1. The Gherkin is one of several modern buildings that have been built over the years in a new area of London.
2. Construction of the Gherkin was commissioned to Swiss Re, a reinsurance company.
3. Originally known as the Swiss Re Building, the Gherkin was later renamed to its street address 30 St. Mary Axe.
4. The tower was built in the heart of London's financial centre at the site of the 1903 Baltic Exchange Building which had been damaged by a terrorist attack in 1992.
5. The cigar-shaped structure has a titanium frame with circular floor plans and a glass facade with crescent-shaped panels.
6. The swirling striped pattern visible on the exterior is the result of the building's energy-wasting system.
V. What happened in these years?
1903, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2007.
VI. Translate the following words and word combinations:
A)
city's skyline
glass and steel design
low-rise area
cluster of high-rises
cigar-shaped structure
striped pattern
open public plaza
energy efficient
B)
-.
-.
VII. Find in the text the words these definitions belong to:
a) an informal name for someone or something;
b) a very tall multistorey building;
c) a hard, strong grey or bluish-grey alloy of iron with carbon and usually other elements, used as a structural and fabricating material;
d) a person or thing that causes a change or event to happen;
e) a group of similar things or people positioned or occurring closely together;
f) the face of a building, esp. the principal front that looks onto a street or open space;
g) a prize or other mark of recognition given in honour of an achievement.
VIII. What are these proper names connected with in the text:
30 St Mary Axe, Swiss Re, Foster and Partners, the Baltic Exchange Building, Canary Wharf, the Stirling Prize.
IX. Formulate the main idea of each paragraph of the text briefly.
X. Retell the text.
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as chief structural engineer.
Burj Dubai is the developments crowning glory in every sense, a building that has pushed the boundaries of design and engineering further than many thought possible. Excavation work for the tower began soon after the announcement of its launch, with more than 60 contractors and consultants joining forces on a project of unprecedented scale and ambition. When construction work was at its most intense, more than 12,000 people from over 100 countries were working every day at the Burj Dubai site. In total, Burj Dubai took 22 million man hours to build.
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Standing at more than 800 metres (2,625 ft), Burj Dubai captivates audiences with its height. But its construction underground is equally worthy of fascination. More than 45,000 cubic metres (1.59 million cubic ft) of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes, make up the towers steel-reinforced foundations with 192 piles running to a depth of over 50 metres (164 ft).
Extensive seismic and wind tunnel testing was carried out to perfect the design of the tower. The triple-buttressed shape of Burj Dubai allows it to manage the effect of wind vortices generated around the tower, as well as changes in atmospheric pressure between its base and spire.
The main construction material of Burj Dubai is reinforced concrete, specially designed to withstand the staggering pressures inherent in the worlds tallest building. In total, Burj Dubai employs a record-breaking 330,000 cubic meters (11.6 million cubic feet) of concrete; 39,000 metric tonnes of reinforced steel; 103,000 sq m (1.1 million sq ft) of double glazed glass; and 15,500 sq m (166,800 sq ft) of embossed stainless steel.
Work on the glass and aluminium exterior cladding of Burj Dubai started in May 2007 and was completed in September 2009. Nearly 400 skilled engineers were assigned to the project. At the outset, around 20-30 cladding panels were installed each day. The daily rate of installation reached 175 panels as the project neared completion. Burj Dubai has set a new world record for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at 512 metres (1,679.8 ft). A staggering total of 24,348 panels cover a curtain wall area of 132,190 square metres (1.4 million sq ft). But the Burj Dubais shimmering exterior is designed to minimise heat transmission into the building itself, therefore saving energy. Condensation from the panels is also collected and used for landscape irrigation. Burj Dubais spire may resemble a needle at ground level, but in reality it is a colossal structure made up of 4,000 tonnes of structural steel. Nor is it exclusively ornamental, housing as it does communications equipment for the tower.
With a total built up area of around 6 million square feet, Burj Dubai is set to become a living, vibrant community in the heart of Dubai. Around 2 million square feet inside the tower is dedicated to luxury residential apartments, while more than 300,000 square feet is allocated for office space. Countless artworks by prominent Middle Eastern and international artists, including sculptures and various contemporary installations, adorn the interiors of Burj Dubai and line Emaar Boulevard throughout Downtown Burj Dubai.
A total of 57 elevators and eight escalators serve people living, working and enjoying their leisure time inside the tower. Burj Dubai has four swimming pools, a cigar lounge, residents lounge, the fine dining restaurant Atmosphere, and a variety of health and fitness facilities. Moreover, the towers 124thfloor observation deck, At the Top, Burj Dubai, offers 360-degree views of the city and is open to the public. Burj Dubai features The Offices, a 12-storey annex of prime office space; The Club, a four-storey health and fitness centre; and Armani/Pavilion, an outdoor entertainment venue that opens onto the Burj Dubai Lake and The Dubai Fountain, described as the worlds tallest performing fountain.
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Demonstrating that Burj Dubai is more than just a building, its creators have perfected a written narrative that evokes 
the towers soul. Visitors to the At The Top, Burj Dubai observation deck can read the I am Burj Dubai legend. Its opening stanza reads: I am the power that lifts the worlds head proudly skywards, surpassing limits and expectations. Rising gracefully from the desert and honouring the city with a new glory, I am an extraordinary union of engineering and art, with every detail carefully considered and beautifully crafted
Bringing Burj Khalifa to life required a combination of visionary ideals and solid science. In the process, the project amassed an awe-inspiring number of facts, figures, and statistics.
Active vocabulary:
to perform -
glory -
launch -
unprecedented -
steel-reinforced -
to manage -
vortices -
spire -
staggering -
glazed glass -
equipment -
annex -
EXERCISES
1. Fill the gaps in the following sentences:
1. The building opened on 4 January 2010.
2. Burj Dubai is the developments , a building that has pushed the boundaries of design and engineering further than many thought possible.
3. When construction work was at its most intense, more than were working every day at the Burj Dubai site.
4. Standing at more than 800 metres (2,625 ft), Burj Dubai with its height.
5. Extensive seismic and wind tunnel testing perfect the design of the tower.
6. The main construction material of Burj Dubai is reinforced concrete, specially designed to withstand the in the worlds tallest building.
7. Burj Dubai has set for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at 512 metres (1,679.8 ft).
8. Condensation from the panels is also collected and used
9. Burj Dubais spire may resemble , but in reality it is a colossal structure made up of 4,000 tonnes of structural steel.
10. With a total built up area of around 6 million square feet, Burj Dubai is set to become a in the heart of Dubai.
II. Find in the text the synonyms for the following words:
artificial, fame, unique, whirlpool, confront, weaving, use, determine, present-day, appropriate.
