A Tour of Homes 3, the lounge/ family room.
Join me again as we walk through a typical house, and observe all the every day objects that native speakers can name so easily. Before we get started, do you remember any of the vocabulary from the entry way and the powder room? Do you remember another name for an electrical socket? It's an outlet, isn't it. And what about the most important verb for using the toilet? To flush. I'm sure, if you make a list of the important vocabulary and think about it in your own home, you will soon know these words.
Well, let's get started with the lounge. I hope you realize that I had to tidy up my lounge before taking the photo for this podcast; that's how serious I am about you learning! The lounge is one of the places where we spend most of our time at home. Most lounges have quite a bit of furniture: a sofa, arm chairs, perhaps a love seat, a coffee table, side tables, lamps, reading lights, a television, and an entertainment center which includes a dvd player, a stereo radio, and maybe some kind of recording device like an old fashioned video recorder (that's what we still have). Windows either have curtains which you draw (to open and close), or blinds which you pull. To create a nice atmosphere, often homes will have recessed lights which are slightly hidden in the ceiling or in the walls. They create an indirect light which is softer on the eyes.
In these western homes, there tends to be collections of magazines and books on the coffee and end tables. Often the magazines are not read entirely; they are there to flick through. Usually, next to the chairs where the heads of the household sit, the all important remote controls will be within easy reach, on a side table, or in a drawer. This device is sacred. If it ever goes missing, somebody will be in trouble. If a wife innocently moves it from one table to another while she is cleaning, uh-oh, she's in trouble. That's how it is in the Wild West. To use the remote, you must know which buttons to push. Sometimes you must select an option, just like on a computer. Never forget to replace the batteries when the power is low. A telephone is found in a lounge. You talk in the receiver, you dial the numbers, and you hang up when you have finished your conversation.
Well, there is lots to remember about lounges. Obviously, some things that you find in the first rooms that I mentioned, you also find in the lounge, but you can make those assumptions for yourself. Electrical sockets or outlets, for example, would be found in this room, so I won't repeat an explanation of what they are. I hope that you follow me through the rest of the rooms of the house, and become an expert in the daily vocabulary of a native speaker. |