Exercise 1: Complete the sentences. Use the words in the box.

crowded fashionable historic leafy modern noisy quiet remote

1. A ____________ part of town is full of people.

2. A ____________ village is a long way from any towns or

cities.

3. A ____________ part of town is pleasant and has a lot of

trees.

4. A ____________ part of town is popular.

5. A ____________ part of town doesn’t have many people or cars.

6. A ____________ street is very loud, so it might be difficult to sleep if you

live there.

7. A ____________ part of town is very new.

8. A ____________ area of town is old and has important buildings

in it.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1. A cottage is a modern house in a city/a small house, usually in the

countryside.

2. A neighborhood is a part of a town or city where people live/work.

3. A stream is a very small river/wide river.

4. A pond is an extremely small forest/lake.

5. A path is a narrow road for cars to drive along/people to walk along.

6. A town is bigger than a city/bigger than a village, but not as big as a

city.

7. A hill is higher/lower than a mountain and easier to climb.

8. A wood is a group of trees/large lake.

Exercise 3: In this text, there is a range of vocabulary about the natural world and
the conservation of animals. Match the words with the definitions.

a population a skeleton an ecosystem to become extinct to decrease

to hunt to preserve

1. This happens when a type of bird, animal or plant doesn’t exist

anymore

2. to become smaller in size or number

3. to follow and kill an animal for food or for sport

4. to put something (e.g. food) in ice, salt, sugar or chemicals, so

it can stay in good condition

5. all the people or animals that live in one place or area

6. all the living things in an area and the way they affect each

other and the environment

7. the frame of bones supporting a human or animal body

Exercise 4:

Architecture - Reaching For The Sky

Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A building

reflects the scientific and technological achievements of the age as well as the ideas

and aspirations of the designer and client. The appearance of individual buildings,

however, is often controversial.

The use of an architectural style cannot be said to start or finish on a specific date.

Neither is it possible to say exactly what characterizes a particular movement. But

the origins of what is now generally known as modern architecture can be traced

back to the social and technological changes of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Instead of using timber, stone and traditional building techniques, architects began

to explore ways of creating buildings by using the latest technology and materials

such as steel, glass and concrete strengthened steel bars, known as reinforced

concrete. Technological advances also helped bring about the decline of rural
industries and an increase in urban populations as people moved to the towns to

work in the new factories. Such rapid and uncontrolled growth helped to turn parts

of cities into slums.

By the 1920s architects throughout Europe were reacting against the conditions

created by industrialisation. A new style of architecture emerged to reflect more

idealistic notions for the future. It was made possible by new materials and

construction techniques and was known as Modernism.

By the 1930s many buildings emerging from this movement were designed in the

International Style. This was largely characterized by the bold use of new materials

and simple, geometric forms, often with white walls supported by stilt-like pillars.

These were stripped of unnecessary decoration that would detract from their

primary purpose — to be used or lived in.

Walter Gropius, Charles Jeanneret (better known as Le Corbusier) and Ludwig Mies

van der Rohe were among the most influential of the many architects who

contributed to the development of Modernism in the first half of the century. But the

economic depression of the 1930s and the second world war (1939-45) prevented

their ideas from being widely released until the economic conditions improved and

war-torn cities had to be rebuilt. By the 1950s, the International Style had developed

into a universal approach to building, which standardized the appearance of new

buildings in cities across the world.

Unfortunately, this Modernist interest in geometric simplicity and function became

exploited for profit. The rediscovery of quick-and-easy-to-handle reinforced

concrete and an improved ability to prefabricate building sections meant that

builders could meet the budgets of commissioning authorities and handle a renewed

demand for development quickly and cheaply. But this led to many badly designed

buildings, which discredited the original aims of Modernism.

Influenced by Le Corbusier’s ideas on town planning, every large British city built

multi-storey housing estates in the 1960s. Mass- produced, low-cost high-rises

seemed to offer a solution to the problem of housing a growing inner-city

population. But far from meeting human needs, the new estates often proved to be

windswept deserts lacking essential social facilities and services. Many of these

buildings were poorly designed and constructed and have since been demolished.

By the 1970s, a new respect for the place of buildings within the existing townscape

arose. Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew

common. Architects also began to make more use of building styles and materials

that were traditional to the area. The architectural style usually referred to as High

Tech was also emerging. It celebrated scientific and engineering achievements by

openly parading the sophisticated techniques used in construction. Such buildings

are commonly made of metal and glass; examples are Stansted airport and the

Lloyd’s building in London.

