What kind of bad thoughts can a lady have
What kind of bad thoughts can a lady have
What kind of bad thoughts can a lady have
Lesson 4 domestic chores
INTRODUCTORY READING AND TALK
Have you ever met a woman who never touched a broom or a floor-cloth in her life? Nearly all women but a queen have to put up with the daily routine doing all sorts of domestic work. But different women approach the problem differently.
The so-called lady-type women can afford to have a live-in help who can do the housework. She is usually an old hand at doing the cleaning and washing, beating carpets and polishing the furniture. She is like a magician who entertains you by sweeping the floor in a flash or in no time making an apple-pie with one hand. Few are those so lucky as to have such a resident magician to make them free and happy.
Efficient housewives can do anything about the house. Tidying up is not a problem for such women. An experienced housewife will not spend her afternoon ironing or starching collars; she getseverything done quickly and effortlessly. She keeps all the rooms clean and neat, dusting the furniture, scrubbing the floor, washing up and putting everything in its place. She is likely to do a thorough cleaning every fortnight. She removes stains, does the mending, knits and sews. What man doesn’t dream of having such a handy and thrifty wife?
The third type of woman finds doing the everyday household chores rather a boring business. You can often hear her say that she hates doing the dishes and vacuuming. So you may find a huge pile of washing in the bathroom and the sink is probably piled high with plates. A room in a mess and a thick layer of dust everywhere will always tell you what sort of woman runs the house. What could save a flat from this kind of lazy-bones? Probably a good husband.
Finally, there are housewives who do not belong to any group. They like things in the house to look as nice as one can make them. But they never do it themselves. They’d rather save time and effort and they do not feel like peeling tons of potatoes or bleaching, and rinsing the linen. It is simply not worth doing. They persuade their husbands to buy labour-saving devices — a dish-washer, a vacuum-cleaner, a food processor or. a robot-housewife. Another way for them to avoid labour-and-time-consuming house chores is to send the washing to the laundry, to cook dinner every other day, or at least make their husbands and children help them in the home.
In the end, there exist hundreds of ways to look after the house. You are free to choose one of them. What kind of housewife would you like to be?
1. Four types of a housewife have been described in the text above. The first three types have been given names — the lady-type, the lazy-bones type, the efficient housewife. What would you call the fourth type?
2. Which of the types is preferable, to your mind? Why?
3. Name the activities which you see in the pictures below.
► Pattern: The lady is working about the house.
4. Say how you share domestic chores in your family. Who does the major part of the household work? Which of you is good at helping your mother?
Some Practical Experience
(Extract from the book by Monica Dickens «One Pair of Hands». Abridged)
I think Miss Cattermole* refrained from telling the agency what she thought of me, for they rang me up a few days later and offered me another job. This time it was a Mrs. Robertson, who wanted someone twice a week to do washing and ironing and odd jobs. As I had already assured the agency that I was thoroughly domesticated in every way, I didn’t feel like admitting that I was the world’s worst ironer.
* Miss Cattermole is the name of the lady who was the first to hire Monica through a job agency.
They gave me the address, and I went along there. The porter of the flats let me in, as Mrs. Robertson was out, but she had left a note for me, and a pile of washing on the bathroom floor. I sorted it out, and it was not attractive. It consisted mainly of several grubby and rather ragged pairs of corsets and a great many small pairs of men’s socks and stockings in a horrid condition of stickiness.
I made a huge bowl of soap suds, and dropped the more nauseating articles in with my eyes shut. I washed and rinsed and squeezed for about an hour and a half. There was no one but me to answer the telephone, which always rang when I was covered in soap to the elbow. I accepted a bridge party for the owner of the corsets, and a day’s golfing for the wearer of the socks, but did not feel in a position to give an opinion on the state of cousin Mary’s health.
I had just finished hanging out the clothes, and had wandered into the drawing-room to see what sort of books they had, when I heard a latch key in the door. I flew back to the bathroom, and was discovered diligently tweaking out the fingers of gloves when Mrs. Robertson walked in. She was horrified to see that I had not hung the stockings up by the heels, and told me so with a charming frankness. However, she still wanted me to come back the next day to iron the things I had washed.
I returned the next day and scorched Mrs. Robertson’s best camisole. She was more than frank in her annoyance over this trifling mishap and it made me nervous. The climax came when I dropped the electric iron on the floor and it gave off a terrific burst of blue sparks. I supposed it had fused. It ended by her paying me at the rate of a shilling an hour for the time I had put in, and a tacit agreement being formed between us that I should never appear again.
I was still undaunted, however, and I told myself that there are so many people in the world that it doesn’t matter if one doesn’t hit it off with one or two of them.21 pinned my faith in the woman in the agency,3 and went and had a heart-to-heart talk with her.
‘What I want is something where I’ll really get a chance to get some practical experience,’ I told her.
‘Well, we have one or two people asking for cook-generals,’ she said. ‘You might go and see this Miss Faulkener, at Chelsea. She wants someone to do the work of a very small flat,4 and cook dinner at night, and sometimes lunch.’
I went off, full of hope and very excited, to Miss Faulkener’s flat. A sharp-featured maid opened the door.
