📘 Part 3: Rooms and homes

This episode's vocabulary

Interior (noun) - situated on or relating to the inside of something; inner..

Get-together (noun) - an informal gathering.

Host (noun) - a person who receives or entertains other people as guests.

To integrate (verb) - to combine two or more things in order to become more effective.

Morale (noun) - the amount of confidence felt by a person or group of people, especially when in a dangerous or difficult situation.

Stereotypical (adj.) - a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.

Surroundings (plural noun) - the place where someone or something is and the things that are in it.

Thought-out (adj.) - if something is carefully/well/badly thought out, it is carefully/well/badly planned.

Buying power (noun) - the financial ability of a person or group to buy things

Questions and Answers

M: Why might people like to invite others to their homes?

R: Well, lots of reasons. They might want to show off what they have in their house to their friends, or they might just really want to have a party. And so you invite people to your home, if you want to have a party. Maybe they've not seen each other in quite some time, and you've made some changes to the interior. So all of these can be good reasons for having a get-together.

M: Why do people often take gifts when they visit other people's houses?

R: Well, hosting people is quite stressful and requires some preparation resources on the part of the host, so I suppose it's a nice way to say thank you, and you can do that by bringing a little something of your own.

M: And do people always bring gifts when they visit other people's houses?

R: I mean, it depends on the kind of relationship that they have, I suppose. You never, no one does everything, like 100% of the time. So there must be some reasons, like, you know the people really well, or you're there all the time, so you just get into this kind of routine. But generally speaking, it's good form to bring gifts to someone's house.

M: Who likes to stay at home more, young or older people?

R: Well, if this were 10 years ago, I'd have said old people. But honestly, it seems like everyone prefers to stay at home these days. I mean, the cost of living is so high and going out is so over-regulated. It's just not that fun anymore, or doesn't seem like it.

M: What do you think buildings will be like in the future?

R: Well, I imagine they'll probably stay the same in the sense of having like walls and ceilings and what have you. So probably what will change is the interior. It might become more energy efficient, and there will be more technology integrated into it. So those are the things that are likely to change the inside, rather than the outside.

M: What do people usually consider when they rent or buy a house?

R: Well, lots of things. For example, the location and how much it's actually going to cost as well. Price can play a key role in these things, but there's also how it fits into their plans for the future. For example, if you're planning to have children, maybe not immediately, but in the near term, or even in the long term, you might pick a place that's got more rooms than there are people, because then you'll have the space for those additions to your family. I think those are a lot of the things that, or those are the main things. And then in my country, we've got a special system for determining the quality of an area. It's not really for that, but people use it this way. So this can also have an impact on what people's... What people consider when they're looking at a place.

M: How can architects and urban planners create more sustainable living cities?

R: I really don't know, because that's not really an area that I'm very familiar with. However, if we think about things that are sustainable, they're supposed to last for a long time, so I suppose thinking about building materials that will last long but also have a minimal impact on the environment. And then we should think about things which will also have an impact on people's health as well. So things should be designed to reduce the amount of stress they're feeling, and then also, well, potentially boost their productivity or morale as well. So the design might change to reflect that too.

M: Do you agree that the kinds of homes people prefer change as they get older?

R: Well, there's this sort of stereotypical life plan of moving into an apartment and then a house as, well, as you get on in life. But I think that just might be a sort of middle-class cliche, to be honest with you. I think people pick something and then just adapt to their surroundings for the most part. That certainly seems easier and more logical than having this sort of thought-out life plan where you move based on your age, because people age at different rates and their interests change. So it doesn't seem like it would count for a lot of people. And not everybody has that buying power either.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

Discussion

M: So dear listener, people enjoy inviting their friends to their home. So they host a party. They have a party at their house, and they invite guests. So some people enjoy being hosts, and usually they invite people to their home, because. It's a holiday, a celebration, or a get-together, so kind of an informal meeting with your friends, with your family. If it's like a lovely family get-together. But you can say like others might dislike it. They are not good hosts. Usually, people take gifts, so when they visit other people's houses, they take gifts, presents with them, or a bottle of wine or some like, I don't know, a cake, something to have tea with.

R: Yeah, that would be quite nice. I'm going to ask for people to bring cake next time I have a party.

M: Yeah, maybe it's not traditional in all countries, right? But I think in most countries, when you are invited to dinner, you kind of you bring something. Even if the host doesn't tell you what to bring, you bring some, like sweets or a bottle of wine or flowers, you know, usually. What about Scotland? Do people bring something?

R: I think it's about the same, yeah, usually. Unless you're very good friends, in which case you don't seem to need to do that. But that's possibly because you know each other so well. And of course, at least in the case of my family, they're probably thinking, well, do they need more wine in the house? Do they need more flowers? So maybe it doesn't count then if you're very, very close friends.

