its a small 3 bedroom ranch located in a suburb

8/2/2019 Its a Small 3 Bedroom Ranch Located in a Suburb

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Its a small 3 bedroom ranch located in a suburb. The bedroom is my favorite place, it is where I rocked

my children to sleep in the chair, where I cry when I am sad, where I hold my husband to sleep, where I

have snuggled with my children and watched movies with the lights out, it is where I have had serious

talks with my children concerning life and their choices, where even to this day they still come to talk to

me about their lives. It is the warmest place in the house, full of wonderful memories and special

moments. It is home.

HOUSE AND HOME1. Describe the type of house you live in.I live in a (detached house / semi-detached house / block of flats / terrace house)It is .. years old and has .. rooms.Our place includes ( an attic/ a cellar/a balcony/..)There are also (balconies, garages, ..)2. Give a description of the rooms in your homeIn the kitchen we have a (sink, fridge / microwave oven / )Our living room is decorated with ..In the bedroom there is a (double bed / bedside tables / dressing table / ..)My room has a (desk / lamp / rug / ..)3. What type of living do you like? (house or flat)I prefer ..In the future, I would like to have a ..I would also like to have a (large garden/ a swimming pool/ two-car garage)4. Would you prefer to live in the town or in the country?I would rather live in ..I would not like to spend ..Living in ... has lots of advantages.When you live in the ..Sometimes it is difficult to ..

This is a detached house. There are no other houses attached to it.

These are semi-detached houses. Each house is attached to one other house.


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These are town houses. They have three storeys.

Terraced houses were built with red brick during the industrial revolution in order to accommodate factory workers.

These houses are small, functional and affordable. The red brick was cheap and quick to build with.

These are terraced houses. Each house has another house on each side.


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Some Victorian terraced houses are still cheap to buy but this depends on where in the city they are located and also

the condition that they are in. If they are located in a fashionable part of a city they are quite expensive. This terraced

house in Birmingham is around 300,000.

This is a bungalow. It has only one storey.

My husbands grandma used to live in a nursing home near Sheffield. She lived on her own until she was 91 years

old. When her health started to deteriorate, her children decided that it was safer to place her in a nursing home. I

visited her a few times and was saddened by what I saw. Gran desperately wanted to come with us when we left, asshe hated being there.

Nursing homes are very expensive in the UK and daily care, emotional support and daily activities to stimulate body

and mind are kept to a minimum, if that.

A detached house converted into two apartments.


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When I moved to England in 2002 I was surprised to hear that most young people buy a house when they are in their

early 20s as they want to get onto the property ladder of buying and selling homes.

This has all changed as now it is quite hard for anyone to get a mortgage so the rental property market has

dramatically increased.

Thatched roof houses.

Thatched roof houses are examples of traditional English houses. The roof is made out of straw or reed. These

houses are hundreds of years old. Not many are built nowadays. Replacing the roof is quite expensive as not manypeople can do this job!

Here are some examples of thatched roof houses in the village where my cousin lives.


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Vocabulary

Detached

Semi-detached

Terraced

Storey

Bungalow

Thatched

Questions

What type of house do you live in? Do you know when it was built?

Why did you choose your current home? What features attracted you?

What are some examples of traditional houses in your country? Do people buy or rent?

dream house

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

Wood floor and paneling throughout.. except a richly coloured meditteranean mosaic tiled floor in the

kitchen with maybe terra cotta colored painted walls.

Somewhere somewhat remote.. not too far from civilization if I felt like going out and being social and

seeing other people

My ideal home must be on a body of water

Must be near a forest or small wooded area

Must have at least a four or five acres all around... space for a vegetable garden, perhaps a grove or

orchard.. and room for dogs to run... and a fire pit to sit outside and play the fiddle around

I like cathedral ceilings and fire places and antique wood shelves and cabinets built into walls

Must have a BIG veranda

Must have a lot of windows facing south for our giant indoor plant collection (one wall of my apartment

now looks like a jungle. Need more room.)


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The house doesn't have to be huge. I don't want a really huge house.. it would feel too empty and

lonely. There has to be room enough for company and animals.. but it should be cozy.

ssssssss

I always change my mind about what I would want.