‘You come after the job?’5
‘Yes,’ I whispered humbly. I gave her my name and she let me in reluctantly. On a sofa in front of a coal fire, groomed to the last eyebrow,6 sat my prospective employer. She looked an amusing woman, and it would be marvellous to have the run of a kitchen to mess in to my heart’s content.7 It was all fixed up.
I went to bed early, with the cook’s alarm clock at my side, but in spite of that I didn’t sleep well. Its strident note terrified me right out of bed into the damp chill of a November morning.8 I bolted down some coffee and rushed off, clutching my overalls and aprons, and, arriving in good time, let myself in, feeling like an old hand. I took myself off to the kitchen. It was looking rather inhumanely neat, and was distinctly cold. There was no boiler as it was a flat, and a small refrigerator stood in one corner. I hung my coat behind the door, put on the overall, and, rolling up my sleeves, prepared to attack the drawing-room fire. I found the wood and coal, but I couldn’t see what Mrs. Baker* had used to collect ash in. However, I found a wooden box which I thought would do, and took the coal along the passage in that. I hadn’t laid a fire since my girl-guide days,9 but it seemed quite simple, and I took the ashes out to the dustbin, leaving a little trail of cinders behind me from a broken comer of the box. The trouble about housework is that whatever you do seems to lead to another job to do or a mess to clear up. I put my hand against the wall while I was bending down to sweep up the cinders and made a huge grubby mark on the beautiful cream-coloured paint. I rubbed at it gingerly with a soapy cloth and the dirt came off all right, but an even laiger stain remained, paler than the rest of the paint, and with a hard, grimy outline. I didn’t dare wash it any more, and debated moving the grandfather clock over to hide it. However, it was now a quarter past nine, so I had to leave it to its fate10 and pray that Miss Faulkener wouldn’t notice.
* Mrs. Baker is the name of the former cook-general
I had dusted the living-room, swept all the dirt down the passage and into the kitchen, and gone through the usual tedious business of chasing it about, trying to get it into the dustpan before her bell and back-door bell rang at the same moment. The back door was the nearest, so I opened it on a man who said ‘Grosher’.11
‘Do you mean orders?’
He went on up the outside stairs whistling, and I rushed to the bedroom, wiping my hands on my overall before going in.
‘Good morning, Monica, I hope you’re getting on all right. I just want to talk about food.’
We fixed the courses,12 and I rushed back to the kitchen.
It didn’t occur to me in those days to wash up as I went along, not that I would have had time,13 as cooking took me quite twice as long as it should. I kept doing things wrong and having to rush to cookery books for help, and everything I wanted at a moment’s notice had always disappeared.
Every saucepan in the place was dirty; the sink was piled high with them. On the floor lay the plates and dishes that couldn’t be squeezed on to the table or dresser, already cluttered up with peelings, pudding basins, and dirty little bits of butter.
I started listlessly on the washing-up. At eleven o’clock I was still at it and my back and head were aching in unison. The washing-up was finished, but the stove was in a hideous mess.
Miss Faulkener came in to get some glasses and was horrified to see me still there.
‘Goodness, Monica, I thought you’d gone hours ago. Run off now, anyway; you can leave that till tomorrow.’
She wafted back to the drawing-room and I thought: ‘If it was you, you’d be thinking of how depressing it will be tomorrow morning to arrive at crack of dawn and find things filthy. People may think that by telling you to leave a thing till the next day it will get done magically, all by itself overnight. But no, that is not so, in fact quite the reverse, in all probability it will become a mess of an even greater magnitude.»4
At last I had finished. I arrived home in a sort of coma. My mother helped me to undress and brought me hot milk, and as I burrowed into the yielding familiarity of my own dear bed, my last thought was thankfulness that I was a «Daily» and not a «Liver-in».15
Monica Dickens [‘mÁnIk@ ‘dIk@nz] — Моника Дикенс
Robertson [‘rÁb@tsn] — Робертсон
Mary [‘me@rI] — Мэри
Faulkener [‘fþkn@] — Фокнер
Chelsea [‘¶elsI] — Челси
Baker [beIk@] — Бейкер
5. ‘You come after the job?’ — «Вы насчёт работы?» (Прим.: неправильное грамматическое построение фразы, характерное для разговорного стиля).
8. Its strident note terrified me right out of bed into the damp chill of a November morning. — Его резкий звонок испугал меня и заставил сразу вскочить с кровати; ноябрьское утро было холодным и промозглым.
11. ‘Grosher’ — бакалейщик. (Прим.: неправильное написание слова grocer, передающее особенности речи персонажа. См. далее ‘Yesh, mish.’- ‘Yes, miss.’).
1. What did Monica look for? Did she want to find a job as a «Daily» or a «Liver-in»?
2. Why did she think that Miss Cattermole refrained from telling the agency what she thought of her?
3. Who offered the girl the job at a flat twice a week?
4. What was Monica to do at Mrs. Robertson’s?
5. What did Mrs. Robertson leave for the girl at her place?
6. How long did it take her to do the washing?
7. Did she have to combine washing with some other job?
8. What did Monica do after she had hung out the clothes?
9. Did Mrs. Robertson find Monica reading a book in the drawing- room?
10. How did Monica and Mrs. Robertson part?
11. What sort of job was Monica offered by Miss Faulkener?
12. What did Miss Faulkener and her kitchen look like?
13. How did Monica sweep up the cinders?
14. What happened while she was sweeping up the cinders?
15. Did the dirt come off all right?
16. Why did the cooking take her twice as long as it should have?
17. What did the kitchen look like at the end of the day?
18. Did the girl like the idea of leaving everything undone till the next day?
19. How did Monica feel when she arrived home?
Phonetic Text Drills
Transcribe and pronounce correctly the words from the text.
