Reading and Writing 8 Form

Who Needs a Clean House?

My neighbours, Mr and Mrs Smith, both hated housework. They were very untidy people who never put things away in their places. When they went to bed, for example, they always left their clothes in a mess on the floor. Their kitchen was in great disorder, too. Even though they had a dishwasher, they always left the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, and only did the washing up when there was not a single plate in the house. It was just the same with their clothes. They never put them into the washing machine until there was nothing else left to wear. Their living room didn’t look better! There was thick dust on every piece of furniture and the carpets hadn’t been cleaned for weeks. And the bathroom!

So the day came when Mr. Smith couldn’t find one of his socks and Mrs. Smith couldn’t see her face in the bathroom mirror. They looked around and decided that it was time to get the house cleaned. And they found Marie, a foreign student at a local university who needed some extra money.

Marie came to their house and worked all day long. She washed, dried and ironed all the clothes and put them away where they belonged – into the wardrobe and chest of drawers. She swept the floor with a large broom. She took a wet cloth and wiped the dust off the furniture, and polished it until it was shining. She cleaned all the carpets with a vacuum cleaner. In the kitchen, the floors were too dirty to wash with a mop, so Marie got on her hands and knees and scrubbed the dirt off with a scrubbing brush. Finally, she made the beds. Now the house looked spotless.

When Mr. and Mrs. Smith came home that evening, everything was clean, neat and tidy. ”Well, what do you think?” Mrs. Smith asked her husband. “It looks very nice, “he said. “But how are we ever going to find anything?”

 I. Choose True or False 

1. Mr and Mrs Smith both hated housework.

2. They were very tidy people who always put their things away in their places. 

3.  When they went to bed they always left their clothes in a wardrobe.

4. Their kitchen was in great disorder.

5.  They did the washing up when there was not a single plate in the house.

6.  They put their clothes into the washing machine when there was nothing else left to wear.

7.  But they cleaned their carpets every week.

8.  One day they asked their neighbour to help them to clean their house.

9.  Marie cleaned their house and it looked spotless.

10.  When Mr. and Mrs. Smith came home that evening, everything was clean, neat and tidy.

II. Choose the correct option. 

1. Mr and Mrs Smith were my…

2. They were very…people.

3. They …. put things away in their places.  

4. Their living room looked….

5. So the day came when Mr. Smith couldn’t find …

6. They found Marie, a foreign student at a local university who….

7. Marie came to their house and worked …...

8. She washed, dried and ironed all the clothes and put them away where they belonged – into ….

9. She cleaned all the carpets with a……..

10. When Mr. and Mrs. Smith came home that evening Mrs. Smith said…