Language development

 

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

 

a) to fulfill low-energy standards b) to lay off

c) to gain ground d) to put one’s faith in

e) strenuous f) a number of

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

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

k) to give priority to l) to give sb. a cold shoulder

m) to make a profit n) to put one’s concept into practice

o) to follow sb’s 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 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: from, as, to, with, about, of, for. Some of them can be used more than once.

 

1. Complex in Manhattan steps down … nearby walk-ups.

2. The events ranged … circus performances … boxing matches.

3. The block was used … surface parking.

4. The project was planned … a mirror image … the buildings at Rockefeller Centre.

5. The sections are clad … granite.

6. The residential tower is accented directly … the public plaza.

7. The company had to deal … a maze of underground debris.

8. The excavation set the construction schedule back… a month.

9. The blasting was too close … an active subway line.

10. The plaza has a substantial amount …seatings.

 

1. 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.

 

1. Translate the following sentences into your native language. Pay attention to the words in italics::