Agency, to assure, domesticated, ragged, corset, nauseating, to squeeze, to wander, to tweak, to scorch, mishap, to fuse, tacit, undaunted, employer, content, strident, to bolt, overall, apron, inhumanely, cinder, gingerly, tedious, to chase, to clutter, unison, to waft, filthy, reverse, magnitude, coma, to burrow, yielding.
Pronounce the words or phrases where the following clusters occur.
offered me, let me, consisted mainly, told me, it made me, doesn’t matter, took myself, good morning.
world’s worst, had wandered, tweaking, between, sleep well, swept, quite, twice, cluttered up with.
3. plosive + plosive
odd jobs, ragged pairs, horrid condition, dropped, had just, it gave, terrific burst, might go, bolted down, good time, dustpan.
had left, diligently, people, reluctantly, clock, distinctly, table, little, listlessly.
address, attractive, grubby, and rather, bridge, trifling, electric, agreement, practical, groomed, aprons, trail, broken, trouble, grimy.
Pronounce correctly and say what kind of false assimilation one should avoid in the phrases below.
Was thoroughly, was still, is something, wants someone, is that, was thankfullness.
Transcribe the phrases and mark phonetic phenomena in them.
. but it seemed quite simple.
Intone the sentences, addressed to someone. Practise their ponunciation. Make up your own examples.
Find in the passage and translate sentences containing synonyms or synonymous expressions for the following.
experienced worker servant
to do one’s laundry washing the plates
wastebin casual jobs
to do the cleaning worn
to smudge dirty
domestic work silent
Pick out from the text 1) verbs denoting different kinds of housework activities; 2) nouns denoting various tools used in housework; 3) adverbs describing the manner of doing housework.
Complete the sentences taking the necessary information from the passage.
4. The pile of washing left on the bathroom floor didn’t look attractive as it consisted of.
I. The author uses analogous words or expressions to denote the same things. Find them in the text and say how otherwise the author puts the following.
dirty — to collect ash in —
to do washing — to flow back —
grubby — cluttered up —
hideous — to be thoroughly domesticated
a mark — at a moment’s notice —
II. Use your English-English dictionary and explain the difference in meaning between similar looking words or phrases from the text.
washing — washing up
to squeeze something — to squeeze something on to something
to drop something — to drop something in something
to go — to go along to hang —
to hang out — to hang up by the heels
Provide your own words or phrases similar and opposite in meaning to the following.
► 
Gingerly, horrid, a mess, tacit, ragged, to clear up, to come off, tedious, thankfulness, to disappear.
Choose the right word or phrase for each of the sentences below. Use each of them only once:
Become a mess of an even greater magnitude, a hideous mess, be piled high with plates and dishes, neat, thoroughly domesticated, «Daily», up by the heels, cookery-books, get some practical experience, get it into the dustpan, a «Liver-in».
Give the English equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases.
Рассортировать; полоскать; отдельные мелкие поручения; убирать очень маленькую квартиру; по локти в мыле; опытный работник; опереться рукой о стену; закатать рукава; замести в совок; делать что-либо неправильно; вытереть руки о рабочий халат; грязь хорошо отмылась; ещё больший беспорядок; отжимать; развешивать; выворачивать; прожечь; передник; разжигать огонь; подметать; грязный контур; тереть намыленной тряпкой; оставить грязную отметину; развести порошок в тазу; гладить; гора белья для стирки; уметь делать всё по дому; хозяйничать на кухне; прислуга, выполняющая обязанности кухарки и горничной.
Удержаться от того, чтобы сказать; затраченное время; полный надежд; ни свет ни заря; оставить всё как есть; заплатить из расчёта шиллинг за час; у тебя дела идут хорошо; оставить записку; направиться на кухню; оставить до завтра; мелкая неприятность; высказать мнение; что душе угодно; вдруг чудесным образом само собой сделается; приняться за мытьё посуды.
Replace the phrases in italics with one of the words or phrases below.
to fix the courses a pile of washing
a dustbin to give off a burst of sparks and fuse
to rinse to lay a fire to come off all right
to do odd jobs an old hand
1. Mary’s husband is so handy that he could even repair the iron when it sparkled and melted.
2. If you need a container for household refuse you can buy it at any supermarket.
3. When Jack made a grimy mark on the wall playing football Mum robbed at it with a soapy cloth and she managed to remove it.
4. While doing washing you put clothes through clean water to remove soap.
5. Mother left a lot of linen for me to wash.
6. To heat the house Dad first collects ash in a small box and then puts wood ready for lighting.
7. Before giving a party we bought lots of delicious things and decided what to cook.
8. My wife is quite an expert at cooking.
9. The employer wanted a Daily for doing casual jobs.
Fill in the gaps with prepositions.
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with suitable words or phrases from the text.
2. After. cooking Mrs. Jackson washes up because the sink is piled high with plates and dishes.
Speak about Monica’s efforts to carry out her duties as a Daily:
1. in the third person;
2. in the person of Monica;
3. in the person of the woman in the agency;
4. in the person of Mrs. Robertson;
5. in the person of Miss Faulkener.
