MY HOUSEHOLD DUTIES (2)

         I live with my mother and father. I like to help them. Every Sunday I clean my room. I take the vacuum — cleaner and clean the carpets. I sweep the floor, dust the sofa and the chairs, I try to dust the furniture in a proper way. We have got many flo­wers at home. Twice a week I water them. I like flowers very much.

        But best of all I like to lay the table. I do it carefully. I spread the table cloth and then I put out table — mats to protect the table from hot plates and dishes. A small mat for each guest and larger ones for the hot dishes. I put out the cutlery, which clean and polish every week, and I sharpen the carving-knife. The cutlery is kept in a drawer in the sideboard. The wine-glas­ses are kept on shelves in the sideboard. I take out of the dra­wer in the sideboard all the cutlery — a fish-knife and a fork for fish, a large knife and a fork for meat, a small knife for butter and a fruit-knife for dessert. Then there is a pudding- spoon and a fork for sweet dishes, and a soup-spoon for soup.

           I put the knives and a soup-spoon on the right-hand side and the forks on the left, except the pudding-spoon and fork which I put across the top. Then I put the serving — spoons and forks, the carving-knife and fork, the bread-board and the knife to cut bread. On the left of each guest I put a small plate for bread and on his right a wine-glass if we are having wine. And I am ready for the guests to come.

QUESTIONS:

1.  How can you help your parents?

2.  What do you like to do best of all?

3.  Can you lay the table?

4.  Do you know on what side of plate knives and spoons put?

 5. Why is it necessary to put table mats?

VOCABULARY:

table-mat — подставка

cutlery — столовые приборы

to sharpen — точить

caving-knife — нож для разделки мяса

drawer — выдвижной ящик