

I was / am keen on …

I was / am a addict.

I couldn’t / can’t live without …

The best treat of all was / is …

I found … enjoyable, but now I find … boring / interesting.

I’ve decided to give up …

But I’m not going to give up …

 

VIII. Carry out a survey titled “How to organize your day”. Ask your fellow students:

1. how much time they spend: working, sleeping, washing and getting dressing, eating and drinking, shopping, travelling, doing housework, studying, reading, watching TV or listening to the radio / music, performing other leisure activities, doing nothing;

2. which activities they enjoy doing and how long they spend on them;

3. which activities they do not enjoy doing and how long they spend on them;

4. if there is something they don’t have time to do or would like to spend more time doing;

5. if there is some way they could organize their time differently and how.

IX. What do you usually do at this time?

06.30. 07.15 08.30. 10.00. 12.50. 14.00. 15.20. 18.00. 19.30. 20.45. 22.00. 23.30.

 

Domestic chores

Life is not all roses. There are also dirty dishes, torn and stained clothes, dusty furniture and a washing machine that is out of work. Every day we should do a lot of work about the house to make our life easier, nicer and more comfortable. How do people organize their work about the house? For some of them it’s a dreadful thing, while the others hardly notice this work.

X. Give a description of:

a) an untidy kitchen

use: to squeeze something to something, to be piled high with something, to be cluttered with peelings, basins, etc., to be in awful mess, to spill rice, flour, etc., not to manage one’s household chores properly, to leak, to drip something all over the floor, to scrub, a stiff brush, ragged;

b) a room in a mess

use: unattractive, shabby, broken, to give a place a clean-out, to be littered with something, to stain, finger marks, to put things tidy, to do the repairs, to need decorating, to be crammed with something, to find chaos, not to have been decorated for years, to be in a hideous mess, to be in a horrid condition, to smell unaired, can hardly move about, to knock something over, to be not much of a housewife, to do a thorough turn out;

c) a neat room

use: an efficient housewife, to clean the room from top to bottom, a lovely colour scheme, to look neat, spacious, to have a minimum of furniture, newly decorated, vivid colours of upholstery and paintings, in good taste, to be comfortably finished with something, potted flowers, spick and span, to vacuum the room, to owe much of its charm to something, to give a bright mood;

d) he most boring house chores

use: to get bored with something, to make somebody nervous, to hate doing something, to get through the usual tedious business of doing something, to turn a blind eye to the state of the things.

 

XI. Match the names of household objects with the verbals denoting household chores:

Pattern: a) A toaster is used for making toasts.

          b) It’s nice to have a toaster as you can easily make a couple of pieces of toast for breakfast.

1. a vacuum cleaner                                    A. washing up

2. a sewing machine                                    B. ironing and pressing

3. a dish washer                                                           C. peeling potatoes

4. a washing machine                                 D. heating a flat

5. an electric iron                                         E. polishing the floor

6. an electric potato-peeler                         F. beating carpets

7. a floor polisher                                          G. washing clothes

8. a refrigerator (a fridge)                            H. mixing all sorts of foodstuffs

9. a boiler                                                       I. making and mending clothes

10. a carpet beater                                         J. refrigerating food

11. a mixer                                                       K. vacuuming (cleaning)

XII. Say which of the household objects you need to perform activities mentioned in the left column.

Pattern: a) Dusting the furniture is done best of all if you have a soapy cloth.

          b) It’s much better to use a soapy cloth for dusting the furniture.

1. cleaning washbasins, sinks, baths                       A. a detergent

2. washing                                                                     B. a dustbin

3. mopping the floor                                                     C. a stiff brush

4. drying cups and plates                                                            D. a washbasin

5. scrubbing the floor                                                   E. clothes-lines

6. keeping household refuse                                     F. a broom

7. sweeping the floor                                                   G. a dustpan

8. hanging (out) one’s washing                                 H. a cleanser

9. washing up                                                                I. a plate rack

10. getting the dirt with a broom                                  J. a mop