Preview（腕試し）

Nobuko: I moved into a new mansion this weekend.

Paul: Wow! You must be rich!

Nobuko: No, it's just a one-room mansion that I rent.

Paul: I guess you didn't move into a mansion after all. You moved into ____________ .

A. a very large house

B. a mansion room

C. an apartment

D. a dormitory

Quick Glossary （用語辞典）

mansion = 大邸宅

rent = 賃貸する

dormitory = 寄宿舎

Explanation （説明）

In Japanese, the word mansion is often used for apartments and condominiums (especially when the building is fairly new and made of concrete). In English, a mansion is a very large house! The White House in Washington, D.C. is a mansion. Bill Gates' house is a mansion. My living space in Temmabashi is not a mansion--it's a one-room apartment.

If you are speaking of a building with separate living spaces, the word condominium (the informal term is condo) is usually used for a unit you buy and apartment (or flat in British English) is used for a unit you rent.

Examples（例文）

Nobuko rents a nice little apartment in Morinomiya

Yukari is thinking of buying a new De'lead condominium in Takarazuka.

Exercises （練習）Choose the best answer.

1. If I buy what is called a mansion in Japan, what have I bought?

A. a very large house

B. a condominium

C. a condo

D. both B & C

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2. If an apartment building is large, new, and made of concrete, it is called:

A. a mansion

B. an apartment building

C. a condominium

D. an apartment unit