M: So hosting people is quite stressful, so when you have guests over to your place, could be quite stressful, and it requires, it needs a lot of preparation on the part of the host. So the host is a person who has the party. So it's a nice way to say thank you. So bringing gifts is a nice way to say thank you, host. Everyone prefers to stay home these days, according to Rory.

R: This is based on my personal experience of the world. If you're a party animal, then maybe it's different.

M: Yeah, maybe in Scotland, but I guess, like in the other countries...

R: Maria's like but I guess in the real world.

M: In the real world, yes. People enjoy going out. They go to restaurants, they travel. So again, it depends on where you live, dear listener. So here you can say that all the people usually prefer to stay at home. They're not as active as young but these days, young people prefer to stay at home, to throw parties at home rather than going out. But again, it depends on where you live. The cost of living is so high, so people prefer to stay at home more, right? So you can also say about the cost, the price of living, the price of going out or eating out when you have dinner in a restaurant. Buildings in the future. Dear listener, yeah, here we need to have some special knowledge. And Rory told us about the interior design, so the inside of buildings might change.

R: Well, just because technology's always advancing in those terms. I don't know much about materials for building, but I know that what people have in their homes will change as technology progresses.

M: Yeah, for example, more technology will be integrated. Integrated? Used in flats, in houses, we have smart houses now where pretty much everything is done with the help of technology, you can't open the door with your key, but you have different apps, so voice recognition...

R: I've been to a house like that, and it freaks me out. What happens if you have a power cut? What's supposed to happen then?

M: Wow... Yeah, true.

R: You should definitely have the choice.

M: Yep. So you can't open the fridge if you are not logged in some app, yeah? If the fridge doesn't recognize your voice, that's it, no food. Also, you can talk about materials. So the materials that buildings will be made of, like we have traditional bricks and stone houses, so maybe apartment blocks, like buildings with flats will change. They will be made of glass and metal, okay? And you can also say like futuristic? Like future. Futuristic buildings, Rory?

R: Well, futuristic is more of a look than a time period. So the buildings might look futuristic, you could say that. I don't really know. I mean, I live in a building that's 120 years old. Most people live in older buildings, to be honest.

M: Yeah, but you can say, like, oh, futuristic, like future, futuristic buildings will be very modern, and they will have a lot of technology integrated into them. It will be like a smart house. So futuristic? Something strange and very modern that will be in the future. So kind of like voice-controlled doors, voice-controlled appliances and lights. Appliances? Like your cattle, microwave. People usually consider the cost. So the price that they have to pay for a house or a flat. So the cost plays a key role, a major role. Also the location, the place where a flat or a house is. And also they consider how their future house fits in their plans. Or, should I say, how their future house fits their plans.

R: It fits their plans, or fits in with their plans.

M: Hmm... Yeah. So fit in their plans, or fits their plans.

R: Fits in with.

M: Fits in with their plans, yeah. So people usually consider how their future house fits in with their plans. If they plan to have a baby, then they have, they will have to have more room, like a special room for the baby, perhaps, ideally.

R: So they can sleep.

M: A special room for, for themselves. Yes? And they pick a place. They choose a place that fits their plans, that matches their future plans. Then a very strange question, dear listener, architects. Like architects? Architecture and urban planners. Who are urban planners?

R: Who are urban planners? They like plan out cities and how they should look, or they plan out sections of cities and how they might look.

M: Yeah. And how do these people make our cities more sustainable. Sustainable? Able to continue over a period of time. And also causing little damage to the environment. Sustainable. Sustainable production. It causes little damage to the environment. So kind of the question is about how architects, architecture, how do people design a city which is less damaging to the environment and where people can live? Rory told us that I don't know. It's absolutely fine to say I don't know, it's a strategy. And then he says it's an area I'm not familiar with. So it's a topic, an area I'm not familiar with, okay? That's absolutely fine to say this. Then he told us a couple of words about, ooh, I think...

R: So even if you don't know, you can speculate. Like, oh my God, I have no idea. But maybe...

M: Yeah, maybe building materials will be used with minimal impact on the environment, like less damage to the environment. And also these building materials will not be damaging to people's health. Okay? So they would be long-lasting. They will last longer, but they will be more environmentally friendly. As we get old. Or you can say as people get on in life. So instead of saying as people age, as people get older, we can say, as people get on in life, they prefer different houses, for example. So based on your age, we move houses, we move to a different place, based on your age. Or it's all stereotypical and, you know, doesn't work like that.

R: I think that's a dream or a way of living for a certain type of people or person, but I don't think most people have the money or like the choices in life to just be like, oh, I'm 50 years old now, so I'm going to move to a different kind of house.

M: Yeah. Sweet! Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode! Bye!

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