45 To make ends meet on a student budget, I decided to share a flat with three other people from my uni course. It’s a great way to live! You save money by splitting the rent, utility bills and home insurance – and you have a blast at the same time. There’s always someone around to hang out with. The only downside is when one of your flatmates is messy and refuses to do their share of the chores, like leaving the dishes to pile up. And sometimes things go wrong that you just can’t fix yourself. Our central heating broke in the middle of winter. Luckily, the landlady sent a plumber to sort it out, but we pretty much froze to death for a few days. You’ve really got to keep everything in good condition if you want to get your deposit back when the lease runs out. A Even though it nearly broke the bank, I managed to get myself a cosy little loft apartment after finishing school. My part-time job pays quite well, so I can afford the rent. I’m over the moon with this place – it’s stylish and has all the amenities I need, like a dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and even air conditioning. It’s not particularly spacious, but it’s in a lovely residential area, and there’s even a housekeeper who comes by every week to clean the apartment. The moment the estate agent showed me around, I knew this was the place for me. It’s in a trendy neighbourhood, too. The only downside is the construction site next door, where they’re building new apartments; it’s often quite noisy out on the balcony. B If you ask me, on-campus student accommodation is the only way to live as a student. Sure, you have to be pretty sociable and open-minded – after all, you’re sharing a lot of facilities with others – but it’s definitely worth it. There’s a communal bathroom and kitchen, but only for 10 students, which isn’t too bad. I suppose there’s always a risk of damage to the property with so many people around, but generally, most students are good about owning up to any breakages. Living on campus also means you don’t have to commute – uni’s right on your doorstep. So as a bonus you get to sleep in a bit longer in the mornings! The hall of residence where I stayed was clean and well maintained. But when I spent a semester in the US, I shared my dorm room with two other students, a large patch of mould and a family of cockroaches. C Expand your vocabulary: Living arrangements – part 2 Make sure you understand the green expressions. If you’re unsure, look them up in a dictionary. Then use them to create ‘odd one out’ tasks for your classmates. Here’s an example: estate agent – electrician – budget – tenant. Which word doesn’t fit? Why? Work with a partner. Write a list of requirements or problems mentioned in the texts. Agree on possible solutions to these problems. Example: little money look for a cheap flat, find flatmates, get a part-time job. LANGUAGE 9 SPEAKING + WRITING 10 Write your own text to go with Cheryl’s statement. Include some of the new expressions from exercise 9. Create a timeline of how you want to live in the future. How and where will you live when you are 20, 30 or 50 years old? Consider what you will need and how you will pay for it. You have read the first two sentences of text C in a blog about the benefits of living on campus. Comment on them in around 120 words. WRITING 11 12 13 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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