Read the text and answer the questions.

What technologies made the building of skyscrapers possible?

2. What is the fastest elevator in the world?

3. Who invented new type of elevators?

4. What are the benefits of UltraRope?

5. Do you believe that this technology will reduce material waste and environmental impact?

In pairs, explain the highlighted words and phrases in the text. Underline other new words and guess the meaning from context.

New Technology May Double the Height of Skyscrapers

Finnish elevator manufacturer KONE has unveiled a new hoisting technology that will enable elevators to travel heights of one kilometer – twice the distance than currently possible. The new development implies that the Burj Khalifa, whose longest elevator travels a distance of 504 meters, will not remain the world’s tallest building for very long.

Currently, the fastest elevator in the world, made by Toshiba, takes passengers from ground to roof in thirty seconds, rising 33.7 mph through the Taipei 101. This surpasses the speed of the Burj Khalifa’s Otis Elevator, which travels at a mere 22 mph. At 828 meters tall, the Burj Khalifa would still be nearly 300 meters shy (equivalent to the height of The Shard) of the elevator journey that this new technology proposes. This advanced vertical transportation will allow building ever-taller skyscrapers to become even more feasible.

UltraRope, the new hoisting technology developed by KONE, will replace the conventional steel rope used for lifting with one that is developed with a carbon fiber core and a high-friction coating. This rope is extremely light, reducing energy consumption in high-rise buildings as well as reducing the weight of its moving components, such as the hoisting ropes, compensating ropes, counterweight, elevator car, and passenger load. This means, at 800 meters, the weight of the moving masses using KONE UltraRope is a fraction of the weight accumulated with the conventional steel rope.

The carbon fiber rope has a number of other advantages. KONE says that since “carbon fiber resonates at a completely different frequency to steel and most other building materials,” elevator downtime caused by building sway will be reduced. In addition, the rope will have twice the lifetime as steel rope, requiring less maintenance and thereby reduces material waste and environmental impact.

This comes as a breakthrough in elevator technology, as Antony Wood, Architect and Executive Director, Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) states, as one of the major limits of single elevator travel distance was that at a height of approximately 500 meters the weight of the rope became unsupportable.

 

Read the article and mark the sentences T (true) or F (false).

1. KONE is Polish elevator manufacturer.

2. The carbon fiber rope has a lot of disadvantages.

3. The new development implies that the Burj Khalifa will not remain the world’s tallest building for very long.

4. Advanced vertical transportation will allow building ever-taller skyscrapers to become more feasible.

5. UltraRope is the new technology developed by KONE.

 

Write words for the definitions.

1. A type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors (levels, decks) of a building, vessel or other structure.

____________________________

2. A tall, continuously habitable building of many storeys, usually designed for office and commercial use.

____________________________

3. An equivalent counterbalancing weight that balances a load.

____________________________

4. Any material which is used for construction purposes.

____________________________

5. A covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate.

____________________________

 

Find the antonyms to the following words and phrases from the text.

Drawback, impossible, heavy, supportable, increase, prohibit.

 

 

Unit 9

BRIDGES AND TUNNELS