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  • Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob...

  • Neil: ...and I'm Neil. Hello.

  • Rob: Hello, Neil! You look pleased today, Neil.

  • Neil: I am pleased. I just moved into my new flat!

  • Rob: OK, fantastic! Congratulations! Where is this new flat?

  • Neil: It's in the city.

  • It's a one-bed flat so it's bijouxmeaning small but attractive.

  • There's a balcony, I've got a couple of deckchairs and a barbecue...

  • Rob: I can't wait to see it. It sounds perfect.

  • Well, today we're discussing housing

  • and why in some buildings there are separate entrances for rich and poor residents!

  • So, are you ready for today's quiz question, Neil?

  • Neil: I'm all ears.

  • Rob: OK, so you mean you're listening carefully.

  • Neil: I am.

  • Rob: Right. What does 'social housing' mean?

  • Is it housing for people who...

  • a) want to buy or rent at a low price?

  • b) want to live together sharing facilities?

  • or c) aren't able to pay any rent at all?

  • Neil: OK, I think the answer is a) to buy or rent at a low price.

  • Rob: OK. Well, we'll see if you were right or wrong later on in the programme.

  • So, have you met your neighbours yet, Neil?

  • Neil: Yes ... I bumped into one couple as I was leaving for work this morning.

  • Rob: I see. Bump into means to meet somebody by chance. So were they friendly?

  • Neil: Well, they complained about me blocking the communal area with my bike also about my guitar playing.

  • But apart from that, they seemed nice!

  • Rob: A communal area is an area that is shared by a number of people.

  • Well, I hate to say it, Neil, but your guitar playing is annoying!

  • Neil: Oh, Rob, genius isn't appreciated here, I think.

  • OK... Let's listen to the journalist Tom Bateman talking about rich and poor doors.

  • Tom Bateman: In front of us here is a 20-storey building.

  • Right about me I got tinted blue glass windows and balconies on every floor as you look from the street.

  • And there is a very plush foyer.

  • A sign in the window says 'luxurious penthouses with spectacular views.'

  • Neil: But this is what the journalist Tom Bateman saw when he went around the other side of the same building.

  • Tom Bateman: So as you come down the side of the building,

  • you can see the windowsquite small windowsof the flats above herecertainly no balconies.

  • This is a big grey concrete wall and as you walk down an alleyway towards the other door.

  • Rob: So this building has one entrance with a plushor expensive and luxuriousfoyer.

  • And foyer means entrance hall.

  • Then there's another entrance down an alleywayor narrow passage between buildings.

  • Neil: This entrance leads to flats with small windows and no balconies.

  • Why's that, Rob?

  • Rob: That's because the alleyway entrance is the so-called 'poor door'.

  • There' no swanky foyer or tinted glass windows for these residents because they pay less rent than the people living in the apartments at the front.

  • Neil: Swanky means something fashionable and expensive that is designed to impress people.

  • And tinted glass is coloured glassso people can't look through your windows.

  • Rob: That sounds useful! Do you have tinted glass windows, Neil?

  • Neil: No, I don't. Tinted sunglasses are all that I can afford.

  • So what do people think about having a rich door and a poor door for the same building, Rob?

  • Rob: Well, some people think it's terrible.

  • They say it's segregation - or separation and different treatment of people

  • and I can't believe the poor-door people put up with it really!

  • Neil: To put up with something means to accept something that is annoying without complaining about it.

  • The thing is, though, the poor-door people don't pay nearly as much rent.

  • And they don't have to pay the same service charges that the rich-door people pay.

  • Rob: A service charge is an amount of money you pay to the owner of an apartment building for things like putting out the rubbish.

  • Well, let's listen to an experience of a poor-door resident.

  • Abdul Mohammed: We can't use the lift... because it's for the rich people.

  • So whenever the doors open, I use it.

  • So they try and tell me off for using it.

  • I say, 'here, come, take me to court ─ I don't mind'.

  • Neil: So what has Abdul been doing that the rich-door residents don't like, Rob?

  • Rob: Well, he's been using their lift because it's near his apartment door.

  • Neil: And what does Abdul mean when he says, 'come, take me to court'?

  • Rob: He's inviting the rich-door residents to take legal action against him,

  • but Abdul doesn't really think he's doing anything wrong.

  • Neil: OK, it's time to hear the answer to today's quiz question.

  • Rob: Yes. What does 'social housing' mean? Is it flats or houses for people...

  • a) who want to buy or rent at a low price?

  • b) who want to live together sharing facilities?

  • or c) who aren't able to pay any rent at all?

  • Neil: And I said a) to buy or rent at a low price.

  • Rob: And you were right! So well done for that, Neil.

  • Now, shall we listen to the words we've learned on today's programme?

  • Neil: Good idea. We heard:

  • bijoux

  • bump into

  • communal area

  • plush

  • foyer

  • alleyway

  • swanky

  • tinted

  • segregation

  • to put up with something

  • service charge

  • Rob: Thank you. Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English.

  • I hope you felt at home with us on today's show! Please join us again soon.

  • Both: Bye.

Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob...

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