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Meg |
Todd |
The Home of ELLLO
Todd talks about his house in Japan which is also the headquarters of elllo.org.
Meg: Hey, Todd, where do you live?
Todd: I live on the east side of downtown
Meg: Oh. Do you like it there?
Todd: I do. I live in an older house. But it's a big house, and it's really relaxing. It's a nice place to live.
Meg: Wow. Sounds nice. How many rooms does it have?
Todd: My house is pretty big. It's four rooms. It has a big sleeping room. It's a Japanese house. So it's not really a bedroom because you sleep on the floor.
Meg: Oh.
Todd: But it also has a living room. It has, like, an office room and it has a kitchen.
Meg: Is it a big kitchen?
Todd: No, it's a pretty small kitchen and it's a very old kitchen. I have a small stove. So it's very difficult to cook. But, you know, I have a refrigerator. I have a microwave. I have a nice kitchen table to eat at. So it's a pretty decent kitchen.
Meg: It sounds okay. What about your living room? What do you have in the living room?
Todd: My living room, it's pretty cool for a guy because it's a good place to watch sports. I have a really big TV, and I have cable TV, so I get all the football channels.
Meg: Nice.
Todd: And I have a really big sofa, so I can sit on my sofa and watch sports and drink beer. It's great.
Meg: Sounds relaxing.
Todd: Very relaxing.
Meg: Well, do you also have a nice bathroom?
Todd: I do. I actually have three bathrooms.
Meg: Oh, really?
Todd: It's kind of crazy, yes. So in English, we say bathroom, but I have two rooms that are for the toilet and I have one room or the bathroom with the toilet for the guests. And then I have a bathroom that I used. And then also I have a natural hot spring bath outside my house. So if I want to take a shower or bathe, I use that room.
Meg: Wow. I'd love to have a hot spring at my house.
Todd: Yeah, it's very nice. It's very, very nice.
Meg: Does your house also have a yard?
Todd: It kind of has a yard. So outside my house, there's an area for flowers and bushes. And it's like a yard or a garden around the house, but it's not a place you can play sports. There's no grass or anything. So it's a very, very small yard. But, you know, it's a nice place.
Meg: Oh yeah. It sounds like a nice place to live.
Todd: It is a nice place to live. I'm very, very lucky.
Meg: You said you have a sleeping room, not a bedroom. What does that mean?
Todd: Yeah. I live at a Japanese style house. So it's called the tatami room. And you sleep in the tatami room and you sleep on the floor on a futon. So I don't have a bed. So it's not a bedroom. It's a room that you sit in during the day and you can eat and talk with guests. But it's also a room that you sleep in at night. So yeah, I call it my sleeping room.
But I think in Japan, they just call it the tatami room.
Meg: Is it comfortable sleeping on the floor?
Todd: Yeah, it's really comfortable. Now I love it. So before, I slept on a bed. But now I sleep on the futon on the floor and I really like it. Actually, I prefer to sleep on the futon on the floor.
Meg: Well, it sounds like your house is really comfortable.
Todd: It is. It is. I never want to leave.
stove
I have a small stove.
A stove is used to cook food. Usually you can cook on an electric stove or on a gas stove with fire. Notice the following:
- I cooked a stew on the stove.
- We loved to cook on the stove.
refrigerator
I have a refrigerator. I have a microwave.
A refrigerator, or fridge, keeps food cool or cold. Notice the following:
- There is some soda in the fridge.
- I put the eggs in the refrigerator.
decent
So it's a pretty decent kitchen.
Here, decent means not great, but not bad. Notice the following:
- He earns a decent salary.
- That cafe serves decent coffee.
hot spring
I have a natural hot spring bath outside my house.
A hot spring is a pool of hot water that comes naturally from the ground. Notice the following:
- We soaked in the hot spring.
- The Japanese call hot springs onsens.
bushes
There's an area for flowers and bushes.
A bush is a short plant that has leaves like a tree. Notice the following:
- The ball disappeared into the bushes.
- His house has a wall made of bushes.
yard
And it's like a yard or a garden.
A yard is the space around a house with grass and plants. Notice the following:
- I keep my dog in the yard.
- Her yard is so big we play soccer there.
Vocabulary Quiz
hot spring • bushes • yard
Related Video - One Minute English
About the Teacher / Creator
Hello, and welcome to elllo. My name is Todd Beuckens. I've been an ESL teacher for 25 years. I created elllo to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.
Contact Me Here
