Unit 7: Housing

Expanding Tactics for Listening, 3rd Edition » Unit 7: Housing

Word List

ancient
annoying
appliances
building
commuting
condition
convenient
forever
good-sized
landlady
maintenance
neighbors
single
space
stained
suburbs
yard
coat of paint
falling apart
first floor
high floor
high-rise building
makes sense
studio apartment
take care of (something)
the country
there's no point in (doing something)
work from home

Vocabulary Worksheet

‣ Part 1: Match the words and phrases on the left with their definitions on the right.

suburbs _____
annoying _____
yard _____
commuting _____
ancient _____
single _____
convenient _____
condition _____
maintenance _____
appliances _____

a. travelling to work
b. the grassy area around a house
c. household machines, like a dishwasher or an oven
d. cleaning, repairing, and taking care of something
e. smaller towns that surround a big city
f. the state that a house or car is in
g. very old
h. making you a little angry
i. simple, easy, and useful
j. not in a romantic relationship

‣ Part 2: Complete the sentences. Use the words and phrases from Part 1.

After the accident, the car was in very bad _____.
The old apartment was falling apart, and required constant _____.
I decided to leave the city for a quiet life in the _____.
For a while, I was _____ to the office by train.
He visited Greece to see all the _____ buildings from long ago.
The store was very _____, since it was only a block from his apartment.
She found her neighbor's frequent visits to be _____.
She decided to buy all new _____ for the kitchen.
After years of dating different people, somehow she was still _____.
After lunch, we should go outside and play football in the _____.

a. travelling to work
b. the grassy area around a house
c. household machines, like a dishwasher or an oven
d. cleaning, repairing, and taking care of something
e. smaller towns that surround a big city
f. the state that a house or car is in
g. very old
h. making you a little angry
i. simple, easy, and useful
j. not in a romantic relationship

Answer Key

Which kind of housing would you prefer? Number each item from 1 (your favorite) to 6 (your least favorite). Compare your answers with a partner.

Favorite housing

_____ a large apartment in the suburbs
_____ a house in the suburbs with a large yard
_____ a house in the city with a garage
_____ a house in the country
_____ a studio apartment in the city
_____ other: ___

Listening 1

Listening 1 ‣ People are talking about housing. What kind of house or apartment does each person need? Listen and circle the correct answer.

- a. a studio apartment
- b. a three-bedroom apartment
- a. an apartment in the city
- b. a house with a yard
- a. an apartment in the city
- b. a house in the suburbs
- a. a house in the country
- b. a house in the city
- a. a large apartment
- b. a one-bedroom apartment
- a. a small apartment in the city
- b. a small apartment near the airport

Listening 2

‣ Task 1

People are talking about where they live. What do the people dislike about each place? Listen and circle the correct answer.

- a. the neighbors
- b. the noise
- c. the size
- a. the location
- b. the condition
- c. the rent
- a. the location
- b. the noise
- c. the size
- a. the size
- b. the location
- c. the rent
- a. the size
- b. the condition
- c. the noise
- a. the neighbors
- b. the condition
- c. the rent

‣ Task 2

Listen again. What do the people like about each place? Write the correct letter.

_____
_____
_____
_____
_____

a. It's huge.
b. The rent is cheaper.
c. It's convenient for shopping.
d. It's nice and quiet on the weekends.
e. The neighbors are fantastic.
f. The location is perfect.

Listening 3

‣ Task 1

People are talking about why they moved to different places. Does the information in the chart describe their old places or their new places? Check (x) the correct answer.

	Old place	New place
1.
loud neighbors	⁽¹⁾	⁽²⁾
quiet neighbors	⁽³⁾_____	⁽⁴⁾_____
2.
no noise at all	⁽⁵⁾_____	⁽⁶⁾_____
traffic noise	⁽⁷⁾_____	⁽⁸⁾_____
3.
wonderful landlady	⁽⁹⁾_____	⁽¹⁰⁾_____
close to a good school	⁽¹¹⁾_____	⁽¹²⁾_____
4.
no pets allowed	⁽¹³⁾_____	⁽¹⁴⁾_____
near a park	⁽¹⁵⁾_____	⁽¹⁶⁾_____
5.
great stove	⁽¹⁷⁾_____	⁽¹⁸⁾_____
small dining room	⁽¹⁹⁾_____	⁽²⁰⁾_____
6.
expensive to take care of	⁽²¹⁾_____	⁽²²⁾_____
a lot cheaper	⁽²³⁾_____	⁽²⁴⁾_____

‣ Task 2

Listen again. What kind of places do they live in now? Circle the correct answer.

- a. an apartment downtown
- b. a house in the suburbs
- c. a studio apartment
- a. a house in the country
- b. an apartment on a high floor
- c. an apartment on the first floor
- a. an apartment in the city
- b. an apartment in the suburbs
- c. a house in the country
- a. a building near the park
- b. an apartment downtown
- c. a house in the suburbs
- a. a house in the city
- b. an apartment with no kitchen
- c. an apartment with a huge kitchen
- a. an apartment with no yard
- b. a house with a yard
- c. a house with no yard

✺ Pronunciation

Reduction of is and are

Pronunciation Help
How we spell it	How we say it
This is great	Thisuhz great.
These are nice.	Theser nice.

‣ Task 1

Listen and repeat.

1. My apartment building is five stories high.
2. My sons are in college.
3. The yard is pretty big.
4. Our neighbors are very quiet.
5. My house is too small for my family.
6. The bathrooms are small.

‣ Task 2

Read the sentence to a partner. Be sure to reduce is and are.

✺ Dictation

‣ Task 1

Listen to the conversation. Write the missing words.

A: How's it going? Do you like your new apartment?
B: Oh, I love it. My ⁽¹⁾_____ ⁽²⁾_____ ⁽³⁾_____ friendly, and the landbord is nice.
A: That's great! What's the building like?
B: ⁽⁴⁾_____ ⁽⁵⁾_____ ⁽⁶⁾_____ ten stories high, and there are ten apartments on each floor. So, I guess there are 100 apartments.
A: Wow, it sounds huge. Have you seen some of the other apartments?
B: Yeah, my next-door neighbor invited me over for coffee the other day. She and her ⁽⁷⁾_____ ⁽⁸⁾_____ ⁽⁹⁾_____. They've been in the building for five years.

‣ Task 2

Practice the conversation with a partner. Be sure to reduce is and are.

✺ Conversation

Work in pairs. Think about the place you live in now or the home you grew up in. Describe it to your partner.

Answer Key

Favorite Books

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