Language development

1. Fill in the gaps with the words below making all necessary changes to them:

a) fulfilled low-energy standards b) are laying off

c) are gaining ground d) put their faith in

e) strenuous f) a number of

g) brings to mind h) to gain a scientific foundation

i) on exactly the same wavelength j) limit himself to

k) gives priority to l) gives it a cold shoulder

m) to make a profit n) to put his concept into practice

o) are following his lead p) apex

1. The _____ of this building philosophy is represented by so-called “plus-energy houses”, small power plants that feed more electricity into the grid over a year than they take out.

2. While some _______ stone, concrete or plastic, Hubert Fritz is a firm believer in the virtues of wood.

3. The architect lets the sunshine in during the winter, but on hot summer days he _______ – turning the almost completely closed metal side of the house toward the sun.

4. Disch always _______ the economical use of electricity and heat.

5. Yet we want to show that it’s possible – through intelligent planning – not only to save money, but even ______.

6. The eco-manager has worked with the wood technologists in Rosenheim for many years in order ________ for his ideas.

7. Wood has _________ advantages.

8. In many German towns, what are known as “low energy houses”, “ultra houses” or “passive houses”_______.

9. On this point, Hubert Fritz is _______ as Rolf Disch, the Freiburg-based solar pioneer.

10. In German the term ______ images of health food, but Fritz is not a muesli manager” advocating a return to nature.

11. In contrast to Fritz, however, Disch does not ______ using only one building materials.

12. This is what Fritz works on both night and day, and a growing number of architects, engineers, and clients ________.

13. By 1995 it was estimated that some 5% of new houses in Germany already ________.

14. While other construction firms _______ employees, the wood sector has began to boom.

15. “And we now have a _______ day ahead of us”.

16. The solar architect plans soon ________ of the “plus-energy house” _____ in a housing area in Freiburg.

1. Think of not less than 5 sentences of your own using the words and word-combinations from the previous exercise.

1. Complete the sentences with a suitable preposition. You can choose from the following ones: up, with, of, at, by, in, out, for, via. Some of them can be used more than once.

1. The engineers are especially proud ___ improving this construction material.

2. The cost of maintaining these new low-energy houses will be reduced ___ roughly half.

3. It will be possible to control the operation of all the technological units installed into this house ___ monitors or the telephone.

4. The houses in this new residential area will be sold ____ affordable prices.

5. The team of ecologically-inspired architects spent a strenuous day thinking ___ new ideas and concepts for their research project.

6. This insulating material is made ___ wood chips mixed ___ whey.

7. Wood chips are produced ___ the ton in sawmills.

8. The houses are equipped ___ electronic systems letting the residents ___, but keeping the burglars ___.

9. Hubert Fritz appeals ___ environmentally friendly construction.

10. The new power plant is working ___ full capacity to satisfy the energy needs of the city.

1. Read the following quotations and try to guess people from which spheres of life and of what professions they could belong to:

1. "Right from the beginning, I considered light and sun to be essential elements in housing construction, initially as a source of brightness and well-being, then increasingly as an energy factor — until I moved over to solar architecture altogether."

2. "Today the task of architecture is to give people living spaces that have a future in both ecological and economic terms."

3. "People who live in surplus energy housing are not affected by oil crises and rising energy costs."

4. "I was fascinated by the idea of being an energy producer in my own home."

5. "Most of people still believe that the sun does not shine enough in Germany and that therefore it doesn’t make economic sense to use solar energy."

6. “And perhaps one day I will be able to fulfill a special dream of mine: a fitness studio of the future in which people create their own energy, as they work out on exercise bikes and treadmills.”

7. “But the architect does not just put his faith in modern technology. He also exploits the skills of solar architects that have been passed down through the centuries.”

21. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English:

1. Древесина – это натуральный экологически чистый возобновляемый материал с превосходными строительными характеристиками.

2. Не все строительные фирмы единодушны в вопросе использования каких-либо одних строительных материалов.

3. Экологическое строительство только тогда закрепит свои позиции, когда оно будет выгодно большинству покупателей.

4. Энергетические потребности «пассивных домов» можно полностью удовлетворить, используя энергию солнца, ветра, воды и энергетического сырья.

5. Более низкие расходы на отопление компенсируют более высокие затраты на строительство «пассивных домов».

6. Гелиотроп, солнечный дом Рольфа Диша, производит в 5 раз больше электроэнергии, чем ему необходимо за счет установки солнечной панели на крыше и способности всегда поворачиваться к солнцу.

Follow-up

22. Read the news dating May, 2000 and check whether Rolph Disch’s ideas have been realized. Were your predictions about the chances of the new type of houses to get ground correct?

One of the most modern housing estates in Europe is being built in Freiburg which was named Environmental Capital of Germany in 1992.

The so-called surplus energy houses on the estate produce more energy than they consume. In his design for the houses, the renowned solar architect Rolf Disch has united modern energy-saving technology with centuries-old solar construction skills.

The houses are positioned with architectural precision, each strictly lined up with the sun. Their terrace-like south-facing facades are designed to soak up the heat, especially in the winter when the sun is low in the sky. Their northern facades, which are three or four storeys high, are closed off, shutting out wind and inclement weather. A refined ventilation system keeps the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter. "We’ve used 460 kilowatt hours since May," says the architect, gesturing towards the mouse-grey interior of the meter box. "And we’ve produced more than 4,000 kilowatt hours" — without gas or oil. These days, it’s not only journalists who take one of Disch’s guided tours through the first finished row of terraced housing in Europe’s most modern solar construction project, at the foot of the Schlierberg in Freiburg. Fellow architects, engineers, house-builders and whole bus-loads full of tourists travel to Germany’s solar capital to see this first financially feasible housing project that produces more energy on average than it consumes.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30