READING SKILL TERM 2 – WEEK 2

Reading Passage 1
A. Mukesh Ambani is one of the richest men in the world, and the first man
to own a private residence costing more than one billion dollars to build.
The home is on Altamout Road in Mumbai, one of the most expensive
addresses in the world. Named after the mythical island Antilia, the
property has 27 floors.
B. The interior of the home is very glamorous and each floor is made from
different materials to give an individual look. Marble floors, rare wood
and fine rugs are just some of the design features used to create this
extravagant home. The lotus flower and the sun are common symbols
used throughout. Many of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling glass windows,
offering spectacular views of Mumbai and the Arabian Sea.
C. The skyscraper has a multi-storey garage with space for 168 cars.
Alternatively, there are also three helipads on the roof of the building. The
lobby has numerous reception areas and nine lifts. There are also several
floors for dining, vast libraries and a health spa, including a gym, several
swimming pools and yoga facilities. There is even an 'ice-room' which
creates man-made snow, a Hindu prayer room and several floors of
gardens.
D. The Ambani residence is clearly designed to entertain guests. It has a
theatre which seats 50, several guest bedrooms and a grand ballroom
filled with chandeliers.
E. The living quarters are on the top floor because the family wanted as
much sunlight as possible. The 400,000 ft2 residence requires 600 staff,
but all three Ambani children are required to clean their own rooms when
they are at home.
F. Several experts have criticised the architecture of this very expensive
home, comparing it to an 'unstable pile of books'. Mrs Ambani, however,
 describes her home as 'an elevated house on top of a garden' and 'a
modern home with an Indian heart'.

Reading Passage 2
AMAZING HOMES
Most people live in a house or a flat. When they go on holiday they stay in a
hotel or a guest house. But some places where you can live or stay are a bit
different.
A. One unusual place to live is a houseboat. Amsterdam in Holland is famous for
its houseboats - there are about 2,500 of them. They have everything that a
normal house has: a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and even
sometimes a terrace on the roof. They are cheaper than houses and people who
live on houseboats enjoy being close to nature. Some houseboats can be moved
to other parts of the river, while others are permanently in one place.
B. In Tokyo, Japan, there is a see-through house. It is like a normal Japanese house
but all the walls are made of glass. There is plenty of daylight but no privacy.
Architect Sou Fujimoto designed it for a couple to make their home. He based
his ideas on early man living in trees. It wouldn't suit everyone but the couple
who live there love the feeling of being surrounded by the natural world.
C. All around the world, people live in homes made from shipping containers.
Some use only one container, while others are made from several containers
joined together. One house in Chile was built from 12 containers. They are
cheap to buy and eco-friendly. They can also be placed in the garden or drive as
guest rooms, studies or utility rooms.
D. In Germany, you can stay in a one-metre-square house, the smallest house in the
world, called the House NA. Van Bo Le-Mentzel, a refugee from Laos, built it
to draw attention to the world housing shortage. It is a wooden structure on
wheels and weighs 40 kg. It has a locking door and a window. You can turn it
onto its side when you want to lie down. Franz from Munich spent the night in
one recently 'just to see what it was like'. He found it a bit uncomfortable!
E. For an unusual holiday you can stay in an igloo, a house made of ice. These can
be found in several countries including Sweden, Norway and Finland. They are
built new every winter. Jenny and Callum, visitors from Australia, told us, 'We
slept in an igloo last night. It's so cold here - minus 5 degrees centigrade. We
used reindeer skins to keep warm!'
F. Another couple, Shaun and Rachel from Manchester, enjoyed a recent holiday in
a treehouse in Sussex, England. They said, 'It was right up in the trees and had
everything we needed, even wifi! It had a small kitchen and we did our own
cooking. It was the perfect place to get away from our busy lives.'

Read the passage and complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN
TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1. The two people who live in the transparent house love it, but it wouldn't
…………… suit everyone
2. The designer of the smallest house hopes to …………… to the lack of
houses all over the world. – draw attention
3. People who stay in igloos sometimes protect themselves from the cold by
making use of …………… reindeer skins
4. People who have …………… would find a holiday in a treehouse ideal.
– busy lives

Reading Passage 3
1- roast chicken
2- homesick and sad
3- her parents
4- Ping and Pong
5- forest
6- feel at home
 HOME FROM HOME
I remember feeling the first time I left home that I would never be able to feel at
home anywhere but in my home. No other place would have my mum and dad,
my annoying little brother and my cat, Tilly. Nowhere would smell like my
home - my mum's roast chicken in the oven and the salty, seaweed smell that
drifted in from the nearby beach. The sound of seagulls squawking was the
sound of home. Nowhere else would I feel comfortable enough to put my feet up
under me and gaze into the log fire dreaming of the future.
I was 15 when I first went away from home on a school trip to Germany. My
friends were going too, but we would all stay with different families. I was
nervous about this. I knew the home I was going to would not be as comfortable
as mine, the family would not be as kind, and who knew what the German food
would be like? I knew I would spend three weeks, homesick and sad, missing
my family back home.
We arrived in Germany late at night after a long journey by coach and boat. I
was tired and hungry. We went into the school hall, where the host families were
waiting to meet us. I wondered which one would be mine. Would they give me
dinner at this time and would I be able to eat the unfamiliar food? Suddenly I
heard my name called and the name of my exchange partner, Brigitte Schmitt. A
pretty, blonde girl stepped forward, smiling widely. Behind her stood her
parents, a pleasant looking couple who were also smiling. They held out their
hands and said, 'Wilkommen in Deutschland. Welcome to Germany.'
I spent three happy weeks with the Schmitt family. Brigitte had an elder brother,
Hendrik, and a younger sister, Lisa. They had two cats, Ping and Pong, who sat
on my lap as I looked into the fire in the evenings. The whole family were kind
and welcoming. My room was cosy and warm and looked out onto a forest. The
fresh clean smell of the trees and of apples baking in the oven became familiar
and comforting, like the smells of home. I learnt in those three weeks that you
can feel at home anywhere that people are kind to you.
Later that year, Brigitte came to stay with me in the UK. I gave her my room
and moved in with my brother. I cleared space for her clothes and put fresh
flowers in a vase by the bed. I asked my mum to make her famous roast chicken
and an apple pie to make our guest feel at home. We made a welcome banner
and put it up on the front door. I did everything I could to help Brigitte feel at
home with us. I now understood the importance of a warm welcome.
Read the passage and complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1. The writer's mother often cooks ……………
2. She thought the visit to Germany would make her feel ……………
3. Brigitte came to pick up the girl with ……………
4. The Schmitt family's pets' names are ……………
5. From her bedroom the girl could see a ……………
6. The girl and her family tried hard to make Brigitte ……………

