The world’s coolest skyscraper

Someday, it is possible that you will be living in a shape-shifting skyscraper that never stays still.
The first of these buildings, which are called Dynamic Towers, will be in Dubai, a city in the United
Arab Emirates in the Middle East. 1 Each floor will be constantly moving, rotating on its own and
at different speeds – like an 80-storey Rubik’s Cube that invisible hands are always twisting. ‘These
buildings will never look the same,’ according to David Fisher, the architect behind the idea. This
may sound like fantasy, but within a few years the Dynamic Tower will have become a reality, and
it will be built in a unique way. Skyscrapers are usually built one floor at a time – from the bottom
up. But not the Dynamic Tower: it will be the world’s first skyscraper to be built in a factory. 2 This
will weigh about half a million kilos, and it will contain water pipes and lifts. While they are
building the cylinder, each floor will be made in segments at a factory. These will arrive at the
construction site ready to be added to the central cylinder, and even the furniture will be inside. A
machine will lift the segments up the sides of the building and attach them to the cylinder from the
top down, making construction safer, faster and less expensive.The first 35 floors will consist of
offices and a luxury hotel. Floors 36 to 70 will have numerous apartments, but each of the top ten
floors in the 80-storey tower will be a single apartment. While the architect will control the
movement of most of the floors, anyone who pays around $36 million for one of the top ten
apartments will be able to move it however they like. 3 They will have more space inside than five
average houses put together. The Dynamic Tower will get all its power from environmentally-
friendly sources. Wind will provide the energy for the tower’s motion. 4 To generate electricity, the
Dubai skyscraper will have windmill blades placed horizontally between each floor of the building.
There will be 79 of these wind turbines. In addition, the roofs of each of the floors will have solar
panels to capture the sun’s energy. Combined, these two sources will generate enough electricity to
power the whole tower – and several nearby skyscrapers as well. So what will life as a resident of a
Dynamic Tower be like? Well, imagine you’re in your kitchen eating breakfast more than 400
metres above the ground and you decide you want a different view. ‘Ocean view,’ you call out. A
voice-activated control system begins to rotate your luxury apartment. After breakfast, you go for a
quick swim before school. You dive into the indoor pool right next to your bedroom. Then you and
your mum get into the family car. 5 She drives it into a huge lift, which takes you down to the
ground floor. Off you go!

Lighthouse lives
Before lighthouses were automated, they used to be the homes of lighthouse keepers and their
families. Because they didn't have electricity, the keeper had to climb up and down the ( 1) regularly
to keep the lamp lit. If you lived in a lighthouse, you had to be prepared for a hard life away from
other people. Nowadays, old lighthouses are still popular even if their rooms are sometimes a
strange shape! Their owners put them on the ( 2 ) and sell them for a lot of money, usually through (
3 ) agents who specialise in unusual ( 4 ) . Instead of a garden ( 5 ) and a few fl owerbeds, you are
surrounded by waves and your next-door ( 6 ) might be a dolphin or a seagull. It's an ideal way of
life for those who like their privacy and want to get away from it all.
The upside down house
If you take a quick look ( 1) this house, it looks like it’s been fl ipped over by a tornado, but that’s
not the case ( 2 ) all! The ‘upside down house’, in Szymbark, a small village in Poland, was
designed by a Polish businessman and philanthropist. The house is supposed to be an artistic
statement ( 3 ) the state of the world today, but it has become a very unusual tourist attraction
instead! The unusual house took 114 days to build, which is a long time compared ( 4 ) the three
weeks the building company would normally take to make a house. The builders often had to take
breaks because the strange angles ( 5 ) the house made them feel very dizzy! ( 6 ) the same reason,
many of the tourists who visit the ‘upside down house’ start to feel like they have mild seasickness (
7 ) a few minutes inside. So don’t say you haven’t been warned! Be prepared ( 8 ) a very unusual
experience if you ever visit the ‘upside down house’.

