[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoefspeakc_0574_20121[/img] Using points and details f

Now listen to part of a lecture in a history class.
The trend in the early twentieth century was to systemize the home,  to make it a rational,  well-organized system. Americans were redesigning their living spaces according to function. The kitchen was divided into separate areas for food preparation,  cleanup,  and storage. A new creation,  the living room,  replaced the parlor and library of earlier periods. The living room dominated the main floor and filled several distinct functions. It held bookcases and a fireplace,  and families gathered here for everyday activities and entertaining guests. The dining room had built-in cabinets for storing the fine china. A hallway joined the kitchen,  living room,  and dining room,  organizing the flow of traffic. The second floor contained bedrooms and a bath,  with built-in closets and shelves.
Another sign of the home systemizing movement was the establishment of domestic science and home economics courses at technical colleges. College kitchens,  dining rooms,  and laundries served as laboratories where students studied and experimented in housekeeping science. Domestic science became an established field of study,  composed of separate disciplines,  with annual conferences for professionals.
The philosophy of home economics was that the home required systemization as much as the factory did. The home,  especially the kitchen,  became a factory where American women served as production experts. Their goals were increased efficiency and the reduction of boring labor. New technology helped women reduce housekeeping to a science. Electric machinery,  especially the washing machine and the vacuum cleaner,  enhanced human performance in the home. By the 1920s,  the electric washing machine and vacuum cleaner had become standard equipment in middle class homes.