Sometimes it's a modern home on a beach overlooking the sea, decorated in pure white so as not to

detract from the view.

Other times I think I'd prefer a castle with a huge library and a ginormous fireplace.

Or a mansion with winding staircases. Or a decadent Victorian manor with canopied beds.

Or a cozy house built within a huge tree deep in the forest.

The things they have in common is rural living and the solitude that comes with it. I love gardens and

unobstructed views of the stars.

But I also like my creature comforts, so it couldn't be too rustic, or it would have to be updated to includethings like a relaxing bath.

I really would like to keep my running water, electricity and internet connection.

Of course, if there really were no restraints, I could have them all! (Spoken like a true Taurean, I

know, lol.)

1. Describe the place where you live and say whether you like it or not.

Ive lived in Khemisset city all my life and it has never lost its unique charm in my

eyes. Although it is small and lacks a lot of facilities and infrastructure I prefer it to

other places.

One reason I prefer it is climate. In Khmisset the weather is often mild and

temperate. It is not very cold in winter and not very hot in the summer. It is a

salubrious weather and protects me from allergies and some other illnesses that I

may catch in coastal or big cities.

Another reason to prefer Khmisset is its size. It is a small city with less stressful

traffic jam. This means also fewer fumes and less car noise. There are almost no

factories either. This makes the city cleaner than the big metropolitan ones. Living

in a small city, as well, allows me to know most people here and be known.However, in big cities people suffer from loneliness and solitude.

The third reason why I like this city is its rural feel. Most people here are simple

peasants. I like their condor, innocence, and simplicity as well as their

straightforward character. The peasant nature of the city, too, allows me to be in

contact with nature and live the four seasons and missing none.


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My last, but not least, reason for preferring Khmisset over other cities is language.

People speak Berber, a language I speak poorly. I understand it well and try my

best to master it because its part of Moroccan culture and we do not have to

neglect it.

My final opinion, though, is that I like Khmisset because of all the reasons stated

earlier but one day Ill have to experience life in other bigger cities, here or abroad.

Then Ill be in a better position to compare and judge.

TeachingEnglishReading house

Submitted by TE Editor on 18 November, 2011 - 07:51

Theme: Buildings and lifestyles, personal taste.

Lexical area: Buildings, features of buildings and decoration

Cross curricular links: History, Geography, Art.

Instructions for language assistants in italics

Classroom materials

IntroductionA good selection of pictures of houses from the UK would greatly enhance this lesson. Interiorsof houses might also be useful for the discussions and act ivities relating to taste.

Sources for pictures are estate agents websites which have photos of interiors and exteriors with

a description of rooms. House magazines or the property supplement of a Sunday broadsheetcould provide visuals and adverts Try to get a picture of some loft/warehouse developments to

support the reading text.

1. Describing housesYou can introduce this topic in a variety of ways

y Focus on the title Reading houses How could you read a house? What might this

mean?y Bring a selection of pictures of houses in the UK and ask students to describe them and

say which ones they likey If you have higher levels you can discuss the cross cultural aspect in more detail. House

types can depend on climate.


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With all levels run through each feature round the class after the students have discussed in

pairs. Bring in personal contributions which will help students talk about their own homes in thefollowing exercise: Do you think shutters are important? Why do you have shutters? Do you

prefer sleeping in total darkness or with a bit of light. Most houses havent got shutters in the

UK but people like curtains or blinds at windows. Do you have curtains in your home? Have yougot a garden? Do you ever eat outside? How often?

Task 1 Describing housesPeople live in lots of different places. Sometimes the type of house tells us about the people who

live there and sometimes it doesnt. Different countries have different types of houses.

y Which of these features do you think are an essential part of a home? Which are notessential?

a garden more than one bathroom a dining room

a balcony a kitchen lots of spacea swimming a fireplace shutters

a garage central heating a beautiful view

a patio / terrace carpeted floors a basement / family room

y Can you match these words describing types of house to their definition?

