LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Lesson 3

Built to last

1.1	Look at the different buildings below. What materials are they made of? What factors have affected the choice of materials?

Virtual tours: The Bird's Nest, The Louvre, Casa Mila, Erectheion, Taj Mahal, the Colosseum

1.2	The Erectheion, the Taj Mahal and the Colosseum are all important landmarks and famous tourist attractions. Do you know why these buildings were originally built?

1.3	Mini-project: A famous landmark Choose a landmark and write its story. Then make a poster and present it to the rest of the class.

UNIT 1

LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Amazing structures

2.1	The 3 texts below come from an article about remarkable buildings. Read them and complete the table.

Useful tip
Look for key words and phrases,
such as names, dates, places, etc. Do
not focus on details or unknown words.

	Agia Sofia	The Tower of Pisa	The Sydney Opera House
a) Where is it?
b) How old is it?
c) Who designed it?
d) What is its most striking feature?

The "Church of Holy Wisdom", also called Agia Sophia, is in
Constantinople – now Istanbul. It was built by the emperor
Justinian after the riots of AD 532. Anthemios and Isidoros were
two of the Greek architects who designed it. It took six years to
build and about ten thousand men worked on it. The first stone
of the foundations was laid by the emperor himself. The building
had brick walls, marble linings inside, amazing mosaics made
up of tiny cubes of coloured glass, marble or gold and massive
marble pillars. Of all its fascinating features though, perhaps the
most remarkable is its huge, shallow dome, supported on piers
made of limestone. There are also smaller half-domes around
the largest, supported by arches - a typical feature of Byzantine
design for big buildings. Agia Sophia is well over 45m high and
over 60m long and wide. Today we are accustomed to seeing
buildings as large as this, sometimes even larger. But in
Justinian’s time, Agia Sophia must have been truly awe-inspiring

The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the cathedral in the
city of Pisa, in Italy. Its height is 55.8m, it has 8 storeys and there are 294
steps to the top. Construction began in 1173 and it took 200 years to complete.
The architect’s identity is still unknown, but we do know that he designed the
tower to be vertical. After the third floor was built, the tower started to lean,
mainly because its foundation was shallow – only 3 metres – and in weak soil.
The Pisans stopped construction twice – for almost 100 years each time –
because they were busy fighting battles with other Italian cities! In 1372, the
tower was completed and seven bells were installed, one for each note of the
musical scale. Over the years, there have been many attempts to straighten it,
or halt the leaning. This was not as easy as it seemed. Some of those attempts
had exactly the opposite result: the tower sank even further into the soil! The
latest attempt was completed in 2001 and took ten years. The tower has been
declared stable for at least another 300 years.

UNIT 1

LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney, Australia
and is one of the most distinctive and famous 20^th
century buildings. It is also one of the world’s most famous
performing arts venues and since its opening, it has become
a symbol of Sydney. Designed by Danish architect Jo/rn Utzon,
it reaches out into Sydney Harbour and its spectacular roof
reminds us of a moving ship at full sail! Construction began
in March 1959 and it was completed in 1973 at a cost of
$102 million! It is very large (183m x 120m) and it is
supported on 580 concrete piers sunk up to 25m below sea
level. The roofs of the House are constructed of 1,056,000
white granite tiles and the interior is composed of pink
granite and wood. It has about 1,000 rooms, 5 theatres, 5
rehearsal studios, 2 main halls and a multitude of restaurants, bars
and souvenir shops. What you may not be aware of is that you’ve
probably seen this breathtaking structure featured in films such as
"Mission Impossible II", "Independence Day", "Finding Nemo" and
many more!

Adapted from: www.en.wikipedia.org

2.2	Do you think that these buildings have anything in common? Discuss.

2.3	You are a member of a committee preparing the questions for a quiz show about famous buildings. Read the answers and write the questions. Don’t forget to include the name of the building in each question. e.g. When was Agia Sophia built? It was built after the riots of AD 532.

UNIT 1

LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Language focus

3.1	Look at the sentences below. Circle the comparatives and superlatives. How are they formed? Can you find more examples in the texts on pages 20-21?

3.2	What are the comparative and superlative forms used for? Complete the rule.

The comparative is used .......................................................................................
The superlative is used ..........................................................................................

3.3	Look at the sentence below. The Eiffel Tower is as famous as* the Colosseum.* What does it mean? a. The Eiffel Tower is more famous than the Colosseum. b. The two buildings are equally famous.

3.4	Now look at this sentence. … This was not as easy as it seemed. Which of the two statements below means the same as the example? a. This was easier than it seemed. b. This was more difficult than it seemed.

3.5	Is there a difference in meaning between the two sentences below? Agia Sophia is not as tall asthe Tower of Pisa. The Tower of Pisa is taller thanAgia Sophia.

Grammar Reference, p. 167-168

UNIT 1

LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Modern and old

Look at the pictures and the tables below and write five sentences comparing the two
stadiums. Use the words in the box to help you.

Size	8,250 m²
Built in	1950
Seated spectators	77,720

Impressive	old
modern	large
new	less
much	more

Size	6,805 m²
Built in	330 BC
Seated spectators	50,000

1. ........................................................................................................
2. ........................................................................................................
3. ........................................................................................................
4. ........................................................................................................
5. ........................................................................................................

