7. Ernestine's mother, after her husband's death took over his business. Her idea was to apply time-saving methods to the kitchen. So she planned, on paper, 'an efficiency-type kitchen'.
Read about the kitchen the family used and say why it was called (a model of inefficiency'. Deduce the meaning of the highlighted words, (guessing words by context/using a dictionary)
Our kitchen, the one Tom used, was a model of inefficiency. Not that there was a hand pump over the sink or a spit to roast fowls on, but it was almost that bad.
Our house had been built when the stress was on spaciousness, and the original owner had planned the kitchen to accommodate three or four servants. When Tom baked a cake, or baked what he said was a cake, he had to walk about half a mile. The distance from the sink, which was at back-breaking level, to the old-fashioned gas stove was a good twenty feet. The food was kept in a pantry twenty feet from the stove and forty from the sink. And the dishes were in another pantry, about the same distance away but in the opposite direction. The refrigerator was in an alcove by itself. To get to it, you had to walk around a stand holding the bird's cage; around a table holding Tom's tools, western story magazines, and back copies of The Newark Star-Eagle.
pump n 1) a light soft shoe worn for dancing, sport, etc. 2) (esp. in compounds) a machine for forcing liquid, gas or air into, out of or through smth
spit n 1) along thin metal rod pushed through meat, etc. to hold and turn it while it is cooked over a fire 2) a small narrow point of land that extends into the sea or lake
pantry n 1) a small room close to a kitchen for keeping food, etc. in 2) a room in a big house where glasses, dishes, etc. are kept
alcove n 1) partially enclosed space in a room often occupied by a bed or by seats 2) similar space within a garden enclosure (беседка)
Read about the kitchen the family used and say why it was called (a model of inefficiency'. Deduce the meaning of the highlighted words, (guessing words by context/using a dictionary)
Our kitchen, the one Tom used, was a model of inefficiency. Not that there was a hand pump over the sink or a spit to roast fowls on, but it was almost that bad.
Our house had been built when the stress was on spaciousness, and the original owner had planned the kitchen to accommodate three or four servants. When Tom baked a cake, or baked what he said was a cake, he had to walk about half a mile. The distance from the sink, which was at back-breaking level, to the old-fashioned gas stove was a good twenty feet. The food was kept in a pantry twenty feet from the stove and forty from the sink. And the dishes were in another pantry, about the same distance away but in the opposite direction. The refrigerator was in an alcove by itself. To get to it, you had to walk around a stand holding the bird's cage; around a table holding Tom's tools, western story magazines, and back copies of The Newark Star-Eagle.
pump n 1) a light soft shoe worn for dancing, sport, etc. 2) (esp. in compounds) a machine for forcing liquid, gas or air into, out of or through smth
spit n 1) along thin metal rod pushed through meat, etc. to hold and turn it while it is cooked over a fire 2) a small narrow point of land that extends into the sea or lake
pantry n 1) a small room close to a kitchen for keeping food, etc. in 2) a room in a big house where glasses, dishes, etc. are kept
alcove n 1) partially enclosed space in a room often occupied by a bed or by seats 2) similar space within a garden enclosure (беседка)