A Living Room in Bulgaria

 
 
 

Vocabulary

state	portrait	liberation
plane	part (2)	write/wrote/written
gallery	member	Christian Orthodox
capital	paint (2)	commission (2)
abroad	Trabant	feel/felt/felt
typical	emigrate	anniversary
wheel	wedding	get behind a wheel
empty	as though	feel/felt/felt

 
 
 
 

 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Sofia, the Capital of Bulgaria

Youngest EU Member State

Hello from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. My name is Rumen Leonidov, and I’m a writer.

Welcome.

This is my home. This here is my living room. This is Vivi, my girlfriend, and the mother of our two children.

She’s making a salad. Today is our thirty-fifth (35th) wedding anniversary.

Rumen is Christian Orthodox

Vivi is Jewish

My living room is a bit like an art gallery. There’s a lot here about my great-grandfather. He died fighting for the liberation of Bulgaria, at the age of twenty-seven (27).

Many of my friends are artists, and they like to paint portraits of me. Who knows why? I have five or six portraits, which I never commissioned.

We have two children, a daughter and a son. They are studying and working abroad; our house feels much emptier now. That’s very typical for Bulgarian families these days. A lot of young people are emigrating.

Open Air Library

This was my first modern car, a Toyota. I just can’t part with it.

The first time I got behind a wheel, I felt as though I was in a plane. Now it’s full of books. Before this I always had a Trabant.

Thank you very much for your visit. You’re welcome anytime. Good bye.

 

 

Questions

1. In the Video, Sofia is the name of the host’s wife. True or false?

2. Is today Rumen’s birthday? Was Viki baking a cake?

3. Are Rumen and Vivi and interfaith couple?

4. His great-grandfather had an ordinary life. Is this right or wrong?

5. Is Rumen’s living room plain and boring?

6. Their children live with them. Is this correct or incorrect?

7. Why does he keep an old, “junk” car in his yard?

 

A. How do you or your parents celebrate your or their wedding anniversary?

B. Are there different religions in your city? What are the main religions in your city?

C. What sort of decorations are in your living room? Do you have paintings? Are your friends artists?

D. Do many people from you country emigrate or move abroad? Why do they go?

E. All my neighbors and friends drive a car. Yes or no?