Magdalena's Apartment - by Nigel A JAMES
A Base for Discussion
People
who live in apartments
have one thing in
common, they all
have identical front
doors. The colours
are always the same, the handles
have only one shape, and the name-plates are all the same size and
design. But, this monotony is the only thing that these people
share,
for behind every front door is a world of its own!
Most
flats are the same. Everyone has identical kitchens, house plants,
Gmunden pottery on the dining room table, The Kiss by Klimt on the
living room wall, family photos on the top of the tele, one or two
books, and an aquarium. But, Magdalena Pfeifer's flat is very, very
different!
In
the living room there is not only a door in the ceiling for
light, there is also a huge metal propeller for cooling off in
the summer. The bathroom is on the balcony, and her kitchen is built
out of bricks and old planks. Magdalene's flat is
herself. Her favourite colours are blue, red and green, and, because
she loves wood, there is a wonderful wooden floor in the living room.
And, of course, pictures are an essential part of her life, that's
why she has many wonderful paintings.
Magdalene's
flat has a wonderful feeling. It is certainly not luxury,
but, it is very, very comfortable. Magdalene's flat is her own little
world, and her world is the universe of art!
Vocabulary
apartment
- Wohnung
bricks
– Ziegelstein
ceiling
– Decke
certainly
– mit Gewiss
front
door – Haustür
handel
– Griff
huge
– riesig
in
common – Gemeinsam
name
plate - Türschild
plank
– Holzbrett
share
- teilen
Questions
What
is normal living?
How
do you imagine Magdalene's apartment?
Why
do so many people all have the same kitchens?
Why
is art so important for a house or flat?
What
effects (Wirkung) do house plants have?
Why
is wood so important?
How
do you understand the word comfortable?
What
do you think of Feng-Shui?
Which
role do colours play in a home?
Why
do the Japanese live better than we do?
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