apartment flat penthouse

bungalow loft apartment detached

castle semi-detached studio

cottage palace terraced

y a small house in the country (cottage)

y a house with no stairs, on one level. (bungalow)

y a house which is part of a bigger building (Am. English apartment)y a house which is part of a bigger building (Brit .English flat)

y a house which is not joined to another house (detached)y a house which is joined to another house on one side (semi detached)

y a house which is joined to other houses on two sides/ a house which is part of a line ofhouses (terraced)

y a house which was built to keep the inhabitants safe (castle)y a house which was built for rich or grand people (palace)y a house which is on the top of a tall building (penthouse)y a house which was an industrial building (loft apartment)

y a small one-roomed flat (studio)

2. Describe your home


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Get your students to work in pairs and describe their own homes. Prepare lower levels carefully.Use your own home in the UK and any pictures if you have some. Elicit questions: bedrooms

y Pre teach necessary vocabulary for low levels and leave prompts to help them on the

board: old, modern, rural, in a town, in the countryside.y

S

tudents could also do a describe and draw activity. Put students in pairs. They must askfor enough information to draw a plan of their partners house. They should only look ateach others drawings at the end For lower levels this task would need guidance and

review of key prepositions like next to/in front of/on the left/right.y The describe and draw can also be done with a whole class working with you. Give a

basic floor plan of your flat/home. Describe it as a dictation or invite questions like:Wheres your bedroom? Is there a dining room?

Task 2. Describe your homeAsk and answer questions about your home.

y Number of rooms?y Type of house?

y Features?y Location?

3. Read and find outRead out the first questions and then give out the text for students to read. Once you have given

them time to read check their answers. Then get them to work in pairs to work through the truefalse statements.

Task 3 Read and find out

Read the text and answer these questions

y What type of house is being described? (Loft conversions in warehouses and factories)y What are the key features of this type of house? (Space and a good view)

y Where can you find these homes? (In the centre of Britains largest cities, on the river orcanal. You can explain about Docklands in London, the Quayside in Newcastle)

Reading houses

Look at a house from the outside, and you can guess what type of people live in it. Well,perhaps this is not always true. Some people can live in unusual houses. Some people live

on boats, in tree houses or in tents.

For example, imagine you are in an old part of an industrial city in the UK. Cities like

London, Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle. There is a river, or a canal, which was

important for transport in the past, before the railways were built. There are a lot of

enormous buildings near the water. They were built in the 19th century. They must be


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industrial places to store things for import or export.

Butlook more closely! There are expensive cars parked outside some of these buildings.

And on the corner of the street there is a French restaurant, with a wine bar opposite.

And just round the corner there is a shop with beautiful furniture. And here are more

shopsWho buys these things?

Answer: the people who now live in these old buildings. Old warehouses like these offer

two things that are difficult to find in modern houses: space, and a view.

Over the past 10 years, more and more architects have converted buildings like this into

apartments, which have big rooms, high ceilings and often a terrace which looks onto

the water.

So, the old parts of many of Britains industrial cities now have a new life. They are not

dead anymore, with empty warehouses and disused factories. You can buy factory space

and make yourself a home in it. And the people who live in them can walk or cycle towork.

Orwith so much space. They work from home with a computer and a modem!

Buildings dont always tell us about lifestyles immediately. So, next time you see an old

station, a deserted church or a village school in Britain, look carefully for the clues. You

may get a surprise. Is this true in your town too?

Are these sentences true or false?

y

These buildings were built recently. (False)y They are very spacious. (True)

y Britains city centres do not have people living in them. (False)y Some people in Britain live and work in the same place. (True)

y Some people in Britain live in churches. (True)

4. Houses in your countryThe amount of language generated here depends on the language level. Lower level groups can

write four sentences in pairs and then compare with the whole class. Do a couple of examples onthe board with the whole class before they start: The historic centres of cities in my country are

very important. Many buildings are restored and people want to live in flats in the old centres .

Higher levels might use these pointers for discussion or could be put in small groups or pairs todevelop a written paragraph or an oral presentation on the topic.

Task 4 Houses in your country

Describe the types of housing available in your country/area.


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y What are the main features?y Do people live in the centre of cities or towns?

y Are there any unusual houses?y Historic houses?

y Have the types of houses changed in the last 50 years?