Back to the future

‘What sort of houses ( 1) will we be living / will we have lived in 39 years from now?’ This is what
scientists were asked in 1961 about homes in the year 2000. Here are a few of the things they
predicted: • In the year 2000, many people ( 2 ) will be living / will have lived in space colonies on
the moon and on Mars. • By the year 2000, homes on earth ( 3 ) will be changing / will have
changed dramatically. They ( 4 ) will be becoming / will have become more adaptable and they will
contain everything we need. • By the year 2000, the most amazing inventions ( 5 ) will be
replacing / will have replaced ordinary household objects. For example, in 2000, home computers
( 6 ) will be helping / will have helped mothers look after their children and we ( 7 ) will have
cooked / will be cooking in solar ovens. Also, we ( 8 ) won’t have done / won’t be doing housework
– we will have a robot to do it for us! While it’s true that our homes have changed a lot since the
scientists made their predictions, we’re still waiting for a home on Mars and a robot to cook and do
the dishes. But who knows? Maybe one day these predictions will come true.

Venice
Today this city has a problem. Increasingly, many V enice locals – ( 1) the young – are leaving and
moving to other places. Why? For one thing, ( 2 ) in V enice is very expensive. Parents want their
( 3 ) to stay, but for many young people, it’s diffi cult to buy their own homes. V enice ( 4 ) visitors
from all over the world – millions ( 5 ) . At times, the large number of people in the streets can be
very diffi cult for ( 6 ) . Jobs are another problem. If one doesn’t want to be a gondolier or do other
work with ( 7 ) , it can be hard to fi nd a job. Giovanni dal Missier lives in V enice. He wants to stay
in his home town. ‘I know that it’s a very special gift … t o live in a city such as V enice,’ he says.
Despite all of the ( 8 ) , Giovanni can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Surfing
Paddleboarding is the hardest adventure sport you’ve ever heard of! If you like surfing and rowing,
you’ll love this. You kneel or lie on a board and use your arms instead of oars! If you’re fit and you
love a challenge, come along! Cost: ]100 for a 2-hour lesson Location: Long Grove Beach
Schedule: Mon-Sun; call to book a lesson (not available Nov-Feb) Board provided for free!
PADDLEBOARD RACER Skurfing Lessons Would you become a skurfer if you could? Well, now
you can! Lessons in skurfing, an exciting sport which is a combination of water-skiing and surfing,
are now available on this beach until 1st September. Participants will ride the waves created by a
fast motorboat which pulls them along. But be careful! You need to hold on tight and have a good
sense of balance. • ]30 per person for a half-hour lesson. First lesson half price! • Come along
Monday-Friday, 8 am-6 pm. No need to book! • Board and life jacket provided. 2 As seen on TV!
Evening Scuba Diving courses If you want an underwater challenge, scuba diving may be the thing
for you! We offer a range of courses for various skill levels. All our instructors are professionals
with several years of experience, so you’ll be in safe hands if you learn with us! +Lessons take
place from 6.30 pm in the city swimming pool. +Prices for five one-hour lessons: adults €120;
children (10-17) and senior citizens €90. +Lessons are offered all year round. + Hire all equipment
at reasonable rates

Windsurfing
Calling all parents! If you had had the opportunity to go windsurfing in the sea when you were a
kid, would you have taken it? If the answer is ‘yes’, then give your kids the experience you never
had! We offer special lessons in this thrilling sport for 12 tο 16 year-olds every year from May to
September. Beginners welcome! Cost: ]40 per 1-hour lesson Equipment: We provide the wetsuit,
but participants will need a board.

Athletics
Athletics is one of the most popular types of sport. People have been ( 1) scoring / holding athletics
competitions since ancient times, ever since the Olympic Games began in 76 B C. Usually,
individual athletes ( 2 ) compete / excel against each other in running, jumping, throwing and a
variety of other activities. To ( 3 ) succeed / achieve in running, you must have speed, ( 4 ) strength /
weakness and strategy. Sometimes you have to ( 5 ) stroll / sprint to the fi nishing ( 6 ) line / trophy
whereas at other times you have to ( 7 ) race / pace yourself. Jumping events include the pole vault
and the triple jump. In order to try and ( 8 ) beat / win your opponents in the triple jump you have to
do a ( 9 ) hop / lap and a step and then jump as far as you can into a sandpit. So what are you
waiting for? If you want to be the next person to ( 10 ) break / set a new record, you have to start
now. On your ( 11) points / marks, get set, go! And may the best man (or woman) ( 12 ) win / lose!
Virtual Sports
If I ( 1) (ask) you what virtual sports are, would you know the answer? Well, virtual sports are like
real sports only you do them in front of a screen in the comfort of your own home. They’re very
popular because they’re part of our high-tech world and let’s face it, most people love anything that
is connected with technology. When something new ( 2 ) (come) onto the market, everybody wants
to buy it. V irtual sports certainly have their advantages. If you ( 3 ) (not have) enough time to go to
a sports club, you can exercise at home. Moreover, you can play a game of tennis or baseball even if
it ( 4 ) (rain) outside. Another great advantage is that you can play anything you like without paying
for club memberships or expensive equipment. However, there is one disadvantage. When you ( 5 )
(do) virtual sports, you don’t have an experienced instructor to give you advice. So, if you had the
space, ( 6 ) (you / set up) a virtual golf course? Would you like to putt away for hours without
having to worry about lost balls? More and more people nowadays would say ‘yes’. If you are one
of those people who don’t want to leave the comfort of their own home, you ( 7 ) (love) virtual
sports.

