Page 198 - BACKUP ENGLISH | PREPARATORY CLASS

THEME 16 HELPFUL TIPS

Culture Corner

Household chores are an essential part of our daily lives. While some may seem ordinary, there are many interesting
and unique chores that exist around the world. Read the interesting household chore customs from different countries
below. Then search the Net to find another interesting household chore from a different country and share it with your
classmates.

In Japan, families often clean their homes from top to bottom
before the New Year to welcome good luck in a process
called ‘osouji’. It means ‘big cleaning’. Well, how big is the ‘big
cleaning’ involved? It is said that there are those who throw
out furniture, electronics, and clothes. There are also some
who even stop their bad habits and put an end to their toxic
relationships with people. Because the philosophy of ‘osouji’
adopts the idea that when someone sweeps the dust, s/he
also sweeps away the dirt of the past. How interesting, right?

Cleaning carpets deeply is very challenging. That is why it is not
a daily household chore around the world. One of the strangest
cleaning customs is carpet cleaning done in Russia annually
in December. It is about using snow to scrub carpets. They do
that to ensure a fresh start. The carpets are taken outside and
laid down in the snow. Then, people shovel more snow on top
of them and scrub away all the dirt that has built up since the
last time the carpet was cleaned. They spend all day cleaning
carpets, not only near their homes but also in city parks. Can
you believe that?

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TONGUE TWISTER
Read the tongue twisters and practise saying them as fast as possible.

The sheep on the ship were terribly sick,

It’s as if the ship were thick with sick,
Turn the wheel if you will, I won’t spill.

Just don’t steal the thick sick ship’s wheel.

/ı/ /i:/

It’s been the thing to sing unseen,

For that’s the life of a human being
But if you sing unseen as a being,

How will you know it’s not a dream that you’re dreaming?

196 English for Preparatory Class