DESCRIPTIVE

TEXT

SMA NEGERI 2
SUBANG
First Learning Objective
Activity 1
Please, watch the movie and listen carefully.

Activity 2
In a group, please pick one of the buildings that you’re going
to be presented

Pay attention to some aspects in the columns below:

Inspiration

F u n c t
i o n

Architect

Certificate of

Appreciation

Year of Building

Main Materials

Activity 3
Please, present in front of the class in a group.
 Second Learning Objective
Activity 1
Read and identify the social function and also language features of all
the texts.

Text 1
The Komodo Island
The island of Komodo is a part of the Lesser Sunda chain of the Indonesian islands. The
island is particularly notable as the home of the giant monitor lizard, often called the
Komodo dragon. It lies on the Sape Strait between Flores and Sumbawa islands and has an
area of approximately 520 square km.

Komodo Island is also a part of the Komodo National Park area, managed by the Central
Government. There is one village, called Komodo village, with a population of over two
thousand people. They live side by side with Komodo dragons within the park. Most of them
make a living by selling souvenirs, guiding tourists, and renting boats for tourists. Only a
small percentage of them work as a fisherman.

Komodo Island is one of the few remaining areas which are inhabited by Komodo dragons.
They are endangered species and protected by the law in Indonesia. They roam wild over the
island. They may grow up to 3 meters long, weigh up to 135 kg, and can live up to 100 years.
Regularly, the park official supply goat and pig carcasses to attract these giant lizards to
viewing areas for tourists. It is known that about 1,000 of the Komodo dragons live on
Komodo Island and another 1,000 live on the neighboring island of Rinca.

Text 2
Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is one of the historical buildings in Indonesia. It is considered to be the world’s

largest Buddhist temple of its size (15129 m2) and height (34.5m). It is located in Magelang,
Central Java. Not only it became a well-known tourist destination to a lot of travelers around
the world, Borobudur Temple is also included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites
.
Borobudur temple consists of six square floors and three circular floors which are arranged
accordingly and make it to be stair-like layers that you have to climb one by one to reach the
top of the temple. In the middle of the floor, you will find small stairwell with couples of
stairs connecting each floor that you can use as a passage to go to the top. On each level of
the floor, there are a lot of relief panels and Buddha statues spread around it. Based on the
data, there are 2.672 panels and 504 statues in total. There is a dome located on the top
center of the temple and is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a
perforated stupa. It is said that, if you place your hand into the stupa through one of its
holes and you can touch the Buddha statue, you will be able to make one of your dream
come true.

Text 3
Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal or The Taj is a well-known architectural object in India for its finest design which
combine elements from India, Persian, and Islamic architectural style. This historical building
was built on the south bank of the Yamuna river in Agra. It represents the story of the Eternal
Love of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, to his dearest wife Mumtaz Mahal. In 1983 UNESCO
place Taj Mahal on the list of World Heritage Site and consider it “the jewel of Muslim art in
India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.

Taj Mahal is a very large tomb made of ivory-white marble. The building looks like a mosque, a
place for a moslem to pray. Once we see it, we will get the impression that the Islamic
architectural style is very strong in the building, starting with the wall and the calligraphy
decorations on it, a huge dome on top of the building along with 4 minarets on every corner of
the base walls. The dome is also made of marble with a size of nearly 35 meters and the top of it
is decorated with a lotus design. The minarets are also decorated with a very detailed lotus
motif.

If we come from the main entrance, we will see a large pool in front of the building, this pool is
called the reflecting pool as it will reflect the image of The Taj to the sky. Once we enter the
building, we will find that there are more decorations on the inner wall. The tomb as the central
focus of the building is located at the lower level. The graves of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan
were positioned next to each other in a large room with Persian-style decorations.

Activity 2
Answer all the questions below based on the text above.
Text 1
1) Where does Komodo Island lie?
2) What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
3) From the second paragraph, we can conclude that mostly the villagers of Komodo Island
work as….
4) … guiding the tourists, and renting boats for tourists. What is the similar meaning of the
underlined word?
5) Can you describe paragraph 3 with your own word?

Text 2
1) What is the main idea of first paragraph?
2) Borobudur temple consists of six square floors and three circular floors which arranged…
What is the similar meaning of the underlined word?
3) Can you describe the second paragraph with your own word?
4) From the second paragraph, we can say that to touch the Budha statue, it …..
5)Give your idea, why can Borobudur temple be one of world heritage site?