Free-Diving
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to drift a couple of hundred metres down towards the
bottom of the sea? If the answer is ‘yes’, then free-diving may be the perfect sport for you. The ( 1)
of free-diving is any underwater activity that involves holding your breath for a long period of time.
The type of diving which attracts the most attention from the media is called ‘competitive apnea’.
This is an extreme sport in which ( 2 ) try to dive as deep as they can on a single breath, without the
( 3 ) of air tanks. Many people who go snorkelling or spear-fi shing for fun could be classed as free-
divers if they hold their breath for long periods of time. Many divers say the experience of free-
diving gives them a great sense of ( 4 ) while they are underwater. Also, many of the sport's ( 5 ) use
yoga to increase their focus. An improved level of ( 6 ) often helps the divers to hold their breath for
longer and to dive to much greater ( 7 ) than normal. Before you decide to try free-diving though,
you must fi rst go through a lot of training under the ( 8 ) of a professional. This is because it can be
a very ( 9 ) sport if not done ( 10 ).

Free time
It is common for parents to decide how their children spend their free time. This sometimes creates
arguments as parents and children do not always see eye to eye on this matter. ( 1) , young people
can benefi t from leisure activities. They can build up their confi dence and make them more
disciplined. ( 2 ) , they learn new skills they probably would not learn at home. For example, team
sports like basketball encourage teenagers to co-operate with others in addition to improving
general fi tness. ( 3 ) , some teenagers complain that taking part in several leisure activities affects
their schoolwork. If they take on too many activities, young people become exhausted. ( 4 ) , there
is a negative effect on their studies. ( 5 ) , teenagers can become too competitive as they sometimes
take winning too seriously. For example, two friends who are playing on different teams, might stop
talking to each other if one team beats the other. ( 6 ) , unless parents give their children freedom to
choose which activities they do and how often they do them, children will not benefi t from them.
Parents must listen to their children, especially when they are putting them under pressure.
Kiteboarding
Cory Roeseler is a mechanical engineer who likes to ( 1) things. He came up with the idea of
kiteboarding in the 1990s. He used a(n) ( 2 ) to catch the power of the wind and to allow the board
to launch off the water for a few seconds and ( 3 ) . When Roeseler was a teenager, he was the fi rst
person to try kite-skiing. He didn’t water-ski ( 4 ) a boat like other people, he decided to use wind
( 5 ) to ski below a kite. More recently, Roeseler ( 6 ) a new kind of wakeboarding boat that has a
sail on the back. Roeseler’s boat also has a tower which is six feet higher ( 7 ) other wakeboarding
boat towers, so the wakeboarding rope is placed ( 8 ) . This allows the wakeboarder to jump higher
in the air. Roeseler’s friend, Jeff, was a bit worried before testing the new equipment because he
hadn’t seen anything like it before. He needn’t have ( 9 ) ; as the boat went faster he started moving
quickly across the water and then ( 10 ) high into the air.

