时尚英语话题王（高级） 01-住房

Unit one

clean up your room

tidy up your room

What a mess.

Look at this mess.

What a pigsty 1.

All the people prefer a prosperous and content life.

All the people live and work in peace and contentment.

That is like water pouring down from the steep roof of a high house.

That is sweeping 2 down irresistibly 3 from a commending position.

Don’t forget to lock the door when you leave.

Be sure to lock the door on your way out.

Be sure that the door is locked before you leave.

1

What does a housing go for in south mountain district?

It depends on the type of the house you're looking for.

We’re looking for a three-bedroom home.

What’s your general price range?

Under 300,000 RMB, we suppose.

Umm, I think I would be hard to find something in that range in this area. You know the environment in the south mountain district is the nicest.

What about a two-bedroom house?

A two-bedroom house in this area is generally around 250,000 RMB.

I see.

I recommend you buy a two-bedroom house. It is very suitable for a couple, and some two-bedroom houses are large enough for a one-child family.

Okay, I will take it into consideration.

2

This house is very nice for me, but I can’t afford it in a lump sum.

Don’t worry, you can pay in an installment 4, that is to say, you don’t have to pay the whole amount of money at once.

That’s good. Will you tell me the details?

Certainly, you need to pay a deposit at first, and you will pay the rest monthly.

How long will it take?

It depends.

I need to talk it over with my wife.

Certainly.

3

I heard you are going to move.

Yes, I found a better house near my office. I’m very satisfied with it. But I’m worrying.

What are you worried about?

I’m worrying about how to move all of my household stuff. You know, I have a lot of stuff.

You can call a mover.

How much dose that cost?

Around 200 RMB for a truck.

I think it’s a little expensive.

But think about it, you just need to pack your stuff and leave everything for the movers, how much trouble you will save.

That’s right.

I know a mover which has a very good reputation for their service. I’ll leave you their phone number.

Wonderful.

It’s 83576888.

Okay, thanks a lot. You did me a great favor just now.

You’re welcome.

4

Did you move into your new apartment?

Yes, but I’m afraid it’s still a mess. I haven’t put anything away yet.

Don’t worry. It’ ll probably take you about three weeks to get everything organized.

Don’t say that. It looks like a dump now. I can’t stand it.

Have you taken a walk around your neighborhood yet?

Unfortunately, yes.

What do you mean by that?

I took a long walk through the neighborhood this morning on my way to the train station. It took me 20 minutes.

Yes, but you only pay 800 dollars a month. Emm, it’s hard to decide which is better, shorter commuting 5 time or lower rent.

I thought paying a lower rent would be better, but now I’m not sure.

Is there a supermarket nearby?

Yes, if you consider 7-11 is a supermarket.

Sounds like you better buy a bicycle.

That’s right, or I’m going to spend a lot of time walking.

5

I hear you bought a new house in the northern suburbs.

That’s right, we bought it the same day we came on the market.

What kind of house is it?

It’s a wonderful Spanish style.

Oh, I love the roof tiles on Spanish style houses.

And it’s a bargaining. A house like this in river side costs double the price.

Great, is it a two bedroom house?

No, it has three bedrooms and three beds, and has a living room with a twelve-foot ceiling. There’s a two-car garage.

That’s a nice area too. It’ll be a good investment for you.

Yeas, when will you buy a house?

Not untill the end of this year, you know, just before my wedding.

Right, congratulations.

Thank you.

6

Who’s that?

It’me. Susan Taylor

Oh, please come in. nice to see you.

On, what’re you doing? You look as busy as a bee.

Yeah, I’m trying to decorate my house.

Really, that’s cool. Let me see what you’ve done.

But actually it’s not done yet. I’m going to get a special pendent lamp.

That’s all right. Let me see, oh, that lace looks so unique, and it’s so creative to make a picture display here. How did you get that idea?

It’s just a simple decorating. I just want to add my personality to my living space. I know most of your furniture is very traditional. You like wooden furniture, don’t you?

Yes, my wife and I prefer wooden furniture to metal.

I think wooden furniture seems more elegant than metal furniture.

Yes, you like natural and simple styles, just like me.

Yeah, just like you.

7

This place is so quiet and peaceful. It’s really different from my pad at city.

Sure, do you think you could live out here? You know, back to nature at all?

I don’t know. I don’t mind coming out here for a while, but that will get old pretty soon.

That’s what I was thinking. I mean can you imagine Friday night instead of going out with your friends you’d have to stay in your tree house and talk to birds and squirrels.

I think I’d go lonely if I do like that.

And where would you get a cup of cappuccino?

Now that would be hard to live without. We city folks are pretty spoiled.

Maybe. But I‘d rather be spoiled than turn into a crazy guy with a long period to talk to the birds.

8

I’ve heard that hundreds of people have been waiting in a line for hours to buy an apartment.

Incredible. Why did that happen?

Because it was an economical housing project which is wear for many low income and middle income earners.

Is it a kind of housing problem?

Of course, as more and more people crowd into big cities, housing shortage becomes an increasingly big and serious problem.

But they never stop constructing in big cities.

Despite the mushrooming high buildings, the supply of living space still falls far short of demand, so the price of housing soars.

Maybe it will be effective to encourage the people to move to the suburbs, in order to reduce the population density 6 in the downtown area.

That plan is already on the way. But there’s huge surge in suburban 7 housing market, which is also causing traffic problems.

So the government should make appropriate plans to solve these problems. We still have a long way to go.