Give a character sketch of Monica and describe her attitude towards her duties.
1. What prevented Monica from becoming thoroughly domesticated: her laziness, her mother’s bad example or something else?
2. What is Monica’s attitude to her troubles while getting some practical experience?
3. Monica assured the agency that she was thoroughly domesticated in every way. Was she right, in your opinion, or should she have told them the troth?
4. Which of the two employers did Monica like better? Give your reasons.
5. Does anything suggest that Monica can become an experienced housewife?
Imagine that Monica’s employers (Mrs. Robertson and Miss Faulkener), were friends. They discover that they hired the same girl as a Daily. What would they tell each other?
Imagine what Monica might have done when she worked at Miss Cattermo-le’s as a Daily and why she didn’t hit it off with her employer.
Express your opinion on the following.
‘. I told myself that there are so many people in the world that it doesn’t matter if one doesn’t hit it off with one or two of them.’
‘The trouble about housework is that whatever you do seems to lead to another job to do or a mess to clear up.’
‘. If it was you, you’d be thinking of how depressing it will be tomorrow morning to arrive at crack of dawn and find things filthy.’
Give a description of:
a) an untidy kitchen
To squeeze something on to something, to be piled high with something, to be cluttered with peelings, basins etc., to be in an 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
Unattractive, shabby, broken, to give the 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 smth. over, to leave the bed unmade, to be not much of a housewife, to do a thorough turn out;
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 furnished 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) the most boring house chores
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 things.
Translate into Russian.
1. When Mum came in she was horrified to see that I hadn’t cleared up the mess in my room.
2. My brother and I do hate washing up. Dad persuaded us to form an agreement between us that we should do it in turn.
3. Every other day I sweep the carpets with the carpet-sweeper, or vacuum them and dust the furniture. It really helps me to keep my room clean and tidy.
4. John’s son is rather untidy. He always leaves such a mess in his room. John doesn’t like things left around in the room and he makes his son tuck things away and clean the room every day.
5. Once a season we turn out our flat. We usually vacuum the floor, the furniture, beat the carpets and rugs, mop the floor, and dust all the rooms. It’s a messy and dull job, I should say.
6. Frank is very good at helping his wife. She is proud of him and says that he is always ready to share household chores with her. And apart from that he’s an old hand at repairing all sorts of electrical appliances.
7. My wife left a note for me and asked me to vacuum the living-room as we were giving a party that day. That was a chance for me to try out the new vacuum-cleaner and I got on so well that I cleaned the living-room and the bedroom. It was a real joy cleaning with such a marvellous vacuum. 1 was amazed at the speed with which time went when I was working.
8. I was pressed for time and had a lot of work to do about the house. So I bolted down some coffee and started washing up. The kitchen was just in a hideous mess but I realised that I couldn’t leave all that till tomorrow, otherwise it would become a mess of a greater magnitude.
9. ‘Bill, go and empty the dustbin. It’s full. And you didn’t wipe your feet on the doormat again’, said Bill’s mother. She was more than frank in her annoyance over the mess she discovered on her coming back home. It really made her upset.
10. Fiona is so fastidious! When she comes home she starts cleaning the flat and she never finishes until she cleans it from top to bottom. It’s so depressing, to my mind. Always the same. I would get bored with all these things. I don’t like it when people make a fuss about housekeeping.
I. Arrange the words and word combinations given below in a logical order to show how you usually do the following household chores:
to wring (squeeze); to rinse; to sort out the lights, darks, and whites; to hang (out) the laundry on the washing-lines; to starch; to take a wash-basin; to dry the linen; to blue; to add detergent (washing powder); to use laundry soap; to pour out warm water; to bring a pile of washing; to bleach; to do a big wash; to choose a wash(ing) day; to pin with clothes-pegs.
to press diligently; to scorch; to iron; to get rid of the creases; to use a damp cloth; to set up an ironing board; to switch on an electric iron.
to put cups, etc. in the plate rack; to do the dishes; to dry (up) plates and dishes; to pile everything up tidily; to scrape all scraps of solid food from the dishes; to take washing liquid or laundry soap; to rinse the plates; to start with china and cutlery; to do greasy frying pans and large saucepans; to use a bottlebrush.
dusting the furniture:
to keep clean and tidy; to vacuum; to get through the tedious business of doing something; to throw things away; to mb over with a soapy cloth; to air the room; to use a duster; to look spick and span; to prepare for a messy job.
II. Tell your groupmates how you do the washing, the ironing, etc.
I. 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)
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 and 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
Work in groups. Tell your partners about: a) a disappointing experience you had while doing household chores; b) an experience you had that was unexpectedly pleasant. Ask your partners for comment.
Work in threes. Find out from your partners who they consider to be an efficient housewife. Make notes and summarize the main points.
Work in pairs. Make up a dialogue: «I hate doing everyday domestic chores», «I enjoy doing everyday domestic chores». Use the vocabulary of the Lesson.
Translate from Russian into English using words and expressions from the lesson.
1. Вести хозяйство, конечно, не просто, но моя мама любит всем этим заниматься. И если она делает уборку, то не останавливается до тех пор, пока весь дом не будет безукоризненно чистым.