Disillusionment at the failure of many of the poor imitations of Modernist

architecture led to interest in various styles and ideas from the past and present. By

the 1980s the coexistence of different styles of architecture in the same building

became known as PostModern. Other architects looked back to the classical

tradition. The trend in architecture now favors smaller scale building design that

reflects a growing public awareness of environmental issues such as energy

efficiency. Like the Modernists, people today recognise that a well designed

environment improves the quality of life but is not necessarily achieved by adopting

one well defined style of architecture.

Twentieth century architecture will mainly be remembered for its tall buildings.

They have been made possible by the development of light steel frames and safe

passenger lifts. They originated in the US over a century ago to help meet the

demand for more economical use of land. As construction techniques improved, the

skyscraper became a reality.

Complete the table below using information from Reading Passage. Write NO

MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Exercise 5:

The International Style

A In the early decades of the 20th century, many Western cities experienced a steep
rise in demand for commercial and civic premises, due to population growth and

expansion of the white-collar professions. At the same time, architects were growing

discontented with the ornamental spirals and decorative features in the prevailing

design ethos of art deco or art moderne. Once considered the height of

sophistication, these styles were quickly becoming seen as pretentious and old-

fashioned. In this confluence of movements, a new style of architecture emerged. It

was simple, practical and strong; a new look for the modern city and the modern
man. It was named ‘the international style’.

B Although the international style first emerged in Western Europe in the 1920s, it

found its fullest expression in American architecture and was given its name in a

1932 book of the same title. The first hints of it in America can be seen on the Empire

State Building in New York City, which was completed in 1931. The top of the

building, with its tapered crown, is decidedly art deco, yet the uniform shaft of the

lower two thirds represents a pronounced step in a new direction. Later efforts,

such as the United Nations Secretariat building (1952) and the Seagram Building

(1954) came to exemplify the ‘true’ international style.

C The architects of the international style broke with the past by rejecting virtually

all non-essential ornamentation. They created blockish, flat-roofed skyscrapers

using steel, stone and glass. A typical building facade in this style has an instantly

recognisable ribbon design, characterised by strips of floor to-ceiling windows

separated by strips of metal panelling. Interiors showcased open spaces and fluid

movements between separate areas of the building.

D Fans of the international style of modern buildings celebrated their sleek and

economical contribution to modern cityscapes. While pre-modern architecture was

typically designed to display the wealth and prestige of its landlords or occupants,

the international style in some ways exhibited a more egalitarian tendency. As every

building and every floor looked much the same, there was little attempt to use these

designs to make a statement. This focus on function and practicality reflected a

desire in mid-century Western cities to ‘get on with business’ and ‘give everyone a

chance’, rather than lauding the dominant and influential institutions of the day

through features such as Romanesque columns.

E Detractors, however, condemned these buildings for showing little in the way of

human spirit or creativity. For them, the international style represented not an ethos

of equality and progress, but an obsession with profit and ‘the bottom line’ that

removed spiritual and creative elements from public life and public buildings. Under

the dominance of the international style, cities became places to work and do
business, but not to express one’s desires or show individuality. It is perhaps telling

that while banks and government departments favored the international style, arts

organizations rarely opted for its austerity.

F By the mid-1970s, the international style was ubiquitous across key urban centers,
dominating skylines to such an extent that many travelers complained they could get

off a plane and not know where they were. By their nature, buildings in this style

demanded very little of architects in the way of imagination, and a younger

generation of designers was yearning to express their ideas and experiment in novel

and unexpected ways. The outcome was a shift toward postmodernism, which

celebrated much of what the international style had dismissed: decoration, style

without function, and an overall sense of levity. By the turn of the 1980s, the

international style was considered outdated and was falling rapidly out of favor.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

1. a description of how international style buildings look on the inside

2. a reference to institutions that didn’t like to use international style
buildings
3. a reason why architects didn’t like the international style
4. a building which combined art deco and international features
5. types of materials commonly used in international style buildings 19 an
architectural feature previously associated with prominent
organizations
6. an architectural feature previously associated with prominent
organizations

Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from

the passage for each answer.

7. The development of the international style was prompted by an increased need for

……………….. buildings

8. Designers used hardly any ……………….. on international style buildings.

9. International style buildings are easily identified from the outside because of the

………………...

10. Demonstration of ……………….. and ……………….. was often an important factor in

the design of old-style buildings.

11. The similarity of international style constructions reflected the concern of

architects with ……………….. and ………………...