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Views #550 | Intermediate 5

Dream Home

Mark describes his dream house.
story image

Todd: OK, Mark you said that you want to own your own home.

Mark: That would be nice, yes.

Todd: So let's say you can have any home in the world. You can make your dream home, reasonable dream home. OK, what kind of house would you have?

Mark: Well, I don't normally dream of like an enormous mansion, or anything. Just a nice, you know, medium to large size home. I guess almost more importantly for me is to have some land with the house, like I don't like, I wouldn't want my neighbor to be, you know, just three feet away from my house. I'd like to have a little bit of space.

Todd: OK, so assuming you have a big yard and you have this space, you have land, what kind of landscape would you have?

Mark: Well, I grew up in Alabama and I really like the landscape there. It's kind of hilly and lots of trees and lots of pine trees, you know, it’s a deciduous area of America, and lots of lakes so I guess, you know, that kind of setting, like a deciduous you know, lots of trees, lots of lakes, you know, or some water nearby and hills: things like that.

Todd: OK, but actually, what would you want your yard to look like?

Mark: Oh, I see.

Todd: You don't want a lake, right?

Mark: No, no, but, yeah, I don't know, I would want it to be taken care of, but not overly manicured, like I don't want it to be, you know, too much pruning, just, but I wouldn't want it to be completely wild either, so green but not like a just completely perfect square, or anything. I'd like for it to be a little bit, chaotic.

Todd: OK, so what do you want: a big bathroom, small bathroom, big kitchen, small kitchen?

Mark: Big bathrooms, big kitchen. Yeah. The bigger, the better!

Todd: The bigger, the better.

Mark: Yeah.

Todd: Two car garage?

Mark: Sure. That'll be fine. And actually the way the house is decorated, you know, if I'm married, my wife can decorate most of the house but I'd like to have one room that was my room, like that, you know, maybe I could put a small library and lots of books, maybe a pool table but one room that I got to do, you know, my own thing with.

Todd: Yeah, man. You need your territory.

Mark: Yeah, just that one room.

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

mansion

I don't normally dream of an enormous mansion.

A 'mansion' is an extremely large and expensive house.  Notice the following:

  1. When she became famous she moved out of her apartment and into a mansion.
  2. The mansion was too big for her to clean herself, so she had to hire a cleaner.

deciduous

It’s a deciduous area of America,

A 'deciduous' tree is one that loses its leaves in the fall and then grows new ones in the spring.  To live is a deciduous area would be to live in an are where this type of tree grows.  Notice the following:

  1. The deciduous trees are absolutely beautiful in the fall.
  2. We have a deciduous tree in our yard, so we have to clean up the fallen leaves every year.

manicure

I would want it to be taken care of, but not overly manicured.

If a bush or a tree is 'manicured,' it is cut and shaped to look perfect.  Notice the following:

  1. She had her nails manicured before the big party.
  2. His yard is well manicured and ours is ugly and full of weeds.

chaotic

I'd like for it to be a little bit chaotic.

If a situation is 'chaotic' it is wild, crazy and out of control.  Notice the following:

  1. With fifteen people in a small apartment things were a little bit chaotic.
  2. I don't know how she manages her life.  It seems really chaotic to me.

decorate

And actually the way the house is decorated, you know, if I'm married, my wife can decorate most of the house.

To 'decorate' a house is to add items to make it look more beautiful, such as furniture, art or curtains.  Notice the following:

  1. When did you decorate your living room?
  2. Your house will look great once you decorate it a little.

Vocabulary Quiz

mansion • deciduous • manicured
chaotic • decorate
  1. We have a lot of people staying at our house for the holidays and it's around here.
  2. The trees in front of their house are always nicely .
  3. She basically lives in a , so it would be almost impossible to clean it without help.
  4. All of the furniture is in the new house, but we still need to get some things to .
  5. There are many trees that grow in the park.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

 

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