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Unit 16 Lesson 6
The Empire State Building
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• talked about the United States of America
• read a passage about the Empire State Building
• discussed some questions on the passage
• changed a simple sentence into a complex one
• practised adverbial clauses of concession
• converted a poem into a paragraph
• written a passage
A Discuss in pairs what you know about the USA. Comment on Bangladeshis going to America in large numbers.
B Read the following passage about the Empire State Building in New York.
Manhattan, the commercial centre of New York, is one of the five boroughs that make up the entire city. Since the borough is an island, the only direction left for its expansion is upwards. As a result, Manhattan is now a seat of the world's largest skyscrapers.
The 102-storey Empire State Building in Manhattan was the tallest building in the world from its completion in 1931 to 1970. Designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harrison primarily as an office building, the Empire State Building was provided with rarely used docking facilities for dirigibles which are no longer used. In the 1950s a 70-ton television tower was added on the top. Millions of people including presidents and kings have visited its observation desk on the 86th floor and the top of the tower on the 102nd floor which is 381 metres above the street. This building was surpassed in height by the World Trade Centre (419 metres), another Manhattan skyscraper, in 1971. Surpassing them both, the 110-storey Sears Tower (443 metres) was built in Chicago in 1973. The tallest building of the world now is the Patronage Tower (451.9 metres) which was built in Malaysia in 1996. Despite the construction of taller edifices, the Empire State Building remains in the popular mind the epitome of man's building skill and a vital symbol of New York.
Now discuss in small groups the following questions.
1 Which is bigger — Manhattan or New York?
2 What do you understand by 'skyscraper'? Can you guess the meaning by looking at the word itself? Can high-rise buildings in Bangladesh (e.g. Shilpa Bank building in Dhaka) be called skyscrapers?
3 Why has Manhattan become a borough of skyscrapers?
4 What is the position of the Empire State Building in the world in respect of height?
C Look at this sentence structure. Write 3 sentences with similar patterns using though/although /in spite of.
Despite the construction of taller edifices, the Empire State is the most famous building in America.
D Write the following poem in the form of a short paragraph.
Streets as straight as lines on paper.
Avenues go left and right.
Empire State, the tall skyscraper.
Buildings made of glass and light
All around Manhattan island.
Water flows. The seas allow
No more building. On the high land
All the ground is used by now.
City of eight million men.
(Less by night but more by day)
Now grows only upwards. When
Will it stop? No one can say.
(I Nymble)
E Could we build skyscrapers in Dhaka? Write 8-10 sentences justifying your answer.
Focus:
Skills.
Discussion, reading, writing.
Functions.
Justifying statements, transferring information
into a different format (poem to prose). Grammar/Structure.
Use of 'despite' & adverbial clause of concession,
passive. Vocabulary.
borough, skyscraper, surpass, edifice, epitome, dock, dirigibles.
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Unit 16 Lesson 6
The Empire State Building
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• talked about the United States of America
• read a passage about the Empire State Building
• discussed some questions on the passage
• changed a simple sentence into a complex one
• practised adverbial clauses of concession
• converted a poem into a paragraph
• written a passage
A Discuss in pairs what you know about the USA. Comment on Bangladeshis going to America in large numbers.
B Read the following passage about the Empire State Building in New York.
Manhattan, the commercial centre of New York, is one of the five boroughs that make up the entire city. Since the borough is an island, the only direction left for its expansion is upwards. As a result, Manhattan is now a seat of the world's largest skyscrapers.
The 102-storey Empire State Building in Manhattan was the tallest building in the world from its completion in 1931 to 1970. Designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harrison primarily as an office building, the Empire State Building was provided with rarely used docking facilities for dirigibles which are no longer used. In the 1950s a 70-ton television tower was added on the top. Millions of people including presidents and kings have visited its observation desk on the 86th floor and the top of the tower on the 102nd floor which is 381 metres above the street. This building was surpassed in height by the World Trade Centre (419 metres), another Manhattan skyscraper, in 1971. Surpassing them both, the 110-storey Sears Tower (443 metres) was built in Chicago in 1973. The tallest building of the world now is the Patronage Tower (451.9 metres) which was built in Malaysia in 1996. Despite the construction of taller edifices, the Empire State Building remains in the popular mind the epitome of man's building skill and a vital symbol of New York.
Now discuss in small groups the following questions.
1 Which is bigger — Manhattan or New York?
2 What do you understand by 'skyscraper'? Can you guess the meaning by looking at the word itself? Can high-rise buildings in Bangladesh (e.g. Shilpa Bank building in Dhaka) be called skyscrapers?
3 Why has Manhattan become a borough of skyscrapers?
4 What is the position of the Empire State Building in the world in respect of height?
C Look at this sentence structure. Write 3 sentences with similar patterns using though/although /in spite of.
Despite the construction of taller edifices, the Empire State is the most famous building in America.
D Write the following poem in the form of a short paragraph.
Streets as straight as lines on paper.
Avenues go left and right.
Empire State, the tall skyscraper.
Buildings made of glass and light
All around Manhattan island.
Water flows. The seas allow
No more building. On the high land
All the ground is used by now.
City of eight million men.
(Less by night but more by day)
Now grows only upwards. When
Will it stop? No one can say.
(I Nymble)
E Could we build skyscrapers in Dhaka? Write 8-10 sentences justifying your answer.
Focus:
Skills.
Discussion, reading, writing.
Functions.
Justifying statements, transferring information
into a different format (poem to prose). Grammar/Structure.
Use of 'despite' & adverbial clause of concession,
passive. Vocabulary.
borough, skyscraper, surpass, edifice, epitome, dock, dirigibles.