📙 Part 2: Describe the home of someone you know well and who you often visit

This episode's vocabulary

To make a point of doing something (idiom) - to always do something or to take particular care to do something.

To check in (phrasal verb) - to contact someone by making a phone call, short visit, etc., usually in order to make sure there are no problems or to tell them that there are no problems.

Cottage (noun) - a small house, usually in the countryside.

Layout (noun) - the way something is designed or arranged.

Moderately (adverb) - in a way that is neither small nor large in size, amount, degree, or strength.

Barren (adj.) - if you describe a room or a place as barren, you do not like it because it has almost no furniture or other objects in it.

Stark (adj.) - empty, simple, or obvious, especially without decoration or anything that is not necessary.

Interior (noun) - the inside part of something.

Cosy (adj.) - comfortable and pleasant, especially (of a building) because of being small and warm.

Fixture (noun) - a permanently fixed piece of furniture in a house, such as a bath, that would not be taken by someone when moving to a new home.

Mod cons (plural noun) - the machines and devices, such as washing machines and fridges, that make the ordinary jobs in a home easier.

Chagrin (noun) - disappointment or anger, especially when caused by a failure or mistake.

Externally (adverb) - in a way that relates to the outside of something, or that is on or comes from the outside.

Sturdier (adj.) - physically strong and solid or thick, and therefore unlikely to break or be hurt.

Classy (adj.) - if you describe someone or something as classy, you mean they are stylish and sophisticated.

Formidable (adj.) - causing you to have fear or respect for something or someone because that thing or person is large, powerful, or difficult.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you ready?

R: Yes.

M: Come on.

R: I suppose now I've moved home, the one that I visit the most often is my childhood home, which is also the place my parents live at the moment. In fact, I think they've lived there for the last 40 years or something like that. I make a point of visiting during the holidays, regardless of where I am in the world. It's always been far away for the last 10 years or so, which makes it all the more important to come home regularly and check in on them and see how they're getting on, along with everyone else in my hometown, of course. The house is, well, actually, initially, I thought it was a Victorian fisherman's cottage, but my dad has since explained and corrected me and told me that it's still Victorian, but it was actually originally for farmers. Regardless of who the original owners were, it's still an old building. And it shows in the layout of the house with lots of space for the kitchen, the living room and the dining area and the bedrooms. We even have a hall. The ceilings are also moderately high, I would say, compared to, well, modern buildings that I've been in. The walls in the living room are bare stone, which you would think makes it sound quite barren and stark, but actually, in the right lighting and with the right interior design, it looks very cosy. The kitchen hasn't changed much. But the equipment and fixtures have all been updated with the usual mod cons. Even the ones my parents never use, like the dishwasher, for example. The bedrooms are roughly similar, but the master has a massive set of wardrobes along one wall. And that's principally to hold mom's shoe collection, which has expanded to take over parts of my old room much to my chagrin. Externally the house is made of old bricks, which are, well, I would say they're a lot better looking than usual red bricks you see today. It also means they have to be pointed and maintained less often, since they're much sturdier. Sort of like the people in it, classy and formidable. Overall, I'd love the place and I always look forward to going back and getting a warm welcome in the pleasant surroundings.

M: Do you think you'll go back there anytime soon?

R: Yeah, I'm going back there for the Christmas holidays!

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Discussion

M: Yeah, so dear listener, this is not your home. So you should describe the home of somebody you know well, and somebody you often visit. Okay? That's the key. Maybe your friend's home or your parent's home. And Rory talked about his childhood home. Now he moved again, to the middle of nowhere in Scotland. And when people asked me, oh, but where's Rory? Is Rory in Moscow? No, he's in the middle of nowhere, in Scotland. I love saying that, Rory. So I'm spreading this word that you are in the middle of nowhere.

R: Well, someone's got to hear where I live. Otherwise, no one can find me.

M: So the one place I visit most often is my childhood home. So your childhood home is the place where you were born. Right? You spent your childhood years there.

R: Yeah, it's where I grew up.

M: I make a point of visiting during the holidays. Yeah? So Rory often goes there to visit his parents during the holidays. And when are you going for Christmas?

R: At the end of December. So shortly after this episode comes are actually.

