EPISODE 67
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1
READING COMPREHENSION
A PLACE TO LIVE
'I would really like to buy a flat, but the prices in Warsaw are incredibly (= very) high.’
'Are you thinking of buying a place of your own?’ (= a flat or house which is yours because you have bought it)
'Yeah. I’ve been renting a flat for a year now (= it is not my flat and I have to pay for living in it regularly), but I’ve recently started to think it’s a waste of money (= money spent in a stupid way). Especially that the landlady (= the woman who has the flat) asks for more rent all the time. And my flat mate (= someone who lives in a flat with you, but not your husband/ wife or partner) moved out last month. (= started to live in another flat). I can’t afford (= I don’t have enough money) to pay the rent any more. I’ll have to think of something really fast’
More contexts for the new words:
• My landlord asked for more rent last week. (= A landlady is a woman, a landlord is a man)
• He is the owner of this house. (= This house belongs to him)
EXERCISE 1
Decide if the sentences below are true or false. Correct the false ones.
1. When you move out, you stop living in the place where you’ve lived so far.
2. If you can’t afford to buy something, you have enough money to buy it.
3. A landlady is a farmer’s wife.
4. When you rent a flat, you live in a special flat for disabled or old people.
5. A flat mate is someone who lives in a flat with you.
6. A place of your own is simply your own house or flat.
EXERCISE 2
Rearrange the words and phrases to make questions, and then answer them.
1. of your own? / a place / Do you / have
2. like to buy / What would you / can’t / that you / afford?
3. What / of money? / do you think / is a waste
ENGLISH IN USE
Today we are going to have a closer look at the following sentence:
I’ve been renting a flat for a year now
As you probably know, „I’ve” stands for „I have”, so the sentence can look like this:
I have been renting a flat for a year now
This sentence is a Present Perfect Continuous tense. We use this tense to talk about actions which started in the past and continue up to now, as in:
I have been learning English for 5 years.
I have been driving for many hours.
I have been studying for my exam for 3 days.
Be careful though with verbs like, for example: to be, to love, to know. We never use them with Continuous tenses, so with them we need to use Present Perfect Simple tense:
I have been here for many hours.
I have loved her all my life.
I have known him since last summer.
These sentences also mean that some action started in the past and continues up to now.
IDIOM CLOSE-UP
A/ How is John?
B/ Not too good. His wife told him to move out, and now he doesn’t even HAVE A ROOF OVER HIS HEAD.
If you have a roof over your head, you have somewhere to live.
PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP
1. When you PUT somebody UP, you let them stay in your house for a short time.
Would you be able to put me up when I’m in Warsaw next week?
Please come and visit us, we’ll put you up for a few days.
2. If you SLEEP OVER, you sleep in someone else’s house for a night. The noun is A SLEEPOVER.
My son loves it when a school friends sleeps over.
The kids had a sleepover.
EXERCISE 3
Match the sentence halves.
1. He’s so poor that he doesn’t even have a roof a. over?
2. Don’t worry, when you come to visit us I’ll put you b. over his head
3. Oh, it’s late! Can I sleep c. up for the night.
NEWS
STUDENT FLATS
With the terrible shortage of flats to rent in major Polish cities, it is really difficult for students coming to these cities to find an affordable place to live. As a result, a few students sharing a flat is a very popular option. However, there are too few such flats, and too many students wanting to live there, so the landlords and landladies are organizing auditions for future tenants. They invite a few students for the interview at the same time, and ask them to prove why they are the best candidates for the flat. Students are humiliated by the procedure, but they have to cooperate if they want to have a roof over their head.
GLOSSARY
– shortage – too few
– affordable – cheap
– auditions – job interviews for actors
– tenants – people who rent a flat from a landlord/ landlady
– humiliated – feeling very bad, embarrassed and ashamed
>>Answers
KEY TO EXERCISES
Ex.1
1. true
2. false – you don’t have enough money to buy it.
3. false – she is the woman who has the flat
4. false – you pay for living in it regularly
5. true
6. true
Ex.2
1. Do you have a place of your own?
2. What would you like to buy that you can’t afford?
3. What do you think is a waste of money?
Ex.3
1. b
2. c
3. a
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