茶飲みトーク: Tag House

House cleaning

MichikoNakamura — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:52:00 -0400

In Japan, there is an annual house cleaning at the end of the year. In America, the cleaning is done in the spring. Read this example conversation:

Mom: O.K. everyone, it's time to do spring cleaning! We're going to divide up the chores so it won't be so hard.
Kid:   Where do we start?
Mom: First I want you to pick up everything in your room and throw your dirty laundry in the hamper.
Kid: What about our clean clothes?
Mom: Hang them up or put them away in the drawer.

There are some important cleaning phrases in this conversation. Did you hear them? Read these example sentences:

"Did you put away your toys?"

"Did you hang up your clothes?"

"Did you pick up your boots?"

Children usually don't like spring cleaning. Read this next example conversation:

Bob: I'm so sick and tired of cleaning!
Sally: Yeah, let's take a break.
Bob: Do you think mom will let us?
Sally: Nah, we should just ask.
Bob: You're right.

When you are tired of doing something, you can use one of these phrases:

"I'm so sick and tired of cleaning!"

"I'm so exhausted from cleaning!"

"I'm worn out from cleaning!"

After the kids pick up everything from their floor, the next thing to do would be to straighten things up on the furniture.   Let's read the next conversation and find out what the mother said when she saw their room:

Mother: Wow, you did a great job! Everything is spic and span.
Kid:    Of course, it was easy!
Mother: How did you do it so quickly? Let me just check the closet.
Kid: No mom, don't open that door!
Mother: Why not! Ahhhh (screams and sound of things falling down)
Kid: Mom! Are you O.K.?
Mother: Now, I know why it looked so neat! You have to do this room over I'm afraid.

When something is very clean, we say that it is "spic and span". Read this example sentence:

"Your room is spic and span"

"To do over" means to do again. In the conversation above, the mother was unhappy that the kids didn't do a thorough job and made them do it again. Now that the room is clean, she has cause to be happy.

Now read another conversation:

Kid: Here the floor cleaner.
Mom: Hmmm, the label says it's concentrated.
Kid: What does that mean?
Mom: That means it's very strong.
Kid: So, how can you make it weaker?
Mom: We'll just add a little water and then it'll be diluted.
Kid: Do you have to scrub the bathtub? It looks moldy.
Mom: No, I'll just put this cleaner on and it'll take it off without scrubbing.
Kid: Wow, that's neat, I'm going to watch.

Remember, when you use cleaning detergents, some are concentrated which means they are very strong. If a child accidentily drinks it, it can be very dangerous. You should read the label carefully before you use it. Read these example sentences:

"The label says it's concentrated"

"We'll just add a little water and then it'll be diluted"

When you do spring cleaning, that's usually the time to rearrange furniture.

Read this next conversation:

Michael: Where should I move the couch?
Michiko: Put it over there, against the wall.
Michael: How does it look?
Michiko: It doesn't look right.
Michael: How about next to that plant?
Michiko: That looks much better. It looks like a whole new room!

When you rearrange furniture, you might have to move it several times before you find a position that you like.   Did you notice the different positions that the woman said?   Read these example sentences:

"Put it against the wall"

"Put it next to the plant"

When you clean your house, you might need to put some things in storage. Read this next conversation:

Michiko: Johnny, come here. Please store these old books up in the attic.
Kid: I'm scared because it's so dark up there.
Michiko: No, we have a light up there.
Kid: The light bulb blew out last year, remember?
Michiko: Just bring a flashlight.
Kid: What about all the cobwebs and rats?
Michiko:   Don't be afraid.

In America, people like to keep old things in the attic. They store such things as old trophies, furniture, and memorabilia.

You can use sentences like these:

"Please store these old books up in the attic"

"Please put these old photos up in the attic."

Sometimes there are a lot of insects in the basement or attic. People try to get rid of these pests by setting traps or putting out poison.

Now, read this next conversation:

Michiko: I need to spray some pesticide.
Kid: Let's put out some poison!
Michiko: No, that's too messy. I might set some traps.
Kid: That'll kill all of them. Hey, here's some old poison.
Michiko: What's the expiration date on that?
Kid: It's June 20, 1989.
Michiko: It's too old. We can't use it.

Now, listen to the different ways to get rid of pests:

"I 'll set traps"

"I 'll put poison out"

"I 'll spray pesticide"

Pesticide is chemicals used to kill pests. If you want to kill insects, you can use insecticide.

Read this next conversation in the yard:

Michael: Polly, will you help me mow the lawn?
Polly: Yes, what can I do?
Michael: You can pick up all the big rocks and sticks that are in the way.
Polly: What for?
Michael: So the lawn mower blade doesn't get ruined.

In this conversation, the father asked the child to help him mow the
lawn. The lawn is the part of your yard that has grass. Read this
example sentence:

"Will you help me mow the lawn?"

