The plastic house for tomorrow

 

Young architects from the architectural department of the Rhode Island School of Design are dreaming up tomorrow's houses today.

One such house was designed with the help of research material by а graduate of this school. The system is based on cast plastic bubbles linked together, and it permits the creation of almost any size and shape of house. The walls will be giant curved sandwiches, with rigid plastic as outside surfaces and foamed plastic between to act as insulation.

This house will embody the features that are associating more and more with modern living; one-floor living, and а long, low line that makes it blend with its surroundings. The huge glass areas will admit lots of light, and will also tend to add outdoor space to the indoors and increase the feeling of speciousness.

Another house is а beautiful example of what engineers like to call "blue sky thinking". Its skeleton is а coil of magnesium alloy covered by а vapour barrier and а sprayed coat of concrete, and the floor is concrete. If glass were desired, it could be set between the coils of the frame. The entire structure would rest on pieces of curved precast masonry.

Wild thinking? On the contrary. According to its designer, the spiral framework would be compressed, just like а spring, for shipment to the site. Once there it is expanded, braced with welded pieces between coils, and the skin is applied. Thus would be solved the problem of manufacturing large pieces of house that are still transportable.

Other ideas come to mind. If а family has become larger and wishes to enlarge the house it might hire а pair of bulldozers and stretch their house out to more opulent dimensions.

 

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту:

What are young architects dreaming about?

What is the system based on?

What house do engineers call “blue sky thinking”?

What might the family do if it has become larger?

Do you want to live in such house and why?

Составьте словарь профессиональных терминов (15 слов и выражений)

 

Вариант 1

1. В каком из следующих слов звук, передаваемый буквой «a», отличается от остальных?

1) Kate, 2) age, 3) mate, 4) map, 5) tape, 6) make, 7) lake.

2. Укажите предложение, в котором окончание «-s» является показателем притяжательного падежа:

a) My mother’s friend lives not far from her.

b) She reads a lot.

c) The car’s stopped.

d) The Browns are my neighbours.

3. Выберите правильную форму глагола «to be»:

1) I…writing a letter.

a) is

b) am

c) are

2) You are watching TV, …n’t you?

a) is

b) am

c) are

3) Who…reading the newspaper?

a) is

b) am

c) are

4. Выберите правильный предлог:

1) Let’s meet him …6 o’clock.

a) in

b) on

c) at

2) My brother works…school.

a) to

b) at

c) in

3) Go…the room and make yourself comfortable.

a) out of

b) into

c) from

5. Выберите правильный модальный глагол:

1) He…speak three foreign languages.

a) can

b) may

c) must

2) You…work hard at your English if you want to know it.

a) can

b) may

c) must

3) You…not go out, the lesson is not over yet.

a) can

b) may

c) have

6. Выберите правильный артикль:

1) …Mississippi is the longest river in the USA.

a) a

b) the

c) -

2) …Jack London is a well-known American writer.

a) a

b) the

c) -

3) …tea is cold.

a) a

b) the

c) -

7. Подберите слова, противоположные по значению:

1)

a) cold b) far c) best d) old e) tall f) slim g) light.

a) worst b) new c) fat d) dark e) short f) near g) hot.

2)

a) stand b) leave c) take d) borrow e) find f) come into.

a) come b) lend c) give d) lose e) go out f) sit.

8. Выберите правильный вариант:

1) Our class in English will take place in room….

a) the first

b) one

2) We leave for London on…of January.

a) the tenth

b) ten

3) My watch is…minutes fast.

a) the fifth

b) five

9. В следующей группе слов отметьте то, которое не имеет никакого отношения к остальным:

Traveling: by train, by plain, by car, platform, compartment, to book, suitcase, wonderful, nature, hiking, bookcase, luggage, weather, on foot, a tent.

10.Подберите слово, близкое по значению к подчеркнутому:

1) We do English at school.

a) work

b) learn

c) teach

d) know

 

2) She spoke to her English teacher after classes.

a) talked

b) said

c) told

d) discussed

11. Прочитайте и письменно переведите текст: