Make sureyou learn these words:

　　spacious=largewell-decorated

　　bright(=we have big windows)

　　quiet =peaceful

　　pleasant=nice

　　well-equipped(=TV, computers+appliances)

　　comfortable= comfy =cozy

　　in the suburbs =on the outskirts

　　1.Whatkind of place do you live in?

　　(NOT "where"!What kind flat,house, dorm...)

　　I live in a pretty spacious big) apartment in theoutskirts of my hometown. Myfamily bought the flat a long time ago.We live on the 10hfloor of a high-rise. It’s a three-bedroom apartment. I think it covers prettymuch 130 square meters(一时).It’s a fairly niceplace.

　　2. Who doyou live with?

　　I live with my parents and my grandmother. Our apartmentis pretty big, so there isenough space for everyone.My grandmothermoved in with us a few years ago when my grandpa passed away.

　　3. Do youlike living there?

　　Yes,definitely.It’s a great place to live.First of all,the neighborhood isvery pleasant. There are many shops and restaurants around our place. There’salso a nice park just 2 minutes away. In addition, our house is verycomfortable. You know, it’s spacious and bright. My mother bought a lot of nicefurniture.She decorated the apartment with picture sand paintings on the walls.It looks very cozy.And I have my own room, with a big bed, and a large desk. I’m quite lucky, Ithink.

　　4. What doyou like about the rooms in your house?I really like theway my house is furnished and decorated. We have a very comfy sofa in the

　　living room, and a large flat-screen TV set hanging onthe wall. Our apartment is well-equipped. In addition, I like the fact that wehave two big balconies. It’s really nice when the weather is warm. We can havedinner outside. Sometimes in the summer my parents and I play cards outside.

　　5. Howlong have you lived there?

　　I have been living in the same house for the last 10 or12 years, I think. When I was achild we used to live in another place, in a differentneighborhood, but the house was quite small and old. My parents bought theapartment we now live in like 10 or so years ago.

　　6. What isthe area like where you live?

　　(=Lively or peaceful, convenient or not, quiet or noisy?)

　　It’s a pleasant neighborhood. There are plenty of shopsand restaurants everywhere.From our house, it’s like a five-minute walk to thesupermarket. It’s extremely convenient. In addition, there’s a bus stop justdown the street. We live in the suburbs of the city, but it only takes 20 to 25minutes to get to the city center. It’s not bad. The area is pretty quietcompared with other districts in my hometown. There are a lot of newresidentialareas everywhere around us, so they are building newschools and shopping centers.It’s developing quite fast. Oh, I almost forgot! There’sa nice park just a block away from ourbuilding. It’s a great place to go for a walk or a jog inthe summer.

　　7. Wouldyou recommend this area as a place to live?

　　Yes, definitely!It’s a very pleasant place to live, especially if you areraising a child.The area is more peaceful than the city center. Thetraffic is better; it’s smoother. And on the weekend, you can relax in thepark, or go to one of the many restaurants around the new shopping center. It’sa lovely place to live.

　　No, definitely not! I live in the city center and it’sabsolutely too crowded and noisy.It’s a very lively place. It’s great if you like to goout at night to bars or to sing karaoke. But otherwise, if you are looking fora quiet neighborhood, with less traffic and noise, then Iwould highlyrecommend that you look for another area.

　　8. Do youthink you will move anytime soon?Well, my familywon’t move, but I’m looking forward to getting my visa and going to

　　Australia. I intend to continue my studies over therenext semester. It’s my ambition, and I hope it’s going to work out.

　　9. Whatkind of house or apartment would you like to have in the future? Well, Iwould love to own a whole house, just like what I’ve seen on TV in Western

　　countries.In China, we don’t have enough space to build privateindividual houses,especiallyin the city. So pretty much everyone gets to live in apartment buildings. Mydream would be to have a nice house in the suburbs of my hometown, with abackyard and a lawn(=grass area).My house would have to be modern and spacious, with avery large kitchen, because I love cooking, and a bright living room with ahuge TV My whole family could live there. In China, space is luxury. We’11 seewhat happens. But I would need a lotof money to build this kind of house nowadays.

　　10. Do youprefer the appearance of old or modern buildings?

　　Well, in my country I love the design of old houses,you know, with theinclinedroof, and the traditional architecture. I like theold-fashioned looking facades(=face ofa building), with the Chinese windows.They are all carvedand made of wood. They’re beautiful. On the other hand, usually, modern housesare quite ugly. They are made of cement and tiles.They are generallyall square. They look good from the inside though. You know, they arecomfortable and well-equipped, but the outside is just too common, too boring.

　　11.Whatcan you see from your bedroom window?

　　I can’t see much except for other buildings.We live in acommunity, and there are like 10 or 12 high-rises next to each other. But justoutside the living room, we have a balcony, and from that side of the building,we overlook the Min River and the mountains that surround Fuzhou. At night thebanks of the river light up. Although there are still a lot of buildings in theway, the view is pretty nice.