ESL Podcast 1038 - Types and Characteristics of Apartments
rental agent - a person whose job is to help people find a home or apartment to rent, and who helps property owners find tenants to live in their buildings
Finding a place to live in some New York City neighborhoods can be almost impossible without the help of a rental agent.
apartment - a smaller home with a sleeping area or one or more bedrooms, a bathroom, a living area, and a kitchen, in a large building with many other apartments
Their first apartment was so small that there was barely enough room for a bed!
lost - not knowing where one is or how to get to one's destination
We're lost. Let's stop to ask someone for directions to this address.
apartment complex - a set of buildings in a similar style and built around the same time, each with many apartments
Most of the university students live in one of the apartment complexes near campus.
identical - the same; with the same appearance; without any differences
Some psychologists say it isn't a good idea to dress twins in identical clothing.
subdivision - an area of land that has been divided for sale and development, typically with all the buildings having a very similar appearance
A lot of farmland is being sold and converted into subdivisions for the growing city.
street number - the numerical part of an address; the numbered part of an address that appears before the street name
There's the street we're looking for. Now what's the street number of their home?
block - a square or rectangular area of land surrounded by four streets
Omid's best friend lives just two blocks away.
mixed-use - a building or neighborhood that is used for a combination of residential (housing), commercial (business), and retail (sales; stores) purposes
The city planners want to develop more mixed-use neighborhoods where businesses and stores are on the ground floor, and apartments are built above them.
high-rise - referring to a very tall building; a skyscraper
This high-rise office building offers some incredible views of the city.
floor - story; one level in a building, connected to other levels by elevators and/or stairs
The living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the main floor, and all the bedrooms are on the second floor.
story - floor; one level in a building, connected to other levels by elevators and/or stairs
Sandra lives at the top of a four-story building without an elevator, so she has been getting a lot of exercise from walking up and down the stairs.
duplex - a building with two apartments; a house divided into two apartments with separate entrances
They bought a duplex so that they can live on one side, and Omar's parents can live on the other side.
triplex - a building with three apartments; a house divided into three apartments with separate entrances
As a college student, Isidro moved into a triplex so that he could be independent, but still have close interactions with other people in the building.
resident - a person who lives in a particular building, neighborhood, or city
The electric company has a special program to help low-income residents pay their electric bills.
bill collector - a person whose job is to find people who owe money to a company and make them pay
When Jacob lost his job, his family didn't have enough money to pay the bills, and soon the bill collectors started calling.