英语博客:A Tour of Homes part 11, The Mud Room.

Well podlisteners, it is time to continue with important vocabulary about the homes that we live in. There is one room which helps me keep the house both clean and organized. It's the mudroom. It's name suggests that it gets very dirty, muddy even. That only happens sometimes. The mudroom is the first room that you enter when you walk into the house from the garage. It is the place where you hang up your coats and jackets, store your shoes and boots, and even put your extra things away. In our house, the mudroom is just for the children. It is where all of their shoes, boots, coats and backpacks are. Before we had a mudroom, it was frustrating¹ trying to locate an odd shoe, or a certain jacket, as they tended to get left anywhere in the house. Now the children know that this is the only place they can leave those important items. My husband actually made the wooden compartments² where everything is stored. They are like heavy boxes of wood of different sizes stacked together. We call them 'cubbies'. Metal hooks⁴ are in the largest cubbies, and on them we hang coats and jackets. The floor is tile⁵, the walls are painted, and we have a large mirror and a clock also in the room. There is a small mat for wiping our feet if they happen to be muddy, dusty, or wet. And there is a seating area (actually a shelf) where the kids can sit to put on shoes or take them off. So there you have it, the place that helps us stay organized, and keeps me from headaches.

 Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: to organize (organise), odd, hook³, to wipe.

1. I love to stay organized (organised); it makes life much simpler.

2. My bedroom drawer is full of odd socks; I can only find one of each pair.

3. In Peter Pan, the baddy had a hook instead of a hand.

4. These cloths are so useful; I can wipe all the surfaces in the house.

 

1 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

4 hooks   

钩拳( hook的名词复数 )； 挂钩； 转弯处； 曲线球

参考例句：

• I want to buy the hams hanging on the hooks. 我想买挂在钩子上的火腿。
• This dress hooks at the back, not at the side. 这件衣服是在背后而不是在旁边扣钩。

5 tile   

n.砖瓦；vt.铺以瓦，铺以瓷砖

参考例句：

• The bathroom is faced with tile.浴室铺着瓷砖。
• I pointed to a number of scratches in the tile floor.我指向地板砖上的一道道划痕。