Words & Phrases
[L103P1 & L103P2]

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Lesson [L103P1]

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Translation[L103P1]

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Lesson [L103P2]

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Translation[L103P2]

Index10

English USA
Lesson 103, Part 2

  音 L103P2J.MP3[621KB]

 

FRED:

This is the kitchen. It was the most important room in the house. Most of the family life took place here.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

There's no water, no plumbing.

 

 

 

FRED:

Very few farm homes before nineteen hundred had plumbing. The farmer's wife or the children carried water from the pump outside.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

How did they keep clean? How did they bathe?

 

 

 

FRED:

They didn't bathe often. Usually once a week. Maybe they had a bath on Saturday night before church on Sunday.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Where did they bathe?

 

 

 

FRED:

Here in the kitchen in front of the stove. They bathed in a large wooden or metal washtub. The children bathed first, then the farmer. They usually bathed in the same water.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Wasn't there enough water?

 

 

 

FRED:

There was plenty of water, but it had to be heated on the stove. The farmer's wife bathed later, after everyone else was in bed.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

I suppose the children studied in this room.

 

 

 

FRED:

Yes. They sat around the table. There was a kerosene lamp in the middle of the table.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

What were the father and mother doing?

 

 

 

FRED:

The mother was probably doing some kind of sewing. The father was perhaps repairing something for the horses.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Where was the hired hand?

 

 

 

FRED:

In a small house, he was with the family. He ate with the family, and slept with the other boys.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

I would like to see the barn.

 

 

 

FRED:

In this area, the barn was built close to the house.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

It's just across the road. Why was that?

 

 

 

FRED:

Because of the cold winters. Later on, when farmers built new houses they built them away from the barns.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

This barn is very large.

 

 

 

FRED:

It had to be for all the animals. It also had storage space for all of the food for the animals. They had to store everything for the winter.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

The winters must have been terrible.

 

 

 

FRED:

I don't think so. It was a time for fun.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

They couldn't work in the fields of course.

 

 

 

FRED:

Right. They could go to town more often. They visited neighbors.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Were there many towns?

 

 

 

FRED:

Yes. In the Midwest farm country, there was a small town within driving distance.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

What was in the town?

 

 

 

FRED:

The most important thing was someplace for the farmer to sell some of his crops.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

What else?

 

 

 

FRED:

There was probably a high school.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

What about stores?

 

 

 

FRED:

Yes, there were general stores. Women met one another there.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Where did the men meet?

 

 

 

FRED:

In most towns, it was the barber shop. In some towns, there were small hotels with bars.

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Did people go to town often?

 

 

 

FRED:

No, it took too much time. They went when they had to, or on Sunday for church. 

 

 

 

MARTIN:

It was a slow life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRED:

Do you know much about farm life, Martin?

 

 

 

MARTIN:

Not much. I'm a city person. I don't know anything about farm life in the early nineteen hundreds. This is great.

 

 

 

FRED:

Let's walk though the barn.

 

 

English USA L103P2J
Courtesy of Voice of America