Juan Carlos Guevara

LISTEN AND SPEAKING

HOMES AND SHELTERSThe world is full of houses. Big houses and little houses. Houses that stay in one place and houses that move from place to place. Some houses are made of mud or straw. But all of them are made for families to live in. This topic describes how people around the world have built houses adapted to their particular life style, climate and available building materials.

What are houses made from?

All over the world people make use of whatever materials they can find or produce to build homes. Many modern buildings look much the same wherever they have been built. However, all sorts of local types of houses can still be seen as well.

Why do chalets have big roofs?

In the mountains of Switzerland, the wooden houses have broad roofs, designed for heavy falls of snow each winter. Commonly chalets have three floors and each floor serves a specific function according to the season of the year in which this. It is a proprietary feature of Swiss chalets.

Why build houses with reeds?

It makes sense to use the nearest building material to hand. Tall reeds grow around Lake Titicaca in Peru, so the Indians who live there use them to build their beautiful houses.

What are houses like in the Artic?

Today the inuit people of Canada live in houses, huts and tents. Traditionally, they lived in igloos made out of blocks of snow. Igloos are still used today by Inuits on the move.

Where do they build mud huts?

Thatched huts with walls of dried mud can still be seen in parts of Africa, such as Mali. They are cheap to build, cool to live in, and often look beautiful too.

Why do people live in tents?

In different countries there are people who don’t live in the same place. Such people are called nomads. For example, the Beduin are nomads who live in the dry lands of North Africa. Today some Bedouin have settle in towns.

Which people live in caravans?

The Gypsies, who are properly known as Roma, Sinti, or Manush, arrived in Europe from India about 500 years ago.

 

Why do people live underground?

At Coober Pedy in Australia it is so hot that miners digging for opals built houses and even a church underground.

Why were skyscrapers invented?

Skyscrapers were first built in Chicago about 120 years ago. By 1857 new lifts were saving people a very long climb upstairs.Skyscrapers were invented to make better use of space.

VOCABULARYShelter: Something that provides cover or protection, as

from the weather. A refuge; a haven. An establishment that provides temporary housing for homeless people.

Reed: Any of various tall perennial grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites or Arundo, having allow stems, broad leaves, and large plumelike terminal panicles.

Tent: A portable shelter, as of canvas, stretched over a supporting framework of poles with ropes and pegs.

VOCABULARYCaravan: A company of travelers journeying together, as

across a desert or through hostile territory.Skyscrapers: A very tall bulding.Hut: A small or humble dwelling of simple construction,

especially one made of natural materials, as of logsor grass.Mud: Wet, soft earth or earthy matter, as on the ground

after rain, at the bottom of a pond, or along the banks of a river.

Thatch: Plant stalks or foliage, such as reeds or palm fronds, used for roofing.

QUESTIONARY

Why do people live underground?

a.To avoid the wind. b.To avoid dust. c.To avoid the heat. d.To keep cool.

Why do people live in tents?a.Because it is easy to assemble. b.Because it is lightweight. c.By protecting the rain. d.Because they are nomadic and constantly need to

relocate.

Why were skyscrapers invented?a.To get a better picture. b.To improve the image of cities. c.For a better use of space. d.For the construction of a greater number of offices.

Where mud huts are built?a.In South America, due to the poverty of these

countries. b.In Africa, in places like Mali, because it is cheap and

they often look beautiful. c.In northern Africa because they are very easy to make. d.In deserts where it is easy to find mud.

Why do chalets have big roofs?a.To keep the heat in the house. b.To protect people from wild animals. c.To protect people from big snow falls in winter. d.To keep snow outside the house and keep warm.

THANKS