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«Eco-living comes to Moscow»

by Yulia Ponomareva at 02/02/2015 20:42

Asya, Kornei and their three young daughters Alisa, Polina and Marta live an unusual existence. Their home – a futuristic wooden and glass construction outside Moscow – is a giant science experiment and they human guinea pigs.

For six months they are testing out a prototype for a nearly 100-percent energy efficient house, a phenomenon of engineering in a country where environmental awareness is a little-known concept.

Equipped with a geothermal heat pump, a solar panel and 24 solar thermal collectors, the two-storey “Active House,” as its Danish designers have dubbed it, was built using only materials available in Russia. The experiment seeks to prove that the construction of such houses is possible in the country.

“What impressed us about this place was that it’s extremely spacious and there’s a lot of light here,” Asya says.

The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a storeroom, a hall, and a large living room with big glass doors leading outdoors on each side.

In addition to the solar equipment and pump, the house is also equipped with an intuitive control system, which automatically regulates temperatures, CO2 levels, ventilation and light.

“If it’s too bright in the room, the system shuts the blinds when someone enters it,” Asya says. “But you can always adjust the temperature and light yourself with the remote control.”

Modern design predominates inside with such features as a glass floor

Grigory Latyshev, the project’s chief engineer, explains that the geothermal pump consumes eight times less power than ordinary boilers or gas pumps while generating the same amount of heat.

“It works like a freezer turned inside out, accumulating the heat from the earth in winter and exuding excessive heat in summer,” Latyshev says. “All it needs is electricity and given that most houses are heated by gas, this solution is especially relevant for areas where there is no gas supply.”

Although the energy efficiency of the Active House is fairly dependent on how much sunlight there is, Latyshev says the power produced by the solar and geothermal equipment is usually enough to meet the family’s demand for hot water and heating. But the house, being still a work in progress, is by no means perfect. Since they moved here in December, the family has already identified some design faults.

“At first I didn’t think too much about the safety of the place, but then I noticed that the kids were trying to climb on the shelf stands and hollow spaces in the walls and could fall,” Asya says.

Poor water problem in the area is also a problem: “The water is very rusty here, and we sometimes have to take the kids to our parents’ to wash them there,” Asya says. Another issue is the house’s distance from central Moscow. It takes Kornei around an hour to drive to work in the Sokol district every morning, and Asya around two hours. At weekends the family travels into town to see friends or entertains at home.

“It can’t be mass-produced – it’s a futurist model that allows us to develop advanced solutions,” Makarov says (the manager of the project). His company recently announced a new architectural contest, Active House 2020, to develop an energy efficient and eco-friendly house of 150 to 180 square meters for under 50,000 rubles ($1,700) a square meter.

 

· GRAMMAR FOCUS

Indefinite/Simple

	Present	Past	Future
Time expressions	Always (всегда), usually(обычно), often (часто), sometimes (иногда), seldom/rarely(редко), never (никогда), ever (когда-нибудь), every day (каждый день), once a week (раз в неделю), on Mondays (по понедельникам)	Yesterday(вчера), the day before yesterday(позавчера), last week/ year, month (на прошлой неделе/году/месяце, two hours ago(два часа назад), in 1492, in May 2004, in the 21^st century, the other day(на днях)	Tomorrow(завтра), this year(в этом году), next year (в следующим году), in five days(через пять лет), in 2050, in the future (в будущем), soon(скоро), later(позже), one of these days(на днях)
Affirmative	(V, V-s) We always comelate. (Мы всегда приходим поздно) He always comes late.	(V-ed/2ф.н.гл.) We camelate yesterday. Мы приехали поздно вчера.	(will+V) We will come late tomorrow.
Negative	(Do/Does+not+V) We don’t always come late. He doesn’t always come late.	Did+not+V (didn’t V) We didn’t come late yesterday.	Will+not+V(won’t V) We won’t come late tomorrow
Interrogative	Do/Does+V? Do you always come late? – Yes, I do/No, I don’t. Does he always come late? Yes, he does/No, he doesn’t. When does he come? - He always comes late.	Did +V? Did you come late yesterday?	Will+V? Will you come late tomorrow? Yes, I will/No, I won’t When willyou come tomorrow? - We will come late tomorrow.