5. Your ideal home

You could use some pictures of unusual homes or very different interiors to warm up thisexercise. Ask students for their reactions: What do you think of this room? Do you like modern

furniture like this? Would you live on a boat? Why not?

y If students are intermediate level and up you could give them a selection of pictures todiscuss in small groups before they tell each other about their ideal home. If you find

students are enthusiastic about this task it could be followed up with a writtendescription.

y If a class know each other well you can even play this as a guessing game. Each studentsecretly writes a short 2 -3 sentence description of their ideal home. Read them all out to

the group: Whose ideal home is this?

Task 5 Your ideal homeDescribe your ideal place to live.

y Would you rather live alone or with lots of people?

y In a town or a rural area?y In a flat, a house or something more unusual like a boat?

y

Do you like old buildings or modern ones?y Is there anyone in the class with the same taste as you?

6. Changing rooms: your taste

If you can get a picture sequence showing a room decorated in different ways (see Housemagazines) it will help explain the concept.

Task 6 Changing rooms: your taste

In the UK there are a lot of very popular TV programmes about houses. One programme, calledChanging rooms is very popular. One family or couple take a room in another familys house

and they change the look of the room. Sometimes they change it completely, changing thefurniture and the style. Sometimes the people who live there are very happy with the new room,

sometimes it does not suit their taste and they dont like the changes at all.

Sometimes you can guess a persons taste, their interests and even their job from looking at aphoto of their living room.

y What type of taste have you got?


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y What other types of things can show a persons taste?y Describe 4 or 5 things in your bedroom which can help explain your taste:

7. Discussion: Flying the nest

Depending on the age and interest of your students, this task could lead to discussions aboutgoing away from home to study, life on a campus or in a hall of residence/flat share, parentalcontrol, economic independence. It can be helpful to ask at which age your students feel they are

considered an adult in their country? This does not mean the legal age of consent / voting but theperceived age of maturity. This can influence how many people live apart from their parents.

y Use your own experience in this discussion but be careful to make it clear that this is not

necessarily true for allBritish students. More and more students and young people in theUK are choosing to stay at home into their 20s for economic reasons.

y Note that in some cultures it is unusual to move away from your family to study or to seekout an independent life. Refer to popular programmes like Friends if they are shown in

your host country.

Task 7 Discussion: Flying the nestDiscuss these questions with your partner

y At what age do people usually leave home in your country?

What are the main reasons?

y Do young people share flats or houses?Do you think this is a good idea?

y What might be the advantages of leaving home at 18 to share a flat with friends?What are the possible disadvantages?

Internet links

Look in the design section for a good selection of interiors and room styles. Links to changing

rooms and lots of photos.www.bbc.co.uk/homes

The Royal Institute of British architects.www.architecture.com

Loft developments and background to regeneration of urban spaces.

www.urbanspaces.co.uk


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Excellent imageswww.locations-uk.com

By Clare Lavery

Flat or house

During the short time of period I would like top speak about what is better to live in a flat or in a house. Iwill try to consider good and bad points about living in both. Also I will try to express my opinion what isbetter flat or a house and opinion about what is the future perspectives on accommodation in Lithuania. Andfinally I will try to give you short summarize about all my speech.

Firstly, I would like to speak about living in a flat. Living in a flat there is and negative ant positives aspects.Speaking about negatives aspects I should say that living in a flat is not so comfortable like living in yourown house as you have to be quiet since eleven oclock, you cant do what you want as you have to takeaccount of your neighbors, also if you are living in a flat you cant have your flower garden as it would bealso and your neighbors, and finally you cant enjoy going in your garden or in terrace as in a flat you canthave it. But when it comes about positives aspects about living in a flat I should say that people you doesnt

like working in garden

or just being quiet and alone there really should choose to live in a flat as you dont have any problems

about that.

Secondly, I would speak about living in house negatives and positives aspects, when it comes about

negatives I dont have what to say... Maybe just people you are lazy cant live as you have to take care all

surrounding of you house and just try that it would be nice and clean. But, if you asked me what are the

positives aspects of living in a house then I really should say that living in your own house is much more

comfortable then living in a flat, as you can do whenever you want listen to music as loud as you want and

have your own garden, terrace, where you can sit every evening with you friends ant just have a good time.Speaking about accommodation in Lithuania, I believe that in Lithuania people living in a flat level will grow

noticeable. As Lithuanian people more and more is moving to a big city from the small, to a flat from the

house. As the level of small countries are decreasing. Also in these times to live ion a flat is much better

then it was before ten years. As the flats in big cities become more modernize and much more comfortable,

now in new flats is big balconies which are like small terraces ant all flat is well planed and looks quiet well.

