Wooden Buildings

Using wood as a construction material for large buildings is an ancient practice. The 67-
metre-high Sakyamuni Pagoda in China was constructed in 1056, while Japan's Horyu-ji
Temple is even older, dating from the 7th or 8th century. That these magnificent
structures have survived for over a thousand years is evidence of wood's strength and
durability as a building material. Still today, 80% of houses in the USA are built of wood.
In Australia the proportion is slightly smaller since stone is also a popular choice,
particularly in the southern states, while in New Zealand the figure is more like 85%.
Certainly, there are problems associated with wooden constructions: wood can rot
when exposed to water and is said to be a fire risk. However, with modern technology
these issues can be eliminated, which has led to a dramatic renewal of interest in wood
as a building material in recent years.

 exposed to tiếp xúc với

Today, architects and engineers recognise the potential of wood not only for private
homes but also for larger multi-storey offices and apartment blocks. In 2015, a 52.8-
metre wooden tower block was constructed in Norway, then a world record for an
apartment block, but this was soon surpassed by a 53-metre student dormitory at the
University of British Columbia in Canada. Then came the 84-metre HoHo building in
Vienna, home to a hotel, offices and apartments. Although the HoHo building has a
concrete core, most of the structure as well as the floors are built of wood. Many of
these advances have been made possible by research at the Technical Institute in Graz,
Austria, where new engineering systems based on wood construction have been
pioneered.

 multi-storey offices nhà cao tầng

A good example of these techniques is found at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre
at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. The first stage in the
construction of the building saw large planks of Douglas fir being fastened to one
another with glue, which these days can be stronger than nails or screws. This produced
large heavy sheets of wooden material; these became the basic structural components
for the building. These sheets then had to be precision cut to create the thousands of
columns and beams necessary - the team employed lasers for this purpose. Once the
cutting work was complete, all the wooden components were taken to the site for
assembly. The building was constructed one storey at a time, layer upon layer, not
unlike the system used to make a large cake. Once the eighth and final storey was
completed, the building reached a height of 30 metres and became a notable landmark
in its neighbourhood. And, of course, one of the great advantages of wood comes at the
end of a building's life, in around 100 years' time. When the Wood Innovation and

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Design Centre eventually has to be demolished, it will be possible for its principal
building material to be recycled, which is not usually practical with steel or concrete.
 planks tấm ván
 fastened thắt chặt

Other significant wooden buildings are to be found in locations around the world.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given that the Horyu-ji Temple may be the oldest large
wooden building in the world, Japanese engineers are at the forefront of this process.
One thing that has been learned from maintaining the Horyu-ji Temple over many
centuries is that it is often simpler to make major repairs to wooden structures than to
those made of concrete and steel. Until quite recently, regulations in Japan have made
the construction of very large wooden structures difficult. However, in recognition of
new technologies, these are being relaxed by the government, with the result that ever
more ambitious projects are being announced. Perhaps the most radical example is the
proposed Sumitomo Tower, a skyscraper of 70 storeys to be built largely of wood in
central Tokyo; its completion date is 2041.

 radical(adj) ủng hộ tích cực

Because wood is more flexible than steel, it has great potential in countries prone to
earthquakes, such as Japan and New Zealand. Engineers in New Zealand believe that
wood construction can significantly improve building safety in the event of a natural
disaster, as has been demonstrated at the new Wynn Williams House. The wood has
been left exposed inside the house to showcase how this type of construction provides
attractive interiors as well. Another advantage of wood is that it is so light, particularly
when compared to steel and concrete. In Australia, the benefits of light weight have
been taken advantage of in the city of Melbourne, where a large wooden library has
been constructed directly beside water, on land so soft that a heavier building would
have been impossible. Furthermore, wood is advantageous even in extreme climates. In
Finland, where winter temperatures can fall to -30°C, wood provides all the load-
bearing structures for the Puukuokka Block, but also guarantees excellent heat
insulation as well.