Complete the sentences with the present simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. Lena ………….her bedroom at the weekend. (tidy)

2. I ……. a sandwich for lunch on Saturdays. (make)

3. Adam ……. on Sunday afternoons. (go jogging)

4. ….. you often ……. surf the Internet on weekday evenings? – No, I ……...

5. I rarely ……. early on Sunday mornings. (get up)

6. When …… Janet ……… shopping? (do)

7. Mum …….. ………… breakfast on Sundays.(cook)

8. Mum and Dad ……. relatives at the weekend (visit)

 

Put the adverbs in the correct place.

1. – What do you do on Saturday mornings? (usually)

- Nothing much. I sleep until noon. (almost always)

2. – Do you go bicycling? (ever)

- Yeah, I go bicycling on Saturdays. (often)

3. – How often do you play sports? (usually)

- Well, I play tennis. (twice a week)

4. – What do you do after class? (usually)

- I go out with my classmates. (about three times a week)

5. – How often do you exercise? (usually)

- I exercise. (seldom)

 

Complete the sentences with the past simple of the verbs in brackets

1. I …….. Jack and his brother the day before yesterday. (see)

2. ……. your mum and dad …….. fifteen years ago? (meet)

3. We ……. to the south of Spain in July. (go)

4. How well ……. you ……… your holiday last summer?(spend)

5. The weather ……… on the second day we were there. (change)

6. ……. you ……… London last year?(visit)

7. The travel agent …….. us a full refund. (offer)

8. When …….. your son ………. his school? (finish)

 

Choose the correct alternative.

1. I saw Melanie and her sister the day ago/before yesterday.

2. Did you graduate from the university at/in 1990?

3. They had a great holiday last/next year.

4. We went to Australia in/on September.

5. The taxi picked me up an hour ago/last.

6. Helen’s boyfriend dropped her off at the station at/in ten o’clock.

7. Where did you go before/last summer?

8. Just think – four hours ago/then we were in Spain!

 

Complete the sentences with the future simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. I think I …….. to see the manager about my position. (ask)

2. The union leader ……….. us decide what to do. (help)

3. ……….. you……….. some time off at Christmas? (have)

4. Don`t worry! I ……….. you where everything is. (show)

5. I ………… any more favours for the boss! (not do)

6. What ………. you……. with your wages this week? (buy)

7. He …….. advice from anyone about how to do the job! (not take)

8. The manager ……….. for you to take a taxi home. (pay)

Choose the correct alternative.

1. I`m hope/sure the strike will be over soon.

2. I wonder/think who the new boss will be!

3. I sure/hope they’ll do up the offices next year.

4. Mel phoned to say she will be at work soon/next.

5. My mother will be 40 next/last month.

6. The climate will get warmer and warmer in the future/nowadays.

7. They will come in/at a few days.

8. Will Mum be home late tonight/last night?

Choose the correct verbs.

1. Stacey …………….. shopping for fruit and vegetables every Saturday morning.

A) go B) goes C) went D) will go E) will went

2. He ……………. five languages.

A) don’t speak B) didn’t speak C) doesn’t speak D) won’t speak

3. Michael ……… a great film last night.

A) watches B) will watch C) watch D) watched

4. I hope the temperature …….. soon.

A) drops B) will drop C) dropped D) will dropped

5. I’m thirsty. I…….. a glass of water.

A) will have B) have C) had D) has

6. I always ……… reading fairy tales when I was young.

A) enjoyed B) enjoy C) will enjoy D) enjoys

7. My father ………. in the Second World War.

A) doesn’t fight B) didn’t fight C)won’t fight D) didn’t fought

8. ………. the weather nice last weekend?

A) were B) is C) are D) was

 

 

Ask as many questions as it is possible.

1. Forty years ago, my grandmother walked two kilometers to school every day.

2. Julia enjoys listening to classical music.

3. Elizabeth will get a qualification in medicine.