Of course living in a flat is much cheaper then in the house and it is good that you live in the city as you

dont have to go long way that you could buy something.

To sum up, I should say that I better prefer living in a house then living in a flat because I used to lived in a

house and for me it was much more comfortable and better than living in a flat. But there are many people

you wouldnt agree with me. So I can say that people chose where the have to live by them needs, and

everyone needs are different so it is very hard to mane a good choice.

That is all what I could say, I hope you enjoyed my speech, I have done my best. If you have any questions

I would be pleased to answer them now.

DREAM HOUSE

My dream house would have at least six bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, walk-in closets, a mixture of carpet and hardwood floors, a huge kitchen, living roon,

family room, and fireplace. There will be a bathroom & balcony in the master and guest bedrooms. My house would have an indoor swimming pool, with

a hot tub. A bowling alley is a must. I think that the family would have soooooooo much fun with that! Also, I would have a theater because I LOVE to

watch movies, especially with company. I would also have an aquarium. I love fish because of their colors. They are such a beautiful sight.

Furthermore, I would have a game room with: Nintendo Wii, Pacman, Pool table, poker table & etc. Another must is h igh ceilings. I think it makes the

house look spacious and comfortable. There would also have to be a room for decoration, meaning that no one will sit in this area. Last but not least, I


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want my house to be an open view, meaning that I want to be able to see what is going on downstairs, while being upstairs, and I am not talking about

the whole downstairs area, just part of it.

2

Well lets see. I'm thinking 3 stories, 7 bedrooms, a indoor pool w/ a waterfall and jacuzzi in the basement. A theater room with a popcorn maker. Agame room with big screen TV's to play any game system you want. Of course a big kitchen and living room. I want a Study room, with lots of books

and computers. Master would be huge with a big walk in closet, a big master bath, with a huge tub and a really big walk in shower that's tiled and has

10 different water spouts. A gym is a must. A lso a couple of Racquetball courts and definitely a bowling alley :P Outside would have a tennis court,

basketball court and a few roller coasters :) And then I would have a huge garden just for Mary, it would be a meditation garden with a water fountain.

3

To start with the exterior. My dream house would be just outside of town on at least 50 or so acres. With a lot of trees surrounding the area, so it really

feels like I have a ton of pr ivacy. I definately want a brick house, because they are more stable when the tornadoes come! Since, when I build my

dream house, it will be in tornado alley! [oklahoma]

Now, with the interior. I'm going to start with the kitchen. This is where I will spend most of my time because I absolutely love to cook. [hence the reason

I'm going to school for culinary arts] I want my cabinets to make a U shape with an island in the middle. [it would be huge] I want cabinets with a maple

finish, stainless steel appliances, and black granite countertops, with tile flooring.

For the livingroom, and pretty much the rest of the house I want all earth tone colors. I like for a place to feel warm, and cozy like I'm walking into a spa

everytime I walk into my own home. The colors I'm thinking of are Olive/Sage Green, beige, different shades of brown, and a little bit of rustic red

thrown in here and there. I will have lots of flowers and candles that will be lit a lot of the time. So it smells fantastic!

My closet is the number one thing in my house. I w ill have a huge walk-in with tones of shelving for my shoes and plenty of room for my clothes. [l ike

you see on CRIBS on MTV]

Back to the exterior. I want a super big, L-shaped pool, with a rocky waterfall and a diving board for those who want to do crazy moves off of it. :] I also

want a sound system setup outside for those super awesome crazy nights.

& I could seriously go more into detail about what I want... Bathrooms, dining room, etc... I already have this planned out. But I'll stop here && hope that

you'll vote for me so I can get this scholarship!

A weird house is still a home.

Some people like their homes to be in weird places, other people just like weird homes (and we

happen to agree with them). A standard cape cod can be nice, but what about a strange house thatlooks like nothing else in the neighborhood? You probably never have to give people your exactaddress, you just say, "Look for the weird house. You'll know it when you see it.