The name Maracanã refers to a
Brazilian kind of parrot which is
found in the north of Brazil!
Another name for the Panathinaic
Stadium is Kallimarmaron, which
means beautifully marbled.

Mini-project: Story competition

You have decided to enter a creative writing competition. The title of the competition entry is the
following: “Every Building has its own Story”. Look at the building in the picture and write its story.
The following questions will help you.

Where is it?
How old is it?
Who made it?
For what purpose?
What does it look like?
What is the story behind it?

UNIT 1

LESSON 3 • DIFFERENT PLACES - DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Project time: Our multicultural fair!!

Your school is organising a Multicultural Fair and your class
has decided to make a presentation on different countries,
focusing on Houses, Food and Clothes.

Work in groups. Choose the country you want to present
and research the following areas:

Find information about different types of houses around the world, e.g. a Dyak longhouse
in Borneo, a house with murals in Germany or India, a houseboat on the canals of
Amsterdam in Holland or along the river Rio Negro in Brazil, a tent of the wandering people
called Bedouin or the people of Mongolia, etc.

Find out what other people eat or drink in their country, e.g. ‘tortillas’ in Central and South
America, ‘chapattis’ in India, reindeer milk in Lapland, camel milk in Saudi Arabia, raw fish
and seaweed in Japan, etc.

Find information about unusual clothes, e.g. parkas in Alaska, dishdashas in Dubai, kilts
in Scotland or kimonos in Japan, etc.

Choose your roles. Decide who is going to
do what depending on your interests and
abilities.
Organise your time. How much time do you
need for your research and how long will it
take you to prepare your presentation?
Have you got enough information for your project? If not, where could you find more?
Discuss with your group.
Once you have found the information, you need to focus on the most important things and
take down notes. Organise your notes and write your report. Remember to collect photos or
drawings that illustrate what you are going to present.

How will you present your project? Work with
your group to prepare your presentation.
Practise your presentation. Help the other
members of your group check their English.
Present your project to your classmates.

UNIT 1

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Unit 1

1. Vocabulary

1.1 Cross the odd word out.

Skin:	fair, dark, slanted, pale
Hair:	curly, straight, slim, dark
Body:	lean, tall, sturdy, fair
Character:	cheerful, sincere, pale, generous
Landscape:	plain, marsh, pillar, desert
Climate:	icy, freezing, region, dry
Buildings:	storeys, foundations, dome, modest

... / 7

1.2 Match.

	1.draw		a. to a new life
	2. offer		b. against the heat
	3.adapt		c. a building
	4. greet		d. hands
	5.shake		e. a friend
	6.design		f. conclusions
	7. suffer		g. protection
	8. protect		h. from frostbite

... / 8

2. Language focus

2.1 Expand the sentences. Use the time
expressions in brackets.

1. They / not / visit / museums (usually)
.........................................................................................
2. He / go out / restaurants / ? (often)
.........................................................................................
3. She / be / rude (never)
.........................................................................................
4. They / look / the paintings (now)
.........................................................................................
5. She / look / wonderful (today)
.........................................................................................
6. Maria / come / theatre / ? (tonight)
.........................................................................................
7. My friend / practise / judo (twice a week)
.........................................................................................

... / 7

2.2	Complete the sentences by putting the adjectives in the right form.

These skyscrapers are …………....................................……
(high) in the city.
National costumes are usually
………….............................……… (colourful) than everyday
clothes.
There are …………............................… (many) museums
in London than in Athens.
Most buildings in India are not ………….........................
(old) as the Taj Mahal.
Does France produce ………….....................................……
(good) wine than Spain?

... / 5

3. Everyday English

Complete the dialogue.
- Hello, Paul. How are you doing?
- (1)..................................................................................................
- OK, thanks. Paul, (2)………….......................................………
my friend Helen.
- (3)...................................................................................................
- Nice to meet you, too, Paul.

... / 3

4. Writing

Write a short description of a person you like or
dislike for your English school magazine. You can
write about his / her appearance, character and
habits (about 100 words).
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

... / 10

UNIT 1

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Work by yourself and tick the sentences that are true for you. You can discuss your answers in class.

Working with Vocabulary

1. When I read or hear a word I don’t understand,

I look it up in the dictionary.
I try to guess its meaning from the context.
I ask my teacher or friend.
other ………….............................………

2. To help myself remember words

I keep a written record and revise them.
I write sentences using the words.
I repeat the words to myself.
I put the words into groups.
I make a word bank with synonyms, opposites, etc.
other ………….............................………

In Lessons 1, 2, and 3 you learnt a lot of new vocabulary. Do you remember it? Do you need to spend
more time on it? How can you improve your vocabulary? Share your ideas in class.

Reflecting on your Learning

Tick the sentences that are true for you.

At the end of Lessons 1, 2 and 3, I think I can

	describe people and places			make a presentation
	talk about cultures			talk about actions happening now
	greet and introduce people			talk about habits and routines
	do research on countries			make comparisons

What did you like best in these lessons? Why?
............................................................................................................................................
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............................................................................................................................................

What didn’t you like? Why?
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UNIT 1