Lesson43 American Homes
Many young Americans do not live with their families, but in apartmentblocks or residential areas where everyone is more or less of the same age.
Young people often move away from home when they leave school into sharedapartments or smaller apartments. They do their own cooking and cleaning,and go to the family home perhaps for the weekend.
Young married couples may move to new suburbs where most people have youngfamilies. In the country, some even build their houses themselves.
If a family's income goes up, they often move to another suburb, where thehouses are bigger, with two or even three garages, a swimming pool, a gamesroom for the children, and everything a family could want.
Old people often do not live with their grown up children.
Many live in old people's homes. Some live in special towns, built for oldpeople, where there are no young children and the atmosphere is quiet.
Americans are always on the move, and some families change their homes everyfew years. Every year, 20% of Americans move house. Mr. and Mrs. Schultzcould start life in an apartment in New York, go on to a white paintedwooden home in New England, with small windows to keep out the cold inwinter, and end their life in a sunny house in California, where orangesgrow in the garden, and big windows give a wonderful view of the swimmingpool and the sea.
residential 住宅的，与居住有关的
美国家庭
很多年轻的美国人不和自己的家人住在一起，而是住在和自己年龄相仿的人聚集的公寓区或住宅区。
年轻人离开学校后，就从家里搬到合租的公寓或小一点的公寓。他们自己做饭，打扫房间，可能回家度周末。
年轻的新婚夫妇可能会搬到新人聚集的新开发的郊区居住。在乡村，不少人甚至自己盖房子。
家庭收入增加后，他们常搬到其他郊区，那里的房子更大些，有两到三个车库，带泳池、儿童游戏室，具备一切家庭需要的设施。
老人通常不与他们的成年子女住在一起。许多老人住在老年之家里。有些老人住在专为老年人修建的小镇上，那里没有小孩，非常安静。
美国人总是在搬家，一些家庭隔几年就会搬一次。每年有百分之二十的美国人改变居所。舒尔兹夫妇可能在纽约的公寓里开始他们的婚姻生活。继而搬到新英格兰一幢白色的小木屋中，窗户很小，这是为了抵御冬日的严寒。最后在佛吉尼亚阳光灿烂的家中安享晚年，这里的花园栽有柑桔，宽敞的窗外就是泳池和大海的美景。 |