Household chores. Shopping

There are certain things in life, which you have to do whether you like it or not. One of such things is household chores, doing which is a necessity. It’s what someone in the family has to do every day in spite of his wish or desire. You can hardly find a person who doesn’t like comfort, delicious food, clean and tidy clothes. All these things need somebody’s attention and doing them is called housework.

So, today in the lesson we will:

● talk about household chores;

● read Freddie’s and Melanie’s letters;

● listen to Jason talking about shopping;

And

● put the knowledge into practice.

There are stereotypical responsibilities of the husband, the wife and the children. They say that the wife’s responsibilities are, basically, to do everything. The typical role of husband is that he goes out to work and earns money for the family. He is also responsible for cleaning his car and repairing some devices in the house. And children are responsible for making their beds and cleaning up their rooms.

– Guys, we’ve told you about the stereotypical responsibilities in the family, but things have changed a lot over the past years.

– Yes, it’s true! In many countries now it’s more accepted that a woman can have a family and a career, whereas before it was seen as something shocking.

– That’s right! Men were outraged that their children would be left with strangers.

– They thought that it was the wife’s duty to bring up the children.

– James, what about you? What do you think about that?

– Well… In my opinion, both of the parents should share the responsibility for all of the important aspects of life, especially bringing up the children.

– Yeah, I agree! I think that the care and early education of children shouldn’t only fall into the hands of the mother, but that the father should also take an active part.

– That’s right, Charles!

Guys, now let’s read the letters from our pen friends Freddie and Melanie. They have expressed their opinions about household chores, so let’s find out what they think on this matter. Let’s start with Freddie.

“Hello, friends! I’m Freddie and I would like to express my opinion about household chores. In my family all the tasks are shared fairly equally between my wife Kate, my daughter Julia and me.

On Saturdays I usually sweep or vacuum the floor and do the dusting. I also walk and feed the dog every morning and evening. I take the rubbish out, do the ironing and wash the car.

My wife Kate usually does the laundry, waters the plants, washes the dishes, does the cooking and lays the table.

Our daughter Julia usually makes her bed, tidies her room and helps us to do other household chores.

As for me, everyone in the family is responsible for cleaning and repairing things when they have free time. In order to have a loving family every person ought to do the chores. That is the way I see it.”

Now, everyone, let’s read Melanie’s letter.

“Hi, guys! I’m Melanie and that’s what I think about household chores. In my opinion, all the tasks about the house should be done by a woman. That’s why I do almost everything by myself. I always do the laundry, wash the dishes, prepare a meal, iron the clothes, vacuum and mop the floor, do the dusting, walk and feed the dog, water the plants and clean the toilet. My husband and my son never help me about the house. And I really don’t mind doing everything on my own. The only thing I hate to do is cleaning the bath, because it kills my back. I go to work every day except Saturday and Sunday. That’s why I do all the tasks about the house in the evenings or at the weekends. I have no doubts that a woman should take care of the members of her family. This is my opinion on this matter.”

– Guys, we’ve just read Freddie’s and Melanie’s letters.

– Now we would like to know your opinion on this matter.

– Should the members of the family help each other to do the household chores, like in Freddie’s family, or not, like in Melanie’s family?

– Charles, what about you? What do you think about that?

– Well… As for me, all the tasks about the house should be shared between all the members of the family. I strongly believe that it’s the key to a happy family!

– Yeah! I think so too. I also think that children should be given as much responsibility as they would like to take on from as early as possible. And I don’t think that they should have everything done for them if they can do things for themselves.

– Yes, I agree! In my view, it’s very good for a child to learn to be able to take care of himself and his things. Of course, the more things he can do, the more versatile person he can become.

– Oh, I totally agree with you!

– James, now it’s time to check the knowledge of our viewers.

– Yes, you are absolutely right, Charles! Let’s do that!

Match the people with the household chores they do!

Check yourselves!

The right answers are:

Melanie…

does the laundry, washes the dishes, prepares a meal, irons the clothes, vacuums and mops the floor, does the dusting, walks and feeds the dog, waters the plants, cleans the toilet and the bath.

Freddie…

sweeps or vacuums the floor, does the dusting, walks and feeds the dog, takes the rubbish out, does the ironing and washes the car.

Julia…

makes her bed, tidies her room and helps to do other household chores.

Kate…

does the laundry, waters the plants, washes the dishes, does the cooking and lays the table.

– Well done, everyone! Now listen to Jason, please.

– He would like to tell us about his household chores.

“Hello! I’m Jason and I like household chores. In our family I do a lot of things, but most of all I like doing the shopping. Our family goes shopping at least twice a week. We usually do that on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We have a lot of supermarkets near our block of flats, but we prefer to go to the nearest “hypermarket”. There you can buy food, shoes, kitchen utensils, computers, books and many other things, which are cheaper than in smaller shops.

Besides, it has a lot of free parking space so we can park our car without any problems.

If we are tired of shopping, we can go upstairs and have a rest at McDonald’s or go to the cinema, which is situated in the same building. So in my opinion, it’s very comfortable and entertaining to do the shopping in the “hypermarket”. It’s my favourite shop.

Some people like shopping, others don’t. As for me, I enjoy shopping, because I find it interesting to spend time in shops choosing the right thing.

Most of all I like to buy clothes and shoes. What I find most difficult is buying a present for someone else, because tastes differ. And I’m always nervous about a present I’ve bought. That’s why I hate to shop for presents.”

Guys, you’ve just listened to Jason.

Now try to answer the following questions!

1. How often does Jason go shopping?

2. When does he usually do the shopping?

3. Does Jason like to go shopping? Why or why not?

4. What does he like to shop for?

5. Which things does Jason hate to shop for?

6. Where does he like to do the shopping most of all?

Let’s check the right answers!

1. Jason goes shopping at least twice a week.

2. He usually does the shopping on Tuesdays and Fridays.

3. Jason likes to go shopping, because he finds it interesting to spend time in shops choosing the right thing.

4. He likes to shop for clothes and shoes.

5. Jason hates to shop for presents.

6. Most of all he likes to do the shopping in the “hypermarket”.

– Well done, everyone!

– Guys, in my opinion, having certain responsibilities is very important. It helps to understand and respect other people’s work. It also helps to overcome laziness.

– As for me, doing the work about the house is boring, but it helps to discipline people. It goes without saying that a clean and cozy house is better than untidy and messy one.

– You are absolutely right, Charles! But I must say that such household chore as doing the shopping isn’t boring at all.

– Well… I can’t argue with that. That’s all for now, boys and girls!

– See you soon!