Moving day finally arrived到达 /əˈraɪvd/. Jack's family had been excited兴奋的 /ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪd/ for weeks to see their new house房子 /haʊs/. It had a bright living room客厅 /ˈlɪv.ɪŋ ruːm/, three bedrooms卧室 /ˈbed.ruːmz/, a modern kitchen厨房 /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/, a clean bathroom浴室 /ˈbɑːθ.ruːm/, and a short hall门廊 /hɔːl/ leading to the front door. "This is spacious宽敞的 /ˈspeɪ.ʃəs/!" Mum said, stepping迈步 /ˈstep.ɪŋ/ into the living room and looking around. Light came in through the tall window窗户 /ˈwɪn.doʊ/ and fell in long strips across the bare floors地板 /flɔːrz/.
The removal men carried搬运（过去式） /ˈkær.id/ in the big pieces of furniture家具 /ˈfɜːr.nɪ.tʃər/ one by one. First came the sofa沙发 /ˈsoʊ.fə/, then the armchair扶手椅 /ˈɑːrm.tʃer/, and finally the large bookshelf书架 /ˈbʊk.ʃelf/ that they had had for years. Dad directed指挥 /dɪˈrektɪd/ the men while Mum watched carefully. "Put the sofa against that wall墙 /wɔːl/, please," she said. Dad looked unsure. "What if we put the sofa under the window instead? It would face the TV." Mum tilted her head. "Hmm. Does that work行得通 /wɜːrk/?" They tried it that way and both agreed同意了 /əˈɡriːd/ it was better.
Next, they needed to arrange摆放；安排 /əˈreɪndʒ/ the smaller更小的 /ˈsmɔː.lər/ items. Jack helped carry搬运 /ˈkær.i/ the bookshelf to the corner角落 /ˈkɔːr.nər/ of the room. "I think the books should go here," he said, setting one end down. "It fits perfectly完美地 /ˈpɜːr.fɪkt.li/." Mum nodded. "I prefer the armchair next to it then, so you can read by the lamp台灯 /læmp/." They placed放置 /pleɪst/ a round table桌子 /ˈteɪ.bəl/ beside the armchair and put the lamp on top. "That looks cosy温馨的 /ˈkoʊ.zi/," said Jack.
There was still the carpet地毯 /ˈkɑːr.pɪt/ to fit铺入；适合 /fɪt/ in the centre of the room. Dad measured量了 /ˈmeʒ.ərd/ the space with a tape measure量；卷尺 /ˈmeʒ.ər/. "We need to move移动 /muːv/ the sofa forward a little," he said. "The carpet won't fit otherwise." They shifted移动了 /ˈʃɪft.ɪd/ the sofa by about half a metre and rolled the carpet out flat. It was a soft grey colour that matched the curtain窗帘 /ˈkɜːr.tən/ Mum had bought earlier. "Perfect match," she said happily高兴地 /ˈhæp.ɪ.li/. The tall curtains hung from a silver银色的 /ˈsɪl.vɚ/ rail轨道 /reɪl/ near the ceiling天花板 /ˈsiː.lɪŋ/, making the room feel elegant优雅的 /ˈel.ɪ.ɡənt/.
Upstairs, Jack helped his mum carry a heavy沉重的 /ˈhev.i/ wardrobe衣柜 /ˈwɔːr.droʊb/ into the main bedroom. "I want to decorate装饰 /ˈdek.ə.reɪt/ this room with plants and some paintings画 /ˈpeɪn.tɪŋz/," Mum said. She pointed to a small wooden木制的 /ˈwʊd.ən/ desk书桌 /desk/ in the corner of the room. Jack's bedroom was smaller更小的 /ˈsmɔː.lɚ/. He placed his own bookshelf beside the window and stood his desk along the wall facing the door门 /dɔːr/. "I prefer it like this," he said. "I can see outside while I study学习 /ˈstʌd.i/."
Back in the living room, Dad was trying to tidy整理 /ˈtaɪ.di/ the boxes箱子 /ˈbɒk.sɪz/ while Mum hung挂了 /hʌŋ/ the first painting on the wall above the sofa. It was a landscape风景画 /ˈlænd.skeɪp/ of mountains and green fields田野 /fiːldz/. "Does that look straight笔直的；端正的 /streɪt/?" she called to Dad. "Yes — perfect." The room was coming together beautifully漂亮地 /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl.i/. The warm lamp light, the soft carpet, and the neat curtain all made it feel comfortable舒适的 /ˈkʌmf.tə.bəl/.
By six o'clock, most of the rooms房间 /ruːmz/ were tidy整洁的 /ˈtaɪ.di/. Mum put the kettle水壶 /ˈket.əl/ on in the kitchen厨房 /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/ and called everyone in. They sat on the sofa with cups of tea, surrounded被包围 /səˈraʊn.dɪd/ by boxes箱子 /ˈbɒk.sɪz/ still to unpack拆开 /ʌnˈpæk/. "It already feels like home家 /hoʊm/," Lily said quietly轻声地 /ˈkwaɪ.ət.li/. Nobody disagreed反对 /ˌdɪs.əˈɡriːd/.