You and your friend are going on a holiday. You can choose an unusual house to live in during your stay. Discuss all of these options and choose one in which you want to live.

Grammar: the present continuous tense for future plans

We normally use the present continuous to talk about the action happening in the present, but if we add a future word, we can use it to talk about the future. (By "future word" we mean words or expressions like tomorrow, next week, in November. The future word may be clearly expressed or understood from the context.)

We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak. Look at these examples:

We are building a new house next year.

We're buying a house on Friday.

We are meeting a real estate agent tomorrow afternoon.

They can't play tennis with you tomorrow. They're working.

Put the verbs in brackets into the present continuous.

Is Ann coming…(Ann/come) with us tonight?

My son __________(go) to university in September.

What time _______(class/start) tomorrow?

Jane _____(have) a housewarming party on Saturday.

Zhanna _____(sing) in the concert tomorrow night.

You have bought a house and are planning a housewarming party this weekend. Write about the details of the party using the present continuous tense.

Here are some things to be written about:

the number of guests: e.g. I am inviting eight colleagues and ten classmates..

the food

the drinks

the activities

the music

Remember: Prepositions of time onis used before days, dates, my birthday atis used before times, the weekend, the end of the day, the moment, night, lunchtime inis used before mounth, seasons, years, the morning, the afternoon etc. There is no prepositionbefore: today, tomorrow (morning, evening,etc.), this/that/ next/last week, tomoeeow(afternoon, etc.)

Put the correct preposition (or nothing) in each space.

a)My Dad’s taking me fishing …….next Sunday.

b)My team’s playing football against yours ……… Friday afternoon.

c)I’m visiting my grandmother in Astana ……… this summer.

d)Are you going to the theatre with me ……….. Saturday evening?

e)Parents are arriving ……… 6.30, so we must get home quickly.

f)Jake’s taking his driving test ………. 23 March.

g)My sister’s getting married ……… 2013.

h)This street’s very dark ……… night.

You and your friend are planning to do some things at different times. Write sentences about what you are going to do, using time expressions from the box.

Saturday morning / next Monday / in the summer / Tomorrow afternoon 15thJanuary / Thursday 6.30 / Friday evening / Saturday afternoon / Sunday morning

5. Work in groups. You are building a café near you house. Discuss the following.

the size

name of the cafe

the decorations

a sample menu

what kind of music

special features

how to attract clients

1. Discuss your ideas with your fellow students, and then choose the group with the best project.

Reading: Living in the narrow boat

Suppose that money is not a problem for you, so what kind of house do you want to live in? Read the following text about the most unusual place to live in and say what makes living in it unusual.

Living in the narrow boat

Nicole Fayolle lives on a narrow boat. She bought it in Belgium almost five years ago and has travelled around Europe a lot ever since.

“I love travelling, and in a narrow boat you can see lots of different places without leaving home!” What is very important, Nicole can take all her painting equipment with her wherever she goes. “I love sitting on the deck and painting!” says Nicole.

The narrow boat is called Liberté. It is just over 20 metres long and inside the rooms are low and narrow. The small kitchen has a boiler that heats up the radiators. There’s a small bedroom and a tiny bathroom. “There are many cold days to be outside, so I wanted to feel good being inside a small space for a long time. Otherwise, I prefer sitting up on the deck here with Candy.” At the mention of its name a small dog appears. Does she need the dog for company?

“The narrowboat community is very sociable. We keep in touch either by phone or email. When it starts getting colder, we meet in the same place. We then stay there together until the spring. Most of us stay about five or six months, it helps to make and keep friends. However, I do like dogs and having Candy means never feeling alone.”

Nicole has a bicycle and often rides to the nearest villages for food. “I usually cook for myself and love using home grown herbs, but it is difficult to grow things on the boat – there isn’t too much space for many pots unfortunately.” Nicole is more than happy with her lifestyle.

(From www.onestopenglish.com.)

2. Read the text again and fill in the table with the answers to the questions.

What does Nicole do?
What is the main reason for choosing this type of home?
What adjectives are used to describe the place?
What does she do for companionship?
What words would you use to describe Nicole’s personality?

Listening

Living in a lighthouse

3. You’re going to listen to a story about a person who lives in a lighthouse. Look at the picture below and think about the following:

The person living there (name, job, character)

The building (how old, does it still work)

Living in the building (What can be seen/heard/any neighbours)

Problems he/she faces