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52
B.
Claudia thinks of herself as a feminist. She is sure that women should have the same rights, power and
opportunities as men. A housewife, to her mind, is an unwaged worker and she just cannot put up with it. So
she is trying to change her husband's daily routine making him share the house chores with her. Un-
fortunately, he is not much of a househusband, unlike my husband who is strikingly different and is really
handy.
Claudia regards my husband as the perfect model and thinks I am lucky to have such a partner. And it is
true. John helps a fair amount with the household work. He is quite helpful when we do a thorough cleaning.
Taking down and putting up the curtains, tidying up, vacuuming the rooms — all this is his part, to say
nothing of the man's work which he has to do from time to time. If something goes wrong — the plumbing
may get clogged or start leaking or the tap may start dripping — I never call a plumber. John can mend it
himself. If an electrical appliance — be it a mixer or a washing machine — gets out of order we never call a
maintenance worker as my husband can fix anything. If our flat needs decorating it is John who papers the
rooms, plasters the walls and the ceiling. Once Bobby
broke the window and my husband glazed it in no
time. We do not need a TV repairman — John can even fix televisions. All my friends say he has a
wonderful pair of hands. Last year he finished building our country house and we have quite a large lot — so
my husband's spare time is used in gardening and we can always enjoy fresh vegetables. Isn't it nice? Well,
my dear, dear husband — he never keeps track of what he does. We really share everything with him. My
son and I, we usually break things while my poor husband sets them right.
And how about Claudia's husband — a victim of feminism? Just fancy! She made a list of the house
chores he is supposed to do this week. She wants him to nail the picture. Frankly speaking, I doubt he could
pound a nail in let alone hang a picture. Mind you, he can tell a hammer from a spoon, but Claudia wants
him to paint the floor in the kitchen, and I am sure if he did the paint would peel in a week. She hopes he
will cover the bathroom wall with tiles but he can't stick a thing.
You may think he is not a man. But he is. I think him very, very intelligent and generous and well-
mannered. The problem is he is no match for a feminist wife. She may do her best to change him but the
most he can do is take their dog for a walk. Even then, watching them it's hard to tell who's taking who.
Exercise 26
Work in pairs. Ask your partner the questions given below and find out how his/her family keeps house.
1. Who runs the house in your family?
2. Do other members share household chores with your mother?
3. What work about the house do you do every day and what is done once a season?
4. What makes your home cosy?
5. What labour-saving devices do you have at home?
6. Do you vacuum the floor or sweep it with a broom? Do you ever use a mop to clean the floor?
7. Is your flat crammed with things or does it have just a minimum of furniture in it?
8. How often is a thorough turn-out done in your family? Are you usually tired after the thorough clean-
up?
9. How often do you redecorate the rooms? Do you do your own redecoration and repairing or do you
prefer to have it done?
Exercise 27
Give the Russian equivalents to the following English idioms including some words and word
combinations used in the Lesson. Try to understand whether they have anything to do with the topic
discussed.
wash
to wash one's dirty linen in the public it will all come out in the wash
sweep
a new broom sweeps clean iron to have (put) many (too many) irons in the fire
dust
to shake dust from one's feet
to dust somebody's coat for him
to throw dust into
somebody's eyes to give somebody a dusting
dustbin
to throw into the dustbin (waste-basket)
soap
soft soap
mess
to clear up the mess to (be) in a mess
house
to keep a good house (table)
to keep the house
to put one's house in order
Exercise 28