Britain for beginners: Strange British Houses

Se vi invitano a trascorrere un periodo in una casa britannica, è opportuno prepararvi a qualche peculiarità strutturale e degli arredi: dalla dimensione delle stanze fino ai dettagli più insidiosi, per esempio la divisione dei rubinetti e la temperatura dell’acqua calda.

Aggiornato il giorno

447 British Houses b Istock

Ascolta questo articolo

Stampare

Are you staying with a British family? Here are some useful tips for living in a British home!

Most Brits live in houses with two floors  and a garden. They are not all rich, so the houses are sometimes quite small, with small rooms and low ceilings. The bedrooms in particular are very small. It’s a question of space. If you want an economical house on two floors, you need some space for the stairs and the area at the top of the stairs, or landing. The wall wall cupboard on the landing is called an ‘airing cupboard’. It is extremely useful because the hot water tank is usually in here. The hot tank and pipes make the atmosphere in the cupboard hot and dry, so most British people keep their clean sheets and towels in this cupboard.

447 British Houses Istock

CARPETS

Another factor is the climate. It can be very cold in the winter and the summers are not always hot. Small rooms with low ceilings conserve heat. There are usually carpets in most of the rooms, with curtains at the windows. This also makes the rooms warmer and cosier.

Unfortunately, this can be a big problem in the summer. In houses in warm Mediterranean countries, people close the shutters during the day when the weather is very hot. British houses don’t have shutters and on hot summer days the temperature indoors can be very high.

BED LINEN

Summer nights are the worst. British people often prefer polyester cotton sheets, because they can wash them, put them in the tumble drier and then back on the bed, or in the airing cupboard, in a very short time with no crumples. This is perfect for a busy family but terrible in June or July, because these sheets are not cool like cotton or linen.

447 British Houses Istock Shutter

THE LOO

If you can’t find a washing machine in the bathroom, don’t worry, it is probably in the kitchen. Most houses only have one bathroom, perhaps with a downstairs toilet, and there isn’t usually a bidet. If this is a problem for you, try wet wipes for adult bottoms you can find them at the supermarket near the toilet paper! One last bathroom tip: be careful of the hot tap. Usually there is no mixer tap and the hot and cold water are separate. Sometimes the hot water can be boiling hot!

 Celebrating Washington

People

Celebrating Washington

Il presidente più famoso della storia degli Stati Uniti è onnipresente, dal nome all’immagine, lo si trova proprio dappertutto. Il suo compleanno è addirittura una festa federale: un altro modo per rinsaldare il sentimento patriottico, con un giorno di vacanza.

Mariam Khan

America’s Natural Giant: General Sherman Tree

Places

America’s Natural Giant: General Sherman Tree

Oltre che per la sua bellezza naturale che lascia senza fiato i visitatori, il parco nazionale di Sequoia vanta alcuni degli alberi più grandi al mondo, per esempio il General Sherman.

Talitha Linehan

More in Explore

English for the Modern Workplace

Tips and resources

English for the Modern Workplace

Impara a comunicare in un luogo di lavoro globalizzato insieme ad Iboux.

Jenize Hechter, B2B Team Leader Iboux Corporate

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

A Short Story: Frost Fair

Fiction

A Short Story: Frost Fair

Lo spettacolo del Tamigi ghiacciato trasforma Londra in uno scenario unico, dove una storia di amicizia inizialmente meravigliosa si trasforma rapidamente in un incubo.

Rachel Roberts

Sentence Structure in English: Rules and Common Mistakes
iStock

Grammar

Sentence Structure in English: Rules and Common Mistakes

Imparare a costruire frasi in inglese può sembrare complicato all'inizio, ma una volta che comprendi la struttura di base, diventa molto più facile. Ti offriamo una guida semplice per iniziare a scrivere le tue frasi.

Natalie Gommon