2. Мы откровенно поговорили и сошлись на том, что я буду помогать жене по дому: мыть посуду, иногда гладить, выносить ведро и, само собой разумеется, раз в три месяца буду делать генеральную уборку.
3. У тебя есть возможности приобрести практический опыт. Только не ленись, и ты всему научишься. Домашние дела утомительны, но если ты все будешь откладывать на завтра, твоя квартира скоро будет в ужасном состоянии.
4. Я хочу почистить ванну и раковину на кухне, но у меня нет ни чистящего средства, ни просто порошка. Может, хозяйственное мыло сгодится. Если как следует потереть жёсткой щёткой, то все пятна отойдут.
5. Пока Сюзанна стирала в ванной бельё, телефон все время звонил именно тогда, когда у неё руки были по локоть в мыле. Приходилось каждый раз вытирать их о передник и то и дело бегать к телефону.
6. Моя тётушка сожгла очередное платье. Она такая рассеянная, что каждый раз, когда гладит, что-нибудь подпалит.
7. Мои друзья полны надежд. Они купили посудомоечную машину и теперь радуются, что посуду будут мыть один раз в день, да и то не своими руками. Конечно, это так экономит время и силы!
8. Мне нравится пылесосить. Это удобней, чем подметать пол шваброй. Нагибаться не надо и специальными щетками можно убрать пыль под любой мебелью — диваном, креслом, плитой. Совсем не тратишь никаких усилий.
9. Я посадила пятно на блузку. Потёрла осторожно мыльной тряпкой, но пятно не сошло, а, наоборот, стало ещё больше.
10. Когда ведёшь хозяйство, приходится заниматься обычными утомительными делами: стиркой, уборкой, мытьём посуды, гладить, готовить.
11. Мой сын совсем неопытен в домашних делах. Поэтому, когда он моет посуду, ему не приходит в голову, что сначала надо всё аккуратно разобрать, вымыть чашки и стаканы, затем — тарелки и приборы, а уж в самом конце — жирные кастрюли и сковородки.
12. В раковине высилась гора посуды и даже на полу стояли кастрюли. Стол был усыпан очистками и уставлен мисками. В общем, на кухне был ужасный беспорядок.
13. Мэри развесила бельё на верёвке и прикрепила прищепками. Чулки повесила пятками вверх.
14. Я смертельно устала после генеральной уборки. Но ничего не поделаешь. Само собой ничего не делается. Приходится тратить время и силы, чтобы привести дом в порядок. Зато как чисто теперь в доме!
Read the passages below and say what you think of men sharing house chores with women. Give your reasons. Ask your groupmates 1) if they find it necessary to distinguish between men’s and women’s domestic chores;
2) if men can manage domestic chores properly; 3) if they have ever met an ideal househusband; 4) what they think of feminists.
Waiting for my wash in one of Virginia Tech’s laundries, I watched a young man doing what was obviously his first load of laundry.
After finding a free sorting table, he carefully separated his clothes into three piles — lights, darks and whites. As he did so he smiled to himself, perhaps proud of remembering his mother’s instructions. Then, after starting a machine and adding detergent, he confidently loaded the wash tub — with all three piles.
(from «Readers Digest»)
Claudia thinks of herself as a feminist. She is sure that women should have the same rights, power and opportunities as men. A housewife, to her mind, is an unwaged worker and she just cannot put up with it. So she is trying to change her husband’s daily routine making him share the house chores with her. Unfortunately, he is not much of a househusband, unlike my husband who is strikingly different and is really handy.
Claudia regards my husband as the perfect model and thinks I am lucky to have such a partner. And it is true. John helps a fair amount with the household work. He is quite helpful when we do a thorough cleaning. Taking down and putting up the curtains, tidying up, vacuuming the rooms — all this is his part, to say nothing of the man’s work which he has to do from time to time. If something goes wrong — the plumbing may get clogged or start leaking or the tap may start dripping — I never call a plumber. John can mend it himself. If an electrical appliance — be it a mixer or a washing machine — gets out of order we never call a maintenance worker as my husband can fix anything. If our flat needs decorating it is John who papers the rooms, plasters the walls and the ceiling. Once Bobby broke the window and my husband glazed it in no time. We do not need a TV repairman — John can even fix televisions. All my friends say he has a wonderful pair of hands. Last year he finished building our country house and we have quite a large lot — so my husband’s spare time is used in gardening and we can always enjoy fresh vegetables. Isn’t it nice? Well, my dear, dear husband — he never keeps track of what he does. We really share everything with him. My son and I, we usually break things while my poor husband sets them right.
And how about Claudia’s husband — a victim of feminism? Just fancy! She made a list of the house chores he is supposed to do this week. She wants him to nail the picture. Frankly speaking, I doubt he could pound a nail in let alone hang a picture. Mind you, he can tell a hammer from a spoon, but Claudia wants him to paint the floor in the kitchen, and I am sure if he did the paint would peel in a week. She hopes he will cover the bathroom wall with tiles but he can’t stick a thing.
You may think he is not a man. But he is. I think him very, very intelligent and generous and well-mannered. The problem is he is no match for a feminist wife. She may do her best to change him but the most he can do is take their dog for a walk. Even then, watching them it’s hard to tell who’s taking who.