Reading Passage 4
1- A newspaper publisher
2- Julia Morgan
3- $3.5 million
4- 3 times
5- attend formal dinners
6- State of California
7- Europe
8- mother
9- 15 years
10- every continent
11- zebras
12- expensive maintenance
 HEARST CASTLE
A. William Randolph Hearst was a successful American newspaper

publisher who received over 1,000 km 2 of land when his mother died in
1919. Initially, he had planned to build just a small bungalow, so he hired
Julia Morgan, the first female architect in California. Together, however,
they designed a magnificent castle which cost 10 million dollars and took
28 years to build. The property, named La Cuesta Encantado (The
Enchanted Mountain), has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms

and about 52,000 m2 of garden.

B. Hearst loved travelling to Europe when he was a child and we can see this
in the overall design of the house. He even included cathedral ceilings and
Roman columns in his home. Hearst was also a keen art collector and,
during his lifetime, spent $3.5 million on his collection, which is
displayed in the rooms at Hearst Castle. Today, his collection is worth
much more, with one piece alone valued at $10 million.
C. One of the highlights of the estate is the Neptune Pool. It took 15 years to
build and includes the front of an ancient Roman temple. It is on top of a
hill and has wonderful views of the mountains, ocean and main house.
The pool was rebuilt three times until he was satisfied.
D. Although the inside of the house is very European, the outside is very
Californian, with palm trees and water. Hearst loved trees and 70,000
were planted on the property during his lifetime. The castle was also
home to the world's largest private zoo, holding animals from every
continent. Although the zoo is now closed, zebras can still be seen on the
hillside.
E. As well as the Casa Grande (the main house), there are also three guest
houses on the property: Caso Del Monte, Caso Del Sol and Caso Del Mor.
Hearst entertained a great number of Hollywood stars and political leaders
at the castle and many used his private airfield. Guests had to attend
 formal dinners every evening, but were free to do what they liked during
the day. They were invited to stay as long as they wanted, but the longer
they stayed, the further away they sat from Hearst at the dinner table.
F. When Hearst died in 1951, his family learnt how expensive maintenance
would be, and the mansion was donated to the State of California. Since
then, it has been open for public tours and the site attracts millions of
tourists every year. However, the Hearst family is still allowed to use it
when they wish. The castle was never completed and remains unfinished.
Questions 1-6
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the
passage for each answer.
1. What job did William Hearst do?
2. Who helped Hearst design the Castle?
3. How much did Hearst spend on art during his lifetime?
4. How many times was the Neptune pool rebuilt before Hearst was happy
with it?
5. What were visitors to the Castle required to do every evening?
6. Who owns the mansion now?
Questions 7-12
Complete the sentences. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
7. As a child, Hearst enjoyed his holidays to ……………
8. Hearst inherited the land from his ……………
9. Builders spent …………… creating the magnificent Neptune Pool.
10.Hearst took animals from …………… for his private zoo.
11.Although the zoo is now closed, …………… still walk about the hillside.
12.The family donated the property because of ……………
Reading Passage 5
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 characterises 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 characterised 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 realised 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 standardised
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 Post Modern. Other architects looked back to the
classical tradition. The trend in architecture now favours 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.
Ruth Coleman
Questions 1-7
Complete the table below using information from Reading Passage . Write NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Building
Period Style of period Characteristic
Materials
Before
1- Timber and
18th Example: traditional
stone
century
introduction of 2 steel, glass and exploration of latest
1920s
Modernism concrete technology
1930s
- 3 International Style geometric forms
1950s
pre-fabricated 4 poorly designed
1960s decline of Modernism
sections buildings
5 preservation
1970s end of Modernist era traditional materials
of historic buildings
 beginning of 6 High sophisticated
1970s metal and glass
Tech era techniques paraded
7 coexistence of
1980s Post-Modernism
styles

Questions 8-12
Reading Passage describes a number of cause and effect relationships. Match
each Cause (8-12) in List A, with its Effect (A-H) in List B.
NB There are more effects in List B than you will need, so you will not use all
of them. You may use any effect more than once if you wish.

List A CAUSES List B EFFECTS

8. A rapid movement of people from A. The quality of life is improved.
rural areas to cities is triggered by B. Architecture reflects the age.
technological advance. C. A number of these have been
9. Buildings become simple and knocked down.
functional. D. Light steel frames and lifts are
10. An economic depression and the developed.
second world war hit Europe. E. Historical buildings are
11. Multi-storey housing estates are built preserved.
according to contemporary ideas on F. All decoration is removed.
town planning. G. Parts of cities become slums.
12. Less land must be used for building. H. Modernist ideas cannot be put
in until the second half of the
20th century.

8G 9F 10H 11C 12D