Has the Old Sentimentality of Neighbourhoods Receded?

 

This is one person’s opinion: ‘ What kind of relationship thereshould be among the people who live next door? What should you do if you see them in the yard – discuss some local affairs, ask them about how their children are getting on, or just say hello? What should you do if they ask you for help or try to borrow some money from you? Can you feel free to come and ask them for minor things like some matches or a couple of eggs? What should you do if your next-door neighbours are very noisy and you can hardly sleep some nights?

What you say to answer these questions depends on your idea of neighbourliness. Personally I don’t find it easy to be friends with neighbours. I don’t see why I should have friendly ties with neighbours because the only thing in common is proximity. We are completely different. We are strangers. The old sentimentality of neighbourhoods has receded.’ 

 

Answer the following questions.

1. Which of the two statements best expresses the author’s idea about neighbourhoods? Which of them do you agree with? Why?

a) The best relationship with neighbours is one of distance.

b) The best relationship with neighbours is to be good friends. 

2. What kind of relationship do you have with the people who live next door?

Can Colours of the Walls Affect Our Mood?

This is what Linda Sean, a psychologist, thinks about it.‘I think that colour can affect our moods and personalities. A group of strangers was asked to walk round two rooms, one painted red and the other blue. It turned out to be that in the red room, the people started talking and laughing. As soon as they walked into the blue room, they fell silent.

  Hospitals and waiting rooms are painted in soft blues, greys and beiges because those colours have been found to be restful without being energy-sapping.’

    (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/)

 

Answer the following questions.

 

1. What is the author’s claim about colours and mood?

2. Make a list of rooms in your house and say what they are used for. Now decide what colours you might paint the different rooms. Why?

              

HOUSING IN GREAT BRITAIN

      The divisions between the social classes have always been reflected in the geography of towns, with the bigger and better houses concentrated in the districts most favourable to health. The much more decorated houses of the late nineteenth century, though less elegant, have come back into fashion. In many cases the ‘nice’ parts of towns would be in the west, because the prevailing south-west wind blew the smoke towards the east. In such areas many single-family houses, both Georgian and Victorian, had four or five floors, with basements and top floors kept for servants and children.

     The period from 1945 produced a huge growth of social housing, built by local authorities for letting at low rents with the help of central government subsidies.

     Change from traditional English housing patterns was seen as a triumph of modern planning and technology. But by the 1970s things were going wrong. The entrances were not supervised. There was vandalism, robbery and violence, litter and graffiti.

     It turned out to be that local councils were not the right bodies to manage people’s houses. So councils were obliged to sell their houses to any tenants who wanted to buy them and could afford to do so.

     New private building flourished. But the houses became more expensive.

    The situation created difficulties for first-time buyers too young to have accumulated savings. Also, with a house in the south-east costing two or three times as much as its equivalent in the north, it became difficult for people to move from north to south.

   But the majority of the people were living in their own houses, bought before the time the prices jumped up. All these people are comfortably housed, except for some of the very old, and people living in vandalized council flats and houses. There are few houses without proper heating or sanitation, and there is little overcrowding.

    (http: // www.enmedia.edu)

        

    Answer the following questions.

 

1. Which of the following statements best summarizes the author’s idea?

a) The private building in Great Britain is a complicated problem which hasn’t been solved yet.

b) The bigger and better houses are situated in the districts most favourable to health.

c) People prefer to live in houses of Georgian or Victorian style.

d) Change from traditional English housing patterns is seen as a complete fiasco.

2. What was the idea of social housing? 

3. Why was it difficult for people to move from north to south?

4. What kind of people live in vandalized council flats?

                       DISCUSSION POINTS

 

1. The saying goes ‘A house is not a home.’ Do you agree or disagree with it? Use specific examples to support your answer.

 

2. Living in a city has both advantages and disadvantages. Which of the following – a choice of public transport, eating in good places, visiting museums, the fresh air of the countryside, visiting theatres and cinemas, living in a peaceful place - is the most important for you? Why?

 

3. Charles Dickens once said: ‘In love of home, the love of country has its rise.’ Do you agree or disagree with it? Why or why not?

 

4. Some people think that the most important room in a house is a kitchen. It’s not only where we cook and eat but it’s also the main meeting place for family and friends. Do you agree or disagree with it? Use specific details to support your answer.                                                 

5. Here is a list of factors you might consider when deciding on a house to buy: price, location, proximity (зд. близость) to public transport, central heating. Add your own ideas and put them in order of importance for yourself.

 

6. Speak about the efforts you have made to be comfortable in your room or elsewhere. Explain why these particular arrangements are necessary for your comfort.

 

         

TASKS FOR WRITING