Work in pairs. Ask your partner the questions given below and find out how his/her family keeps house.
1. Who runs the house in your family?
2. Do other members share household chores with your mother?
3. What work about the house do you do every day and what is done once a season?
4. What makes your home cosy?
5. What labour-saving devices do you have at home?
6. Do you vacuum the floor or sweep it with a broom? Do you ever use a mop to clean the floor?
7. Is your flat crammed with things or does it have just a minimum of furniture in it?
8. How often is a thorough turn-out done in your family? Are you usually tired after the thorough clean-up?
9. How often do you redecorate the rooms? Do you do your own redecoration and repairing or do you prefer to have it done?
Give the Russian equivalents to the following English idioms including some words and word combinations used in the Lesson. Try to understand whether they have anything to do with the topic discussed.
wash to wash one’s dirty linen in the public it will all come out in the wash
sweep a new broom sweeps clean iron to have (put) many (too many) irons in the fire
dust to shake dust from one’s feet to dust somebody’s coat for him to throw dust into somebody’s eyes to give somebody a dusting
dustbin to throw into the dustbin (waste-basket)
mess to clear up the mess to (be) in a mess
house to keep a good house (table)
to keep the house
to put one’s house in order
Highlight the meanings of the English proverbs and use them in situations of your own.
1. As is the workman so is the work.
2. No pain no gain.
3. Haste makes waste.
4. A stitch in time saves nine.
5. Well begun is half done.
Translate the quotations and comment upon them.
Bumper sticker, Washington, D.C.
‘Housekeeping ain’t no joke.’
Louise May Alcott
‘There was no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn’t get any worse.’
‘The whole process of homemaking, housekeeping and cooking which ever has been woman’s special province should be looked on as an art and a profession.’
Sarah Joseph Hale
Role-play «The Meeting in the Women’s Club»
Setting: Women’s club «Housewives United».
Situation: Housewives of York community usually gather on Saturday evenings in their women’s club. On this day they have a chat about their domestic chores.
Card I-II Rosie and Lizzie Two sisters who often help each other.
Card III-IV Lola and Paula. Two divorced friends, feminists, who hate domestic work.
Card V-VI Gracie and Tracey. Two widows who live alone now but go to see their married daughters every week and help them about the house.
Card VII-VIII Molly and Dolly. Two friends, mothers of families with five children.
Card IX-X Anita and Augusta. Two career women with no children. Anita is lucky to have a househusband.
Learn the spelling of the italicized words from Introductory Reading and exercise 1 on page 93 and be ready to write a dictation.
In the table below, list in note form the advantages and disadvantages of:
2. machine washing;
3. sending the washing to the laundry.
Use the following structures:
Expand your notes into a paragraph of 100 words summarizing the main advantages and disadvantages of having a washing-machine as compared to hand washing and taking the washing to the laundry. Write which way of doing the washing is preferable for your family.
A paragraph is a piece of writing which consists of a number of closely related sentences developing one idea. A well written paragraph should display three features: unity, balanced length and balanced structure.
Unity means that the paragraph deals with one topic only, which may be expressed in the topic sentence opening the paragraph. In further sentences the topic is developed and is logically brought to the last sentence which sums up the ideas.
Balanced length means that neither the paragraph itself, nor the sentences constituting it should be too long (longer than three lines).
Balanced structure means that each sentence must lead to the following one and all must be linked up. All sentences should be arranged in a clear logical order. If the paragraph itself is a part of a larger unit, it must show some reference to the preceding or following paragraphs. To provide this there may be linking sentences. They either take up the thread of previous paragraphs or state the theme for the following paragraphs.
Write an essay on one of the following topics.
1. How I Did a Thorough Cleaning.
2. I’m the World’s Worst Ironer/Washer.
3. Mum Is the Best Housewife I Have Ever Met.
4. Dad Hates Doing Everyday Domestic Chores.
Never Trust a Lady
Victor Canning (1911—1986) is a British crime and mystery writer who is famous for his spy and espionage thrillers. Canning wrote more than 50 novels and a number of short stories. Among his best works are “Panthers’ Moon”, “The Golden Salamander”, «The Whip Hand”, “Vanishing Point”, “The Boy on Platform One ”. His stories are full of excitement, suspence and humour.
Never Trust a Lady
Everyone thought that Horace Demby was a good, honest citizen. He was about fifty and unmarried, and he lived with a housekeeper who worried over his health. Actually, he was usually very well and happy except for attacks of hay fever in the summer time. He made locks and was successful enough at his business to have two helpers. Yes, Horace Demby was good and respectable — but not completely honest.
Fifteen years ago Horace had served his first and only time in prison for stealing jewels. Horace didn’t want to become honest; he only wanted to make sure that his dishonesty never got him into trouble again.
Horace hated prison. He hated the food, the lack of exercise, the ugly worn-out books in the prison library. Horace liked rare, expensive books; this was the reason he robbed a safe every year. Each year he planned carefully just what he would do, stole enough to last for twelve months, and secretly bought the books he loved through an agent.
Now, walking in the bright sunshine, he felt sure that ‘his year’s robbery was going to be successful as all the others, for two weeks he had been studying the house at Shotover Grange, looking at its rooms, its electric wiring, its paths and its garden. This afternoon the two servants, who remained in the Grange while the family was in London, had gone to the movies.
