1. Homes

2. Most homes in the West are houses.

3. Almost all Westerners have to get a mortgage to buy a home. There are also property taxes. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4. When a person buys a home they are already finished. The fixtures and appliances are already installed ( 已经装修好了 ). Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5. 装修 -install fixtures and appliances (NOT decorate) Decorate is 布置 Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

6. Many live in apartments. These are rented. Many people never buy a home in the West. Image courtesy of radnatt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

7. A condo is an apartment that you own. Image courtesy of radnatt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

8. Houses have a front yard. It takes a lot of time to take care of a yard.

9. A back yard

10. The grass has to be mowed. A lawn mower Images by Danilo Rizzuti, worradmu at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

11. In the fall leaves have to be raked. Image courtesy of Tuomas_Lehtinen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

12. Bushes have to be trimmed. Left image courtesy of natara at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

13. Westerners will fix things that are broken. Many people learn how to do it or pay a lot of money for a worker.

14. In China the sofas are like this.

15. Or like this.

16. In the West couches are never wood. They are soft.

17. The kitchen-It’s not enclosed, there are no doors. Many have a kitchen island.

18. The refrigerators are very large.

19. The ovens are large because baking is common.

20. There are washing machines and dryers. It’s not common to hang laundry to dry outside.

21. What room is this?

22. It’s not a W.C. The bathrooms have showers with a shower curtain and maybe a bathtub.

23. All the beds are soft. Image by David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

24. What is your ideal home? What kind of decorations? Where is it? How big is it? What kind of furniture?

25. Here is the problem. Come up with the solution. You want to buy a house but don’t have enough money. The grass is too tall. The electricity went out. The toilet won’t flush. You received the mortgage bill. The floor is dirty. It’s too hot inside the house. It’s too cold inside the house.