M: Nice, nice. Or you can say like I visit them every month or twice a week or I pay frequent visits to this house. So I come back home regularly, or I come there regularly.

R: Or I go there regularly.

M: And if you're speaking about your parents or your relatives, you can say I check in on them. So to check in on them? Just to make sure if they're fine. Yeah? Catch up.

R: And everything's okay.

M: So I come home regularly and check in on them and see how they're getting on. You see, dear listener, lots of phrasal verbs. So I usually check in on them before the holidays. Or during the holidays. and see how they're getting on, how they are doing. And then the description of the house. So Rory said that it was a Victorian fisherman's cottage. It was, but not anymore.

R: Well, it was. Now it's a house, where people, where people live. It's not specifically for fishermen or their families.

M: Yeah, but still it's Victorian. Because Rory's house is right in front of the sea. So he sees the sea. Beautiful. It's an old building, with lots of space for the kitchen, living room, dining area, bedrooms. The ceilings are high, or the ceilings are low. So here, you can go ahead and describe different rooms, or your favourite room. You can say the house is spacious. Well, pretty much you can use the same vocabulary, when you talk about your own house. Yeah? You can feel free to lie. So spacious modern flat. Maybe it's a smart house with all the cool equipment. The walls in the living room are bare stone.

R: But that just means that they're exposed and you can see them.

M: And then surely the interior design looks cosy.

R: But the interior design is just how you decorated your home.

M: You can say like, the kitchen hasn't changed much, or the house hasn't changed much. But something has been updated.

R: And in this case, it was the equipment and the fixtures.

M: And what are the mod cons?

R: Oh, modern... Mod cons are the modern conveniences.

M: Yeah, the usual mod cons. So like the... Hopefully the heating, air conditioning. Yeah?

R: We don't have air conditioning.

M: Oh, you don't?

R: No. Why would you need air conditioning in Scotland? It's never that hot.

M: Yeah. In front of the sea. The dishwasher, right? Stuff like that.

R: And then we talk about the fixtures, which are bits of or, sorry, pieces of furniture. They're in one place and they cannot be moved. So things like the sink, for example. You wouldn't move that around. Probably.

M: Yeah, then you should say something about a specific feature of the house, like Rory told us about a massive set of wardrobes along one wall to hold his mom's shoe collection.

R: Yes. You like the idea of the shoe collection, I can tell.

M: Oh my gosh, yeah, beautiful, beautiful. And then this is like internally, so inside the house, right? Interior design. Externally. So outside the house, the house is made of old bricks. So the house is made of wood, or bricks.

R: And they are sturdy, which means they last longer, and they're stronger.

M: Much like the people in it, nice. I love this comment.

R: Formidable people.

M: Yeah. What is this? Formidable.

R: Formidable. It just means that you inspire respect because you're powerful.

M: Hmm... Nice.

R: Or that's one meaning of it, I should say.

M: And to wrap it up, you can say I love the place. I always look forward to going back, yeah? And getting a warm welcome in the pleasant surroundings. I feel happy in the place. Yeah? I look forward to going back there. So these are like nice wrapping-up phrases. What helped you organize this answer, Rory?

R: Oh, I just followed the... I just followed the bullet points, mostly. Although, I did divide it up a bit because I had to say whose home it was. And I talked about my parents a little bit. And I talked a little bit about how often I go there, but then it asked what it was like. And I kind of divided it up between what it looks like on the outside and what it looks like on the inside. So when I talked about, regardless of who the owners are, it's an old building, it shows in the layout of the house, and then I talked about the inside. And then I switched over to the outside. So I said externally. The house is made of and then I explained that a bit more. And then I only lingered a little bit on how I felt about the house because I didn't have that much time. And I was like, well, like in our part one writing for academic, overall, I like the place or I love the place and I always look forward to going there.

M: Yeah, yeah. Really nice. And the question about what's it like, so what is the house like? You should describe the house. Right? It's old, it's modern, it's spacious. Like a lot of space. Yeah. So feel free to use adjectives to describe the house. Sweet. Oh, such a cosy place. I wish I could visit.

R: Maybe you will one day.

M: Going to Scotland mission. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll come back in the next episode, speaking part three, where we talk about houses in general! Stay tuned!

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

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