Horace saw them go, and he felt happy, in spite of the little tickle of hay fever in his nose. He came out from behind the garden wall, his tools carefully packed in a bag on his back.
He had seen the housekeeper hang the key to the kitchen door on a hook outside. He put on a pair of gloves, took the key, and opened the door. He was always careful not to leave any fingerprints.
The safe was in the drawing-room, behind a rather poor painting. There was a bowl of flowers on the table, and Horace felt his nose tickle. He gave a little sneeze and then put down his bag. He had four hours before the servants returned.
The safe was not going to be hard to open; after all he had lived with locks and safes all his life. The burglar alarm was primitive. He went into the hall to cut its wire. He came back and sneezed loudly as the smell of the flowers came to him again. He buried his face in his handkerchief.
At this very moment he heard a voice say from the doorway:
“What is it? A cold or hay fever?”
Before he could think, he said, “Hay fever,” and found himself sneezing again.
The voice went on.
“You can cure it with a special treatment, you know, if you find out just what plant gives you the disease. I think you’d better see a doctor, if you are serious about your work. I heard you from the top of the house just now.”
It was a quiet, kindly voice, but one with firmness in it. A woman was standing in the doorway. She was young and pretty, and was dressed in a red suit. She walked to the fireplace and straightened the ornaments there.
“Anyone would think I’d been away for a month,” she said. “However, I came just in time, though I didn’t expect to meet a burglar.”
Horace had some hope because she seemed to be amused by meeting him. He might avoid trouble if he treated her the right way.
“I didn’t expect to meet one of the family,” he replied.
She nodded.
“I see what an inconvenience it is for you to meet me. What are you going to do?”
“My first thought was to run,” Horace said. «It would be nice if you would forget you ever saw me. Let me go.”
The voice was suddenly sharp.
“Why should I? You were going to rob me. If I let you go, you’ll only rob someone else. Society must be protected from men like you.”
Horace smiled.
“I’m not a man who threatens society,” he said. “I steal only from those who have a lot of money. I steal for a very good reason. And I hate the thought of prison.”
She laughed, and he begged, thinking that he had persuaded her.
“Look, I have no right to ask anything from you, but I am desperate. Let me go and I promise never to do this kind of thing again. I really mean it.”
She was silent, watching him closely. Then she said:
“You are really afraid of going to prison, aren’t you?”
She picked up a silver box from the table and took a cigarette from it. Horace, eager to please her and seeing that she might help him, took off his gloves, and gave her his cigarette lighter.
“You’ll let me go?”
He held the lighter toward her.
“Yes, but only on one condition. You must do something for me.”
“Anything you like and say.»
«Before we left for London, I promised my husband to take my jewels to our bank; but I left them here in the safe. I want to wear them to a party tonight, so I came down to get them. but… »
Horace smiled.
“Being a woman, you’ve forgotten the number to open the safe, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Just leave it to me, and you’ll have them within an hour. But I’ll have to break your safe.”
«Don’t worry about that. My husband won’t be here for a month, and I’ll have the safe mended by that time.”
And within an hour Horace had opened the safe, given her the jewels, and gone happily away.
For two days he kept his promise to the kind young lady. On the morning of the third day, however, he thought of the books he wanted, and he knew he would have to look for another sale. But he never got the chance to fulfill his plan. By noon a policeman had arrested him for the jewel robbery at Shotover Grange.
His fingerprints, or he had opened the safe without gloves, were all over the room, and no one believed his story of the wife of the owner of the house asking him to open the safe for her. The wife herself, a gray-haired sharp-tongued woman of sixty, said that the story was nonsense.
Horace is now the assistant librarian in the prison. He often thinks of that charming, clever young lady who was in the same profession as he was, and who tricked him.
He gets very angry when anyone talks about “honor among thieves.”
Виктор Каннинг (1911-1986) – британский криминальный писатель, который славится своими шпионскими триллерами. Каннинг написал более 50 романов и несколько рассказов. Среди его лучших работ — Луна пантер, Золотая Саламандра, Рука Кнут, Точка исчезновения, Мальчик на платформе номер один. Его рассказы полны азарта, напряжения и юмора.
Никогда не доверяйте леди
Все думали, что Гораций Демби был хорошим, честным гражданином. Ему был около пятидесяти, он был холост, и жил с домработницей, которая беспокоилась о его здоровье. На самом деле, он чувствовал себя очень хорошо, как правило, очень хорошо и счастливо, если не считать сенной лихорадки в летнее время. Он делал замки и был достаточно успешным в своем бизнесе, чтобы иметь два помощника. Да, Гораций Демби был хорошим и респектабельным — но не совсем честным.
Пятнадцать лет назад Гораций отсидел свой первый и единственный срок в тюрьме за кражу драгоценностей. Гораций не хотел становиться честным; он только хотел убедиться, что его нечестность снова не приведет его к беде.
Гораций ненавидел тюрьму. Он ненавидел еду, отсутствие физических упражнений, уродливые изношенные книги в тюремной библиотеке. Горацию нравились редкие, дорогие книги; это было причиной, по которой он грабил по сейфу в год. Каждый год он тщательно планировал то, что будет делать, для того чтобы украсть достаточно для покупки книги, которая ему понравилась, через агента.
