Places and Buildings

UNIT 2
PLACES AND BUILDINGS


AIMS

 Respond to sentence completion questions
 Recognise paraphrase
 Practise using the present simple and past simple
8
VOCABULARY
1 Look and the picture and tell your partner what kind of house would you like to live in?
1. Houseboat 2. Treehouse 3. Igloo
4. Shipping 5. Caravan house 6. Farmhouse

container homes
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SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
SKIMMING AND SCANNING A TEXT
EXAM TIP
The skills of skimming and scanning are very important in the Reading test.
Skimming is reading the passage quickly to get an idea of what it is about.
Scanning is also reading the passage quickly, but this time looking for particular
information in the text, for example, the answer to a question.
•Before you look at the questions, read through the passage quickly. Don't spend more
than a minute on this.
•Skim over(don't spend time on) words like the, they, our, through.
•Notice the 'content' words, such as nouns and verbs, to get an idea of what the passage
is about.
•Read the questions.
•Scan the passage for the answers. Let your eyes move quickly over the text until you
see one of the key words from the question, or words that have a similar meaning.
• Read that part of the passage carefully until you find the answer.
2 What is the passage about? Read it in ONE minute and choose one of the options.
a. Life in different cities around the world

b. Unusual places to live or stay around the world
c. The type of houses and flats most people live in
Amazing home
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.
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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-meter-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.' 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.'
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UNDERSTANDING PARAPHRASE
EXAM TIP
In the Reading paper, it is very important to be able to understand paraphrase (when

the same idea is given using different words). The words used in the questions won't be
exactly the same as the ones in the passage.
3 Match these words and phrases from the text (1-6) with their paraphrase (a-f)
1. houseboats a. not being watched by others

2. permanently b. not feeling pleasant
3. privacy c. homes on the water
4. surrounded by the natural world d. Nordic countries
5. uncomfortable e. forever, always
6. Sweden, Norway and Finland f. having nature all around
4 Choose the best paraphrase for these sentences from the text.
1. The tree house had everything we needed.
a. We needed some more things for our stay in the treehouse.

b. The treehouse was very well equipped.
c. We need everything for the treehouse.
2. Some houseboats can be moved to other parts of the river.
a. Not all houseboats are permanently fixed in one place.

b. Only some parts of the river have houseboats.
c. You can move to a houseboat in another part of the river.
3. One house in Chile was built from 12 containers.
a. There are 12 houses in Chile made from containers.

b. 12 containers were used to make one house.
c. You need 12 containers to make a house.
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SENTENCE COMPLETION
EXAM TIP
In this task type, you will have to complete a sentence with up to three words (or two
words and/or a number) taken from the passage. The instructions will tell you how many
words you are allowed to use.
Look at this example: Houseboat occupants like living __________________________
This is a paraphrase of the following sentence from the passage:
People who live on houseboats enjoy being close to nature.
Because you have to use words from the passage in your answer, the answer is close to
nature.
5 Follow the steps in the box opposite and complete the sentences. 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
___________________
2. The designer of the smallest house hopes to __________________ to the lack of houses
all over the world.
3. People who stay in igloos sometimes protect themselves from the cold by making use
of __________________
4. People who have __________________ would find a holiday in a treehouse ideal
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UNIT 2

PLACES AND BUILDINGS

 Respond to sentence completion questions

 Practise using the present simple and past simple

1. Houseboat 2. Treehouse 3. Igloo

4. Shipping 5. Caravan house 6. Farmhouse

Skimming is reading the passage quickly to get an idea of what it is about.

a. Life in different cities around the world

C. All around the world, people live in

E. For an unusual holiday you can stay in

In the Reading paper, it is very important to be able to understand paraphrase (when

1. houseboats a. not being watched by others

1. The tree house had everything we needed.

a. We needed some more things for our stay in the treehouse.

a. Not all houseboats are permanently fixed in one place.

3. One house in Chile was built from 12 containers.

a. There are 12 houses in Chile made from containers.

Look at this example: Houseboat occupants like living __________________________

This is a paraphrase of the following sentence from the passage:

People who live on houseboats enjoy being close to nature.

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