Text 3
1) What is the topic of this passage?
2)Taj Mahal or The Taj is a well-known architectural object in India for its finest design… What is
the similar meaning of the underlined word?
3)From the second paragraph, we can conclude that Taj Mahal is…
4)Can you describe briefly, the language features in second paragraph?
5) From the third paragraph, we can conclude that Shah Jahan is …. Of Mumtaz Mahal.
Third Learning Objective
Activity 1 Read these two texts carefully

The Giant Slipper Building of Taiwan

The Giant Glass slipper building is a unique building built on the coastal area in Chiayi,
Taiwan with a height of 16 meters (55 feet) and a width of about 10 meters (36 feet).
This shiny building was made of 320 tinted glass panels and coasted around
US$686,000. It was completed on 10 January 2016 and was officially opened on 23
July 2016.

There was no special architect for the building. This was purely the creation of the local
government officials. This building is used as a wedding venue. The slipper building
qualified for The Guinness World Records certificate as the largest high heel shoe-
shaped structure.

Inspired by the fairy tale “Cinderella and her glass slippers”, the purpose of building
The Giant Slipper is to develop tourism in Taiwan. This building only serves couples who
are getting married. They want to make the building a blissful romantic venue. This
unique building is expected to attract many tourists not only domestic but also from all
over the world so that it will increase the country’s income.

Casa Teraccotta

In 2012, architect Octavio Mendoza created a building he calls Cassa Teraccotta, in the
town of Villa de Levya, Columbia. Locals call it Cassa de Flinstone because it resembles
the Flinstone family’s house in the movie.

The house stands on an area of 5,400 m2 and the entire building is made of baked local
clay so that it is something worthy of Ripley’s Believe it or Not. By using only natural
resources for the project, Mendoza wanted to create a natural, harmonious, and
environmentally friendly building. Tourists are welcome to visit the spectacular Cassa
Teraccotta for only $3.50.

Cassa Teraccotta is a blend of art and architecture. This house consists of a 2-storey
building. The shape of this house reflects a natural approach to architecture. The walls
slope and roofs curve like the surrounding hills. The inside is airy with colorful mosaic
tiles. Downstairs, there are several rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a bathroom.
Upstairs, there is a main bedroom where you can relax and enjoy the view. All the
furniture is also made of clay.
Activity 2
Find the differences between the two buildings you have read. Write the difference in
the following table.

Activity 3
Read these reviewers from the visitors and state whether these statements are True or
False

Vincey, 25, Sidney, Australia

Reviewed: 21 July

They also put the “LOVE” lock so the whole place looks so romantic
and blissful for the couple.

Jollen, 22, Singapore.

Reviewed: 17 May

A bright blue crystal shoe. It is worth a visit. Ideal place to take

photos for couples.

Olivia, 35, Pamplona, Spain

Reviewed: 12 December

Great architecture. Want to visit again with my family.

Daniel, 30, Hongkong

Reviewed: 2 June

What were the authorities thinking when they built the building? It is
so disrespectful.

1) From the reviews, we know that all the reviewers like the Giant Glass Slipper
Building. (…………).
Reason: ..................................................................................................................................
2) From Daniel’s review, we know that Daniel may not be fond of the function of
the building. (……..)
Reason: .................................................................................................................................

Activity 4 Fill in the blank with short answer

1) From the chart beside, Jollen, Vincey, and

Olivia belong to the reviewers who gave ….or…..
2) What is the percentage of people who like the
Giant Glass Slipper Building?
3) How would you compare the “average” and the
“poor” review?
The purpose of the pie chart above is to…

Activity 5
Read the following paragraph carefully and answer all the questions.

The Giant Glass Slipper is a unique building that was built in the coastal area of
Chiayi, Taiwan. This shiny blue building was made of 230 tinted glass panels. It was
completed on 10 January 2016 and was officially opened on 23 July 2016. This
building is used as a wedding venue. This unique building is expected to attract many
tourists not only domestic but also from all over the world so that the country’s
income will be increased from the tourism industry. Who knows that in the future the
building will be developed into a wedding-feast venue?

1. Do all the underlined phrases have passive or active meanings? How do you
know?
Activity 6
Complete the text with the passive forms.

The great Mosque of Djenne 1) …. (locate) in Mali, Africa. The mosque 2) … (make) of
earth bricks. The bricks 3) … (dry) in the sun and the mortar 4) … (make) of sand. A
plaster 5) … (apply) to make smooth the surface of the mosque. It 6) … (believe) that
the mosque has existed on the site since the 1200s. The recent structure 7) …
(rebuild) in 1907. There has been a debate over whether the structure 8) …
(influenced) by French architecture. Together with the old town of Djenne, the
mosque 9) … (record) in the UNESCO World Heritage in 1988. Once a year, the people
of Djenne have a festival of re-plastering the mosque’s exterior. Any necessary
repairs 10) … (complete) to make the mosque looks so magnificent.
 Fourth Learning Objective
Activity 1
With your partner read and identify the brochure below!

Activity 2
Make a brochure of your favorite tourist destination!

 Fifth Learning Objective

Activity 1
With your partner read and identify the brochure below!

Activity 2
Make a brochure of your favorite tourist destination!