1. Serving as the grand entrance of one of the world's finest theatres, the pyramid was designed by famed architect I.M. Pei.
2. The Louvre Pyramid was opened in 1989 at the centenary of the French Revolution.
3. 603 triangle-shaped and 70 diamond-shaped panes of plastic were specially designed not to let in the perfect amount of the light to the visitor centre below.
4. The Pyramid at the Louvre can be seen from the outside plaza and from below.
5. Escalators lead to public galleries and a spiral staircase ascends from the Cour Napoléon, the central courtyard.
6. There is a counterpart to the Pyramid at the Louvre La Pyramide Inversée, opened in 1993.
V. Choose the correct prepositions:
1. The Pyramid at the Louvre was opened in 1989 the bicentenary of the French Revolution.
a) on
b) at
c) in
2. At the base, the pyramid glass and steel is nearly 100 feet wide.
a) of
b) from
c) with
3. Escalators lead to public galleries and a spiral staircase descends the Cour Napoléon.
a) of
b) from
c) to
4. When you're standing in front of the Winged Victory statue or embarking a thematic tour, you'll find something to set your heart soaring.
a) for
b) to
c) on
5. the beginning, the plans stirred up controversy.
a) on
b) from
c) since
VI. Translate the following words and word combinations:
A)
distinctive feature
bicentenary
promenade
amount of smth
cultural landmarks
a thematic tour
open-air statue gallery
shopping mall
B)
-.
VII. Find in the text the words these definitions belong to:
a) a monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top;
b) an opening, such as a door, passage, or gate, that allows access to a place;
c) a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited;
d) a room providing a space out of which one or more other rooms or corridors lead, typically one near the entrance of a public building;
e) a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship;
f) a window installed in a roof or ceiling;
g) a small restaurant selling light meals and drinks.
VIII. What are these proper names connected with in the text:
I.M. Pei, the French Revolution, the Hall Napoléon, Leonardo da Vinci, the Cour Napoléon, François Mitterrand, the Venus de Milo, La Pyramide Inversée, the Carrousel du Louvre.
IX. Formulate the main idea of each paragraph of the text briefly.
X. Retell the text.
The Petronas Twin Towers
On April 15, 1996, the Council on Tall Buildings named the Petronas Towers the tallest in the world, passing the torch to a new continent. Although the project's developers, a consortium of private investors in association with the Malaysian government and Petronas, the national oil company, had not originally set out to surpass Chicago's Sears Tower, they did aspire to construct a monument announcing Kuala Lumpur's prominence as a commercial and cultural capital. In the design of American architect Cesar Pelli they found a winning scheme twin towers of elegant proportions with a slenderness ratio (height to width) of 9.4 that would capture not only the title but the public imagination.
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Pelli's design answered the developer's call to express the 'culture and heritage of Malaysia' by evoking Islamic arabesques and employing repetitive geometries characteristic of Muslim architecture. In plan, an 8-point star formed by intersecting squares is an obvious reference to Islamic design; curved and pointed bays create a scalloped facade that suggests temple towers. The identical towers are linked by a bridge at the 41-st floor, creating a dramatic gateway to the city.
Because of the depth of the bedrock, the buildings were built on the world's deepest foundations. 104 concrete piles, ranging from 60 to 114 metres deep, were bored into the ground. The concrete raft foundation, comprising 13,200 cubic metres of concrete was continuously poured through a period of 54 hours for each tower. The raft is 4.6 metres thick, weighs 35,800 tons and held the world record for the largest concrete pour until 2007.
The structure is high-strength concrete, a material familiar to Asian contractors and twice as effective as steel in sway reduction. Supported by 75-by-75-foot concrete cores and an outer ring of widely-spaced super columns, the towers showcase a sophisticated structural system that accommodates its slender profile and provides from 14,000 to 22,000 square feet of column-free office space per floor.
Other features include a curtain wall of glass and stainless steel sun shades to diffuse the intense equatorial light; a double-decker lift system with a sky lobby transfer point on the 41-st floor to accommodate the thousands of people who use the complex daily; and a mixed-use base featuring a concert hall and shopping centre enveloped by nearly seventy acres of public parks and plazas.
In both engineering and design, the Petronas Towers succeed at acknowledging Malaysia's past and future, embracing the country's heritage while proclaiming its modernization. The end result, says Pelli, is a monument that is not specifically Malaysian, but will forever be identified with Kuala Lumpur.
Active vocabulary:
to surpass -
ratio - ,
to capture -
heritage -
arabesque -
repetitive -
to intersect -
bay - ,
scalloped -
raft foundation -
contractor -
concrete core -
to showcase -
stainless steel -
to diffuse -
to envelop -
EXERCISES
I. Answer the following questions:
1. What happened on April 15, 1996?
2. Who were the project's developers?
3. Who was the architect of the Petronas Towers?
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4. What do the towers look like in plan?
5. Which floor are the towers linked at?
6. What was the reason for building the Petronas Towers on the world's deepest foundations?
7. What is the structure made of?
8. What type of lifts is used in the towers?
9. Where are the concert hall and shopping center placed?
II. Find in the text the synonyms for the following words:
syndicate, to exceed, evident, known, lessening, to demonstrate, complex.
III. Fill the gaps in the following sentences:
1. On April 15, 1996, the... on Tall Buildings named the Petronas Towers the... in the world, passing the... to a new continent.
2. In the design of... architect Cesar Pelli they found a winning... that would... not only the title but the public imagination.
3. Pelli's design answered the...'s call to express the 'culture and heritage of Malaysia' by evoking Islamic... and employing repetitive... characteristic of Muslim architecture.
4. The identical... are linked by a... at the 41-st floor, creating a dramatic... to the city.
5. The concrete... foundation, comprising 13,200 cubic metres of... was continuously... through a period of 54 hours for each tower.
6. The structure is... concrete, a material... to Asian contractors and twice as effective as steel in... reduction.
7. In both... and..., the Petronas Towers... at acknowledging Malaysia's past and future.
8. The end..., says Pelli, is a monument that is not... Malaysian, but will forever be... with Kuala Lumpur.