 prone to: thiên về

As wood construction technologies continue to develop, it seems probable that

Questions 1-4

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Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In
boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

1 More houses are built of wood in Australia than in the USA.

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 Earth's lakes are under threat

Lake Poopó used to be Bolivia's second largest lake. Situated in the Altiplano Mountains
at an altitude of around 3,700m, the lake in winter would cover an area of some 2,700
square kilometres as it was fed by swollen rivers. With very little rainfall during
summer, this reduced to around 1,000, still a remarkable size. This was the pattern in
previous centuries, but in December 2015, satellites confirmed the reports of local
people that the lake had gone. While scientists had suspected that Poopó would
eventually run dry, they didn't expect that this would occur for at least another
thousand years. The local mining industry had already contributed to the pollution of
the lake, but scientists believe global warming, drought and irrigation projects are all
responsible for its disappearance. Today the consequences of Lake Poopó 's
disappearance are dramatic; many people who lived in the villages around it have left,
since there are no more fish to be caught. Environmentalists also point to the fact that
the lake had been the stopover point for thousands of birds as they migrated to other
regions. Their numbers will certainly fall now the lake has gone.

Lake Poopó is not the only vast area of water to have disappeared. The Aral Sea in
Central Asia was once the world's fourth largest lake but then it began to shrink in the
1960s. As a shallow lake, it depended on rivers to keep its level up. But then water from
these rivers was diverted for irrigation purposes. Rice is a crop that needs huge
quantities of water to survive in desert areas. Fields planted with cotton also require a
regular supply. Now the water level is so low that fishing has stopped altogether. And it
is not just the immediate area that is affected. Because the floor of the lake is now
exposed, the salt that lies there is often carried by the wind across a radius of 300
kilometres. This impacts on agriculture as it damages growing plants and is absorbed by
the soil.

For some lakes, the biggest threat is from climate change. On average, the surface water
of the world's lakes has gone up in temperature by 0.34°C every ten years since 1985.
Lake Tanganyika in East Africa is a lake where this trend has been observed, although it
is by no means the most extreme example. This would be Lake Fracksjö n in Sweden,
where an increase of 1.35°C per decade has been observed - a figure which is estimated
to rise. For Lake Tanganyika, however, the consequences have been severe. Warming
has disrupted its ecosystem, and fish numbers have dropped sharply. In turn, this
decline in fish stocks has impacted on families living in villages and towns around the
lake, since they have no other source of protein. Furthermore, around 100,000 people
depend on the fisheries established around Lake Tanganyika. These companies provide
them with regular employment, without which communities will not survive.

In Iran, Lake Urmia's waters have also been affected by unusually hot summers, but
dams and irrigation projects have also played a part. In the past, people admired its
beautiful greenblue colour. However, the water now has a red tint. The reason for this is

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that bacteria quickly multiply in the warm waters of a shallow lake. Now local
communities are understandably concerned about the future. One of their concerns is
that Lake Urmia is no longer seen as a place where people can bathe to improve their
health. As a result, in the last decade, there has been a downturn in tourism in the area,
an industry many people depended on.

In some cases, it can be a challenge for scientists to predict outcomes for a lake or to
recognise the factors that threaten it. Take, for example, Lake Waiau in Hawaii, a lake
that was used in healing rituals by native Hawaiians. It is a fairly small lake,
approximately 100m across, with some variation as the water level rises and falls.
However, in early 2010, the lake began to decrease in size. By September 2013, it could
only be described as a pond. The cause of the lake's decline has not yet been established,
but drought is among the suspects. Then there is Scott Lake in central Florida. In June
2006 a massive sinkhole opened up beneath the lake - acting like a plug hole in a bath. It
only took two weeks for the water to drain away. Local residents called meetings to
decide what action to take, but in the end, nature took care of the problem. Clay, sand
and other fine material plugged the hole and the lake started to fill with water again.
Nevertheless, as geologists point out, sinkholes can occur with some frequency in
Florida, so there is a chance that Scott Lake will drain away again.

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