What inspires people to live in odd houses? Perhaps it's a dare to be different. Or an architect

inspired to build something besides a square house. Or maybe strange houses started out being


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normal and then, through renovations and additions, changed into something remarkable.Whatever it is, crazy houses can be an inspiration. Like the bend of Leaning Tower of Pisa or the

grandeur of the Taj Mahal, strange homes challenge your visual senses.

We're collecting images of weird houses in order to marvel at their oddness and celebrate their

ingenuity. So check back often to see the newest odd homes we've found!

Hometown English: Vocabulary for Describing Your Hometown

If you think of a town as your hometown, you probably like it. And, if you like a town, youprobably know a lot about your hometown, and like talking about it. So, today we'regoing to giveyou the chance to learn the vocabulary you might want to use in describing yourhometown.

Before You Listen to the Recording

Take a moment to think about what you think of as your hometown. You should, at theleast, knowexactly what town or city you're going to describe! Is it a big city, or is it a small town oreven avillage? Do many tourists come there? Does anybodycome there? What do the peoplewho comewant to see?If you learn better by writing down notes as you listen, it might help you to put thefollowingterms on a piece of paper before we start. That way you can jot downthat means,write quickly

a few short notes about each term as you listen:D Urban

D Rural

D Population

D Destination

D Tourist Attraction / Attraction

D Produce / ProducingNow start the recording.

After You've Heard the Recording

What do you think? Were these terms new to you? How would you describe yourhometown? Is iturban, suburban, or rural? Does it have many tourist attractions? Does your townproduce anythingfamous?Try using these terms in a paragraphspoken or writtento describe your hometown.Tohelp you, here are some explanations of the vocabulary words covered, plus a fewmore.


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Vocabulary

Urban: Do you live in New York City? Tokyo? Berlin? Then you live in an 'urban' area.

Urbanis simply a word that means 'big city.' There's no limit to how 'small' an urban city canbe:

Dresden has 'only' half a million inhabitants and I still think of it as urban. It's more afeeling.

Bite-Sized-English.com 1

Suburban: This might just be an American invention. As American cities 'grew up' and

everyonehad a car, it became normal for the middle class to move to small, new towns outsidethe 'urbancenters.' These towns were filled with people who lived outside the city and drove inevery dayto work. They were the suburbs, or 'suburban.' ('sub' means 'less than' and we'vealready talked

about the word 'urban,' so it should be pretty clear.) If your town is just outside a muchbiggercity, you're hometown is probably suburban.

Rural: Is your hometown surrounded by farms? By trees? Do you live in a village?

Yourhometown could be 'rural.' Rural is the opposite of urban: rural means 'agricultural' or'smalltown.' Again, like urban, there isn't a certain number of inhabitants that a town has tohave to berural, it's more of a feeling.

Population: How many people live in your hometown? (In Towanda, my place of birth,

there areonly four thousand inhabitants!) That's thepopulation of your hometown: Towanda'spopulation is four thousand. Population is the most common way to measure the sizeof a city.

Inhabitants: Every person who lives in the your hometown is an inhabitantof that

town. Theword 'inhabitant' simply means 'person who lives in.' So I'm an inhabitant of Dresden,but I'malso an inhabitant of Germany. When I say that Dresden has half a million inhabitants, itmeansthat Dresden's population is a half million.

Destination: When you get in your caror get on the trainyou probably know

exactly whereyou plan on stopping right? The place that you're going to is your 'destination.' When Isay thata placea museum, maybeis a popular destination, what I mean is that a lot ofpeople makeit their destination: they go there.


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Tourist Attraction / Attraction: To 'attract' something or somebody is to 'pull' it or

them towardsyou. Magnets attract metal. Honey attracts bees. And some thingslike castles,museums, andparksattract tourists. We call them tourist attractions. The things that bring tourists to

yourhometown are tourist attractions. Because 'tourist attraction' sometimes sounds artificial(likesomething that was made to attract tourists) we sometimes simply say 'attraction.' Iguess wemean that it attracts people, and not just tourists that way!

Produce / Producing: Toproduce something is to make it. But when we use

'producing' as anadjective (to describe your hometown, for example) it means that your hometownmakessomething. Near Dresden, for example, is the porcelain producing city of Meissen.

Meissenmakes porcelain that is famous all over the world.

