Listening
Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- please / pliz / (v.) – to make someone feel happy or satisfied
Example:Vince works hard to please his boss so he can get a promotion.
- diversified / dɪˈvɜr səˌfaɪd / (adj.) – having different kinds of people or things
Example:This international school has a diversified group of students and teachers from different countries.
- rotate / ˈroʊ teɪt / (v.) – to make something move or turn in a circle
Example:The basketball player can make the ball rotate on his finger.
- passerby / ˈpæs ərˈbaɪ / (n.) – someone who walks past something on a road or street
Example:A passerby gave some money to the man playing violin on the street.
- refurbish / riˈfɜr bɪʃ / (v.) – to make improvements to a room, building, etc. by cleaning, painting, or repairing it
Example:Mika wants to refurbish their family’s old house for her parents.
Article
Read the text below.
Seeking to please his wife, who had wished for a more diversified view from their family house, a Bosnian self-taught innovator has built a rotating house, allowing her to watch the rising sun in one moment and passersby in the next.
“I got tired of her complaints and frequent refurbishing of our family house and I said: I’ll build you a rotating house so you can spin it as you wish,” Vojin Kusic, 72, told Reuters, standing in front of his new house, which attracts a lot of attention.
Situated on a fertile plain in northern Bosnia near the town of Srbac, the house spins around a 7-meter axis designed by Kusic, with the view of cornfields and farmland changing to forests and the river at a desired speed.
“This is not an innovation, it only requires will and knowledge, and I had enough time and knowledge,” he said, adding that he had built the house completely by himself. The house is more resistant to earthquake damage than stationary houses, he said.
His wife did not wish to comment on the new house. (Reuters)
This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
- Kusic built a rotating house because his wife wished for a more diversified view from their family house. Do you agree with his solution? Why or why not? Discuss.
- In what kind of places would a rotating house be nice to have (ex. near the beach, on a farm)? Would you like to have a rotating house yourself? Why or why not? Discuss.
Discussion B
- Given the chance, what special features would you like your house to have (ex. an underground garage, secret passages to different rooms)? Why? Discuss.
- Do you think it’s practical to do home improvement projects on your own? Why or why not? Discuss.