It's important to wear long pants and shoes while you are working in the yard.

Read this conversation:

Michiko: It's so hot working outside.
Michael: Well, you need to protect yourself from insects and flying objects.
Michiko: What if I don't want to wear long pants?
Michael: Then you can use insect repellent on your legs and arms.
Michiko: What's that?
Michael: It's chemicals that makes insects stay away from you.

When you go to a store to buy insect repellant, you can ask this question:

"Where can I find insect repellent?"

Another thing that you might want to do to your yard is pull out weeds. To weed the yard means to pull out all the weeds. Read these example sentences:

"Please weed the yard"

"Please pull out all the weeds"

After weeding, you might want to get rid of all the leaves in the yard. Read this next conversation:

Michiko: Here, have a glass of lemonade.
Michael: Ahh, that hits the spot!
Michiko: What are you going to do now?
Michael: I'm going to rake the leaves. I'll need some big plastic garbage bags and some twisters.

Did you notice that when the man drank the lemonade, he said:

"That hits the spot!"

This is a slang that means it satisfied you. Another way to say the
same thing is:

"That was refreshing!"

People like to collect all kinds of junk so spring cleaning is the time to sort through all of it. Many of the things need to be thrown away. There are several ways to say "throw away." Read these example
sentences:

"throw it out"

"toss it"

Building a House

MichikoNakamura — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 10:23:00 -0400

Read this opening conversation between husband and wife:

Husband: Tammy, I think that our house is getting too crowded.
Tammy: Why do you think so?
Husband: Just look around at all this mess.
Tammy: I think you're right. What should we do?
Husband: I want to build an addition.

Sometimes we find that the place we live has become too small. Here are some phrases you can use:

"We are very crowded"

"Our house is getting too crowded"

or

"There's no room here for the 5 of us"

If you don't have any space, you could say:

"I have no breathing space here"

or

"I have no elbow room."

A lot of times we have things on the floor in our homes. It might be papers, clothes, or just junk. Before someone comes over, you might warn them with these sentences:

"I have too much junk in my house"

"My house is a mess"

or

"My apartment is cluttered"

Something that you add to your house is called an "extension" or "addition". If you have a big estate, your addition might be called a wing. Now, let's practice, everyone. For example:

"I'm building an extension to my house"

"How much would an addition cost?"

or

"The White House has three wings"

An architect is a person who plans and designs buildings and structures. There are different ways to use this word. For example:

"My uncle is an architect"

"That is a unique architectural design"

or

"Harry is studying architecture at UH"

Read this next conversation.

Customer: What's your estimate on the cost of construction?
Contractor: I'd say about $40,000.
Customer: That's a little high. I have to choose the best bid.
Man: Actually, that's a fair price. You can check around but I think that my estimate is the lowest.
Customer: All right. Take a look at these blueprints.
Man: We'll get started as soon as possible.

When you think about building an addition, you first have to get different estimates. That means how much they think the project will cost.

A bid is to offer a price that someone will pay or accept. You can use this word in a auction because people yell out prices they want to pay for certain items. It is also used in construction because people give you different prices. You can use this sentence:

"I'll choose the best bid"

Whenever you're making some kind of structure you will need blueprints. This is just the plans that show you the design of the place. It looks like a map but it's a drawing of the house in detail. Now, read this next conversation between husband and wife:

Husband: We're ready to start building the foundation.
Wife: When are the construction workers coming?
Husband: The contractor said they will be here around 8:30.
Wife: What are they going to do?
Husband: First they have to dig up the ground and clear the place away and make it ready for the foundation.
Wife: Oh, I want to watch.

In the conversation above, the first thing was to prepare the foundation. They had to dig up and clear away the place. "Clear away" means to remove something in order to make the place clear. You could also use "clear out" or "clear off". Construction work is sometimes very dangerous so you have to be careful.

Dr. Yoko Kelley のネブラスカ便り３９

YokoMKelley — Tue, 16 May 2006 03:48:00 -0400

Sold （売れました）

２月に For Sale （売り家）のサインを出して５月上旬にSold （売れました）にこぎつけ、ほっとしているところです。その間、春分の日にドカ雪になったり、４月に例年を越える降雨量になったりしましたが、竜巻に見舞われることにならなかったのは、幸いでした。売買の契約を交わした日の前後は、暑からず寒からずの好ましい季節に入ったところでした。家を売りに出していて、最も難しく感じたのは、まだ上り坂のいるのか、すでに峠を越えたのか、よく解からなかったことでした。

（ハワイパシフィックプレス連載）

茶飲みトーク: Tag House

House cleaning

Building a House

Dr. Yoko Kelley のネブラスカ便り ３９

Dr. Yoko Kelley のネブラスカ便り３９