Bite-Sized-English.com 2

HOMETOWN

Our hometown is where our roots lie; that is where our ancestors were born. My roots lie in a

colossal town called Onitsha in Anambra State, Nigeria. Onitsha is what can be referred to as the"Nigerian New York." This is because of the similar features it has to New York in terms of jobopportunities. It is a place where a person can better his way of life financially.

Onitsha is a very large and heavily populated town primarily known for the gigantic market it

has called the Onitsha Main-Market. This market happens to be the prevalent market in thewhole West Africa. It is mainly because of this market that the town has some of the

characteristics identical to New York's. One of these characteristics is job opportunity. Themarket includes people who provide services such as computer repairs, mini perm kernel

mashing companies, car mechanics, paint producing mini companies, and many other smallcompanies. These companies provide jobs for many inhabitants of the town; because of this

people migrate into the state and converge around Onitsha. The market also hosts other salessuch as: electronics, meat, fish clothes (both foreign and home made), agricultural products, cars,

books, building facilities, and many other items, and they are gotten at a very cheap rate becauseof the large quantities which are needed. These products are bought in Onitsha Main-Market and

moved to other surrounding retailers. As each month passes, the market increases its size sincemany businessmen join-in on the sales.


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My town has a major oil producing company. This company produces local palm oil, which inhigh demand. This palm oil is then used for different purposes. There isn't a part of the fruit that

is not valuable, from the fleshy outer layer through the shell to the seed. The air produced fromthe machines from the companies in the town makes some part of the town smell like roasted

peanut or roasted palm kernel.

Because of these industries and job opportunities many people come to my village to makemoney.

My town is the exact opposite of a quiet town; something is always happening. Most parts of the

town are noisy from around 8.00am to 5.00pm, which is the official working hour, and the streetsare very busy especially around the Niger Bridge, because of the people coming into the town.

The Niger Bridge is the only bridge linking the state to the northern states and southern states,and the bridge is located in Onitsha.

My town also has traditional rulers who are conveyed the title "Obi of Onitsha" Which means the

heart of the town. The bearer of this title not only rules my town but is also confided in by othertraditional rulers all over the Igbo (Ibo) land in Nigeria. The Igbo land is made up of over threehundred town heads called village heads/rulers. This title is very old and sacred, and anyone who

holds the title is sure to be an honorable, honest, hardworking and wise person. It doesn't matterhow much money the person has; all that matters is considered in selecting such a person is the

leadership qualities he has in him. There are also other honorable titles given out to individualsbesides the Obi of Onitsha title; one of these is the "Nze na Ozo" title of which I am a holder.

When a person is given a title, he is given a name that depicts why he was given the title. Forexample, I was given a title with three title names; the first one is "Ezike Ugo nna ya" which

means "the pride of his father". The second title is "Ezike Eziokwu bu ndu" which means "truthis life". The last of the three is "Ezike Nne dum eje" which means, "My mother leads me". In the

earlier days anyone who fails to stand up to his title would be stripped off the title, but now oncea person is given the title he sticks to it even if he changes his behavior for worse. Title-holders

are nevertheless regarded as people who stand by the truth no matter what.

My town also has cultural festivals such as the "New Yam Festival" and the "MasqueradeFestival". The two festivals are very well celebrated, but the most celebrated festival is the "New

Yam Festival" where we celebrate good harvest; it is normally celebrated during harvest time.The Masquerade Festival is normally done around Christmas time that in the month of December

after the New Yam Festival. During these festivals ancient cultural dances and parades areperformed, and they are entertaining to watch or participate in.

My town is one of the few towns in Nigeria where the great River Niger can be seen running

through, but it is the only town where the bridge over the Niger River is located. It is from thisriver that Nigeria got its name. People fish from the river and also do there to relax. Thetemperature in my town is over 75 degree centigrade and is generally very hot, but the riverside

is cool so people go there to relax.


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My town has also produced great African leaders and heroes such as Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiweotherwise known as the great Zik of Africa who was also the first Nigerian president and

assumed office in 1963. That was three years after Nigerians independence.

My town is a very sophisticated place to visit, and I will recommend anyone who is visiting

Nigeria to explore my town; I assure him that he will take pleasure in the trip

its a small 3 bedroom ranch located in a suburb

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