An Englishman's House (Школьные сочинения)

It's common knowledge, that an Englishman looks forward to having a detached house and he will do his best to make his dream come true, including saving money on everything. "My house is my castle" - he usually says. To tell the truth, he isn't pleased, when his neighbors overlook at his doings. Of course, he can buy a house on credit. Unfortunately, he must pay all the expenses, before he can call the house his own.

A typical Englishman's house consists of two floors: the ground floor and the first floor.

The front door faces the street and opens into a hall. In the hall there is a coatrack, a chest of drawers for shoes and a stand for hats and umbrellas. Then there are two main rooms downstairs: the dining room and the spacious sitting room. The English suppose, that the sitting room is the heart of the house, by the way.

Another room, which deserves the attention, is a kitchen.

You can find anything you need for cooking there: an electric oven with a cooker hood, a refrigerator, a dishwasher and other cooking facilities. In the center of the room there is enough space for a cupboard, where an Englishman keeps kitchen utensils, such as tea sets and dinner sets, to say nothing about the cutlery.

The staircase leads from the hall to the landing on the first floor. The average house contains two or three bedrooms upstairs - for the parents and their children. It worth mentioning, that beds, usually made of wood, are always raised above the floor on legs about as high as the legs of the chair.

The backyard has a wooden fence with a gate in it. Here is a green lawn and a lot of flowers. There is also a vegetable garden, where an Englishman grows vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbages, onions and tomatoes. At the side of the house there is a garage, where he keeps his car.

Of particular interest is the fact, that the English find it necessary to give their houses names, such as "The Oaks", "The Pines", "The Cedars" even though there are no oak trees, pine trees or cedar trees in their gardens. They believe, that a house with a name seems "better" than a house with a number.

In general, the English are the nation of stay - at - homes. They are keen on gardening, especially growing flowers. At weekends they enjoy pottering in their garden.

In many cities the city councils have built houses with a large number of flats. These buildings are called council houses. The people, living in these flats, pay rent to the city council, not to a private owner.

ut the majority of English people prefer to live in separate houses, not in flats, so in many places the city councils have built small two - storeyed houses. Many private house owners do the same.

Some of these houses are joined and form a terraced house. In England they are decorated with climbing plants and flowers.

In conclusion, I would like to say that living in a detached house is a good English tradition.