Теперь, идя в ярком солнечном свете, он был уверен, что «ограбление года» должно быть успешным, как и все остальные. В течение двух недель он изучал дом на Шотовер Грейндж, глядя на его комнаты, электропроводку, тропинки и сад. Во второй половине дня двое слуг, которые остались в Грейндж, в то время как семья была в Лондоне, ушли в кино.
Гораций видел, как они идут, и он чувствовал себя счастливым, несмотря на небольшое щекотание в носу. Он вышел со стороны сада, его инструменты были тщательно упакованы в сумку за спиной. Он видел, что домоправитель повесил ключ на крючок кухонной двери. Он надел перчатки, взял ключ и открыл дверь. Он всегда был осторожным, чтобы не оставлять отпечатки пальцев.
Сейф был в гостиной, за небогатой картиной. На столе стояла ваза с цветами, Гораций почувствовал, что его нос щекочут. Он слегка чихнул, а затем положил свою сумку. У него было четыре часа до того как вернутся слуги.
Сейф будет не трудно открыть; ведь он жил замками и сейфами всю свою жизни. Сигнализация была примитивной. Он вошел в зал, чтобы обрезать провода. Он вернулся и громко чихнул, так как запах цветов снова ударил ему в нос. Он закрыл лицо носовым платком.
В этот самый момент он услышал голос из-за двери: «Что это? Простуда или сенная лихорадка?»
Он ответил, прежде чем подумать, «Сенная лихорадка», и обнаружил, что снова чихает.
Голос продолжал.
«Вы можете вылечить ее с помощью специального лечения, если выяснить, какое растение приводит к болезни. Я думаю, вам лучше обратиться к врачу, если вы серьезно относитесь к своей работе. Я слышала вас с верхнего этажа дома».
Это был тихий, добрый голос, но в нем чувствовалась твердость. Женщина стояла в дверях. Она была молода и красива, и была одета в красный костюм. Женщина подошла к камину и провела рукой по орнаменту.
«Кто бы мог подумать, что я была далеко в течение месяца», сказала она. «Тем не менее, я приехала как раз вовремя, хотя и не ожидала встретить грабителя».
У Горация была надежда, потому что ее казалось, забавляла встреча с ним. Он может избежать неприятностей, если он отнесется к ней должным образом.
«Я не ожидал встретить ни кого из семьи», ответил он.
Она кивнула.
«Я вижу, что встреча со мной доставила Вам неудобства. Что Вы собираетесь делать? »
«Моей первой мыслью было бежать», сказал Гораций. «Было бы хорошо, если бы вы забыли, что когда-нибудь видели меня. Отпустите меня».
Голос был неожиданно резким.
«Зачем мне это? Вы собирались ограбить меня. Если я вас отпущу, Вы ограбите кого-то еще. Общество должно быть защищено от таких людей, как вы».
Гораций улыбнулся.
«Я не тот человек, который ставит под угрозу спокойствие общества», сказал он. «Я краду только у тех, у кого много денег. Я краду по очень веской причине. Мне ненавистна мысль о тюрьме «.
Она засмеялась, и он умолял, думая, что он убедил ее.
«Поймите, у меня нет права просить что-либо у Вас, но я в отчаянии. Отпустите меня, и я обещаю никогда не делать этого снова. Правда.»
Она молчала, внимательно глядя на него. Затем она сказала: «Вы действительно боитесь попасть в тюрьму, не так ли?» Она взяла серебряную коробочку из-за стола и достала из нее сигарету. Гораций, стремятся угодить ей и, видя, что она может помочь ему, снял перчатки, и протяну ей свою зажигалку.
«Вы отпустите меня?» он поднес пламя к сигарете.
«Да, но только при одном условии. Вы должны сделать кое-что для меня «.
«Все, что вы скажете».
«Прежде, чем мы уехали в Лондон, я обещала моему мужу, отнести мои драгоценности в банк; Но я оставила их здесь в сейфе я хочу одеть на вечеринку сегодня вечером, так что я спустилась, чтобы взять их, но…. »
Гораций улыбнулся.
«Будучи женщиной, вы забыли код, и не можете открыть сейф, не так ли?»
«Да».
«Просто предоставьте это мне, и вы будете иметь их в течение часа. Но мне придется сломать сейф «.
«Не беспокойтесь об этом. Моего мужа не будет здесь в течение месяца, и к тому времени я починю сейф».
За час Гораций открыл сейф, дал ей драгоценности, и с радостью пошел прочь.
В течение двух дней он держал свое обещание данное молодой леди. На утро третьего дня, однако, он думал о книгах, которые хотел, и он знал, что должен был бы искать другую книгу, выставленную не продажу. Но он так и не получил шанс реализовать свой план. К полудню полицейский арестовал его за ограбление Шотовер Грейндж.
Его отпечатки пальцев, так как он открыл сейф без перчаток, были по всей комнате, и никто не верил в его рассказ о жене владельца дома, которая попросила его открыть для нее сейф. Сама жена, седая и острая на язык женщина лет шестидесяти, сказала, что его история полный вздор.
Теперь Гораций является помощником библиотекаря в тюрьме. Он часто думает о той очаровательной, умной девушке, у которой была та же профессия, что и у него, и которая обманула его.
Он очень сердится, когда кто-нибудь говорит о «чести среди воров».