elllo
Views #1420 | Beginner (A2)

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.

Answer these questions about the interview.
Audio Lessons about Phrases and Vocabulary

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:

  1. I cooked a stew on the stove.
  2. 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:

  1. There is some soda in the fridge.
  2. 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:

  1. He earns a decent salary.
  2. 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:

  1. We soaked in the hot spring.
  2. 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:

  1. The ball disappeared into the bushes.
  2. 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:

  1. I keep my dog in the yard.
  2. Her yard is so big we play soccer there.

Vocabulary Quiz

stove • refrigerator • decent
hot spring • bushes • yard
  1. He lives in a neighborhood.
  2. Unlike trees, are green all year.
  3. On a cold day, I like to sit in the .
  4. Put the milk in the .
  5. I need to cut the grass in the .
  6. Let's make pancakes on the .


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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