Alastair invites viewers into his living room.

Vocabulary

 

typical	sit/sat/sat	turn it around
toy	presenter	one of many
bronze	fireplace	for instance
BBC	barefoot	take off (2)
look at	decorate	the way it looks
swing	British feel	an eye for design
in fact	here it is	feel/felt/felt (2)
piece	around	come/came/come
peace	thing (2)	take/took/taken
enjoy	show (2)	bring/brought/brought
long	area (2)	responsible for
viewer	around (2)	swing/swung/swung
deck		living room

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Hello. Welcome to West London. I’d like to show you my living room.

So here it is. It’s not the typical British or London living room, it has a European feel about it.

It also has an Asian feel. We traveled a lot around the world. This piece for example came from Bangkok on one of our many holidays.

Bronze Buddha

But away from the Asian feel, one thing about this room which is very British is the fireplace. We love this. It’s a working fireplace.

At Christmas for instance, my wife decorates this in the German-style because she’s German in fact and then we put logs into the fire. And it’s all a very warm feeling.

I walk barefoot because I love not to have socks on. I’m a television presenter for the BBC in London and not many of my viewers would know that when I’m presenting the news, I don’t have my shoes on, I always like to take my shoes off.

But a living room is just that, isn’t it? And we do a lot of things in the living room. For instance here’s my son Elian. He’s six years old, and he often enjoys bringing his toys down here.

I take no responsibility for the design for this room, the way that it looks, that is totally down to my wife, you know we say she has the eye for the design.

I did say I wasn’t responsible for the design for the room, but one thing I am responsible for is television and computer area.

And what I like about this is that it’s on a swing arm which means that we can turn it around this way and we can look at the television from the sofa area in the evening, or indeed, or me sometimes, when I’m cooking in the kitchen which is there, we can have it like that.

Or my favorite position in the summer time, watching the tennis or watching anything on the television the news, I can swing it right there, and I can sit right outside on my deck, and watch the television from there.

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Questions

Fireplace. The style of his living room is American. True or false?

Carpet, Rug. “This room also has an Asian feel.” Why does it also have an Asian feel? Did he buy it on the internet?

Sofa, Couch, Armchair. Does Alastair only travel to Thailand?

Coffee Table, Dining Table. How do they keep warm in winter? Is it real or is it only for decoration?

Window, Window Curtains. His wife comes from Thailand. Is this right or wrong? “My wife has an eye for design.” What does this mean?

Bookcase, Bookshelf. What is Alastair’s profession or job? The television viewers don’t know something. What don’t TV viewers know?

Dresser, Chest of Drawers. They can only watch TV sitting on the sofa. Is this correct or incorrect?

Refrigerator. According to Alastair, does his son like to play video games? What is his son’s hobby?
 
 
 
Closet, Wardrobe. Is your house in a traditional (old) or contemporary (modern) style?

Cabinet. What sort of decorations or furniture does it have?

Cupboard. Are you from London? Do you live in London? Have you or your friends ever been to London?

Lamp. Have you met anyone from London or other parts of England? Who were they? What were they doing?

Bed, Bed Frame, Mattress. Describe the climate and geography of London and England.

Desk, Table. Describe the economy of London. What are its main industries?

Ceiling, Floor, Walls. Does London have any problems or challenges?

Bathtub, Shower, Sink. What is the food of London like? Describe cuisine of London.

Mirror. What are some tourists attractions (cultural, historical, natural)?

Pictures, Paintings. What comes to mind when you think of London? What do you associate with London?