Housing and renting in great Britain

According to the London Central Office of Information "British workers live in privately rented houses or in 'Council Houses' or in houses of their own. In the first case the tenant pays to a private landlord a rent which is usually controlled by law, so that the tenant should not suffer hardships because this demand for houses exceeds the supply. 'Council Houses' are built by local government authorities and let to people who most need a low rent. Most of them have been built with State aid, but this is now only given to certain classes of houses to meet special needs. Many thousands of clerks, shop assistants and work­men have bought or are buying attractive houses with neat gardens by paying monthly instalments to a Building Society..."

In reality things are not as bright as they are presented in government publications. It is true that quite a number of new Council houses and big blocks of flats are being built all over Britain, and yet the demand still exceeds the supply. The housing shortage and the 1957 Rent Act are hard on the working class families.

According to the 1957 Rent Act there is no limit to the rent the landlord ca;n demand, no matter what the conditions of the property are. Tenants can be given a notice to quit at any time. The landlord can also raise their rent whenever he pleases. Thus dozens of working class families are daily faced with eviction, many families are bound to split, for after eviction they often have to live separately in temporary dwellings. There are many cases when families have been on a waiting housing list for years without any hope of moving into a more decent house or flat. Especially hard up are families with a num­ber of children.

It would be wrong to say that all working-class people live in bad housing conditions. Some are quite decently housed in new blocks of flats and Council houses, but these lucky ones are in the minority.

The texts presented in the book will give the readers a picture of the various housing conditions in which the working-class and the middle-class families live nowadays, and the contrast will leap to the reader's eye.

 

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту:

Why has the housing problem become so acute after World War II?

How is the problem of housing shortage solved in our country?

What are the functions of the district municipal office called "Raizhilotdel"?

Who has the privilege of priority in receiving a new flat?

What is the procedure of getting an order and then the flat?

Составьте словарь профессиональных терминов (15 слов и выражений)

Вариант 4

1. В каком из следующих слов звук, передаваемый "ir", отличается от остальных?

1) first, 2) fire, 3) birth, 4) girl, 5) bird, 6) shirt, 7) skirt.

2. Укажите, в каком предложении глагол стоит в Past Perfect:

a) She has bought a new pair of shoes.

b) She has a lot of different shoes at home.

c) She had bought a pair of new shoes for yesterday's party.

d) She is going to buy a pair of new shoes for the party.

e) She had new shoes on at the party.

3. Выберите правильную форму глагола:

1) The rain... before we reached home.

a) stopped

b) had stopped

2) The taxi... by 5 o'clock.

a) arrived

b) had arrived

4. Выберите правильную форму глагола:

1) I... not... your book today.

a) have brought

b) had brought

2)... you... the dinner by the time the guests came?

a) have cooked

b) had cooked

5. Выберите правильный вспомогательный глагол:

1)... the delegation visit your school?

a) did

b) has

c) had

2) … I help you?

a) has

b) have

c) shall

3) I … not seen you for ages.

a) has

b) have

c) shall

6.Выберите правильный модальный глагол:

1) The sky is dark. It…rain soon.

a)may

b)should

c)has to

2) The lights are on. They…be at home.

a)may

b)must

c)are to

3) You…to come here again.

a) must

b) should

c)have

7. Укажите предложения, в которых "have" является вспомогательным глаголом:

1) Have you worked all day?

2) Have a good time!

3) They have never met before.

4) She has a lot of animals at home.

8. Соедините правильно две половины в одно предложение:

1) She plays tennis... 2) She is playing tennis... 3) She has played tennis... 4) She played tennis... 5) She will play tennis...

1)... at this moment. 2)... an hour ago. 3)... every Monday. 4)... next Monday. 5)... for two hours.