
Instructions
Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Transcript
I want to talk about my experience of moving out and living on my own. Moving out to live on your own is not very common in Hong Kong. Many people still choose to live with their parents even though they have a decent job and they're already at (in) their 30s. Many of them would stay with their parents until they get married. There are several reasons behind – firstly, Hong Kong's rent is expensive. Many people would rather save up more money to purchase an apartment instead of renting one. Secondly, the Chinese traditional value of family is that the parents are the ones who brought you up. When you become an adult, you should also take good care of your parents and you should spend more time to be with them. And of course there are people who are still dependent on their parents for food, clothing, household chores, etc.
When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people's reaction is like, 'What do your parents say?', because they assume the parents would not like their children to leave them. Well, I don't know if my parents like it, but I can tell you my parents support and respect my decision. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family.
The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour 15 minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. From my new apartment, it just takes me 30 minutes, so I saved 45 minutes' travelling time. I don't have to get up so early and I save two-third (two-thirds) of my travelling cost. It does not only save my time to travel for work, but also from most of the places in Hong Kong. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decision (decisions) all the time, I do not have to say whether I would go home for dinner, I can invite my friends to come up and stay late.
Of course, there are some trade-offs in living on your own. If you want to rent an apartment, there are lots of preparatory works (work) to do. You have to keep visiting the apartments to search for your ideal one. You have to negotiate with the landlord about the price, furniture inclusion, who is responsible for the maintenance of the furniture and equipments (equipment). My experience was that after we moved into the apartment, it was not until the kitchen cupboard was soaked with water that we found out there was water leakage (leak) in the kitchen sink.
Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses, for example the rent, electricity, gas, water, telephone, internet bills, etc. Therefore, you've got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and some other household chores. I think preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time; therefore, I always try to make simple meals. On the other hand, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn't really save much of my time after all.
Now everything is settled down, I'm getting used to my new life and I am enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome, but it may worth (be worth it).
Absolutely, living on my own makes me independent and I became a responsible person. I 'm getting used to manage all my financial problems and I can freely do everything I want.
Yes. I have lived on my own since my teenage years after I furthered my study at a boarding school far away from my hometown making it impossible to commute. Living on my own from a very young age made me very independent and resilient to life struggles as I have to learn to cope and resolve all my issues on my own without parental guidance which I think is the most precious lesson.
I think it's a good experience. You are independent but you are also responsible for your life. And it helps to develop and mature. I think it helps to improve your time management.
Hi ragamin,
A portion is a part of a whole. A pizza can be divided into slices and each slice is a portion.
A proportion is a part of the whole described relative to the whole. Proportions are generally expressed as fractions (one half) or percentages (50%).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again ragamin,
Proportion is not a physical item but a mathmatical concept expressing the size relationship of a part to the whole. As I said, it is usually expressed as a fraction or a percentage. For example:
A portion is often a physical item. It is a part of a larger whole.
Of course, it is possible to user either word in some contexts. It does not really work with pizza slices unless for some reason you wanted to mathematically measure one or more slices relative to the whole. However, you could analsye the ingredients:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team