Survival in the Andes

On Friday, October 13, 1972, a plane that had been fl ying from Uruguay to Chile with 45 people on
board crashed into a mountain in the Andes. How some of the passengers managed to live is one of
the greatest survival stories ever told. Twenty-nine people died in the crash and in the weeks
following it. At night, the temperature sometimes dropped to -30°C. Th e survivors were in great
danger. Th ey stayed inside the remains of the aircraft , using thin seat covers for blankets, and
waited for a rescue that never came. Days turned into weeks. Th e survivors had to fi nd a way to
get to safety before others died. Th ree of the passengers, Roberto Canessa, Nando Parrado and
Antonio Vizintin, volunteered to walk across the mountains to search for help. Each man wore three
pairs of socks, with a plastic bag around each foot to keep the water out, boots, four pairs of trousers
and four sweaters. Many of the clothes came from those who had died in the crash. Th e men also
carried a crucial piece of survival equipment: a large sleeping bag they had made. So how did these
brave young men cope with such a journey? None of them had mountain-climbing experience and
as the land and weather changed, climbing became tougher. However, they kept going. By the
second day, they were climbing steep, icy peaks, hoping to reach the mountain’s summit. Aft er
several days, exhausted and cold, they reached what they thought was the top. Th ere they paused.
Th ey had imagined this moment for days. On the other side of the summit, they hoped, would be a
valley leading down and out of the mountains. But instead of a valley, they saw more of the same
snow-covered peaks. Th ey weren’t near the end of the mountains; they were in the middle of them.
But all hope wasn’t lost. Parrado was able to see two low summits about 65 kilometres away that
didn’t have snow on them. If they could get there, they would be out of the high Andes. Reaching
the two distant peaks would require more days of walking and they didn’t have enough food or
drink. But Parrado had a solution: Vizintin could return to the plane and he and Canessa would take
his food. Th ey agreed on the plan, and Canessa and Parrado continued their journey. Walking
towards the two peaks was diffi cult. But as the two men continued, little by little, the landscape
began to change. Th e men discovered a small stream; the sun was also warmer. Within a few days
of walking, the snow had disappeared completely and fl owers were everywhere. ‘Th is is the
valley,’ Canessa said. ‘Th is is the way out.’ Soon, the fi rst signs of human activity started to appear
– a few cans on the ground, some farm animals in a fi eld. It was 19th December, and they had been
walking for eight days. By 21st December, the exhausted pair made it to the town of Los Maitenes
in Chile, and a rescue team was sent to save their fourteen fellow passengers who were still high up
in the Andes. So, what had happened to these fourteen people? Fortunately, they had all managed to
survive and they were rescued. Th e memories of the crash in the Andes would be with them
forever, but their ordeal was over. Th ey had made it out – alive.
Truly extraordinary: Ed Stafford
Some people call Ed Stafford an amazing adventurer and explorer, but others think he’s crazy! How
can this be? Well, Ed Stafford has recently completed an epic expedition against all ( 1) . He has
become the fi rst man to walk the length of the Amazon river. He reached his ( 2 ) , a beach on the
Atlantic coast, after walking for 860 days in dangerous and extreme ( 3 ) . His journey required
amazing ( 4 ) as he had to deal with ( 5 ) , hunger and some very unfriendly local people who
wanted to kill him! The trek tested Stafford to his ( 6 ) every step of the way. Ed Stafford’s success
was partly based on his ( 7 ) with his travelling companion, Cho Sanchez Rivera, who has said that
he joined Ed because he ‘felt a responsibility to try and help this crazy man,’ but then decided to
stay on. It seems that the fi nal leg of the ( 8 ) proved very diffi cult, especially when Ed collapsed
at the side of the road, but luckily the story had a happy ending. Let’s see what adventure this
extraordinary man will think of next!

River Deep, mountain high!

River deep, mountain high! From the top of the highest mountain to the bottom of the sea, the world
is full of extremes. Let’s take a look at some of the most spectacular ones. With temperatures well
( 1) freezing and wind that can knock you off your feet, a mountain summit is an extreme place to
be! The tallest mountain ( 2 ) the planet is, of course, Mount Everest. Its peak rises 8,85 0 metres ( 3
) sea level. ( 4 ) the years, 1,200 people have made the long, lonely climb to the top of Everest! The
Sahara Desert is in North Africa and is ( 5 ) the same size as the USA! With so much sun and very
little rain, summer temperatures there are often ( 6 ) 32° Celsius. The hottest temperature ever
recorded on earth was in the Sahara, when the temperature reached 58 ° Celsius! The Amazon is
one of the longest rivers in the world. It begins in the mountains of Peru, stretches ( 7 ) South
America and ends at the Atlantic Ocean. If you ever take a trip to the Amazon, be very careful! As
well as the cute pink dolphins there are some nasty creatures ( 8 ) the water, including fl esh-eating
piranha!