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Name _____________________________________ Number___________Class _____

The Micro-Compact Home

In this chapter you will:

• read about a new kind of housing

• learn to use adjectives to describe a place
• write a paragraph with descriptive adjectives

PRE-READING

Discussion

Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Look at the picture of the micro-compact home. Micro means “small” and compact
means “small compared with other things of the same type or kind.” Does this home
look comfortable to you? Why or why not?
2. Check (✓) the things that you think a micro-compact home has.
___ a kitchen
___ a table
___ a bathroom
___ a place to sit down
___ a bed
___ a television
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Vocabulary

A. Circle the letter of the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the boldfaced
word.

1. This house is very big. There is space for all of my furniture.

a. housing
b. room
c. variety
2. The house is not complete. There isn’t any glass in the windows, and there aren’t any
doors.
a. big
b. finished
c. special
3. The size of the house is perfect for a large family. There are five large bedrooms.
a. how big or small something is
b. how typical something is
c. the form of something
4. I love the design of the house. It is simple but beautiful at the same time.
a. place or location
b. how something looks and is made
c. special rules

B. Circle the letter of the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the boldfaced
word.

1. The use of space in this office is very efficient. There is a place for everything. You
don’t need to spend time looking for things.
a. well organized
b. attractive
c. uncomfortable
2. It is difficult to move around in this room. There are too many chairs and tables. It is
crowded.
a. acceptable to live in
b. full of things or people
c. difficult to understand
3. We used a lot of expensive materials in the house. We used the best wood, beautiful
stone, and special glass for the windows.
a. products you can make things from
b. gifts for family and friends
c. special characteristics
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READING

The Micro-Compact Home

1. Look around your house or apartment. How big is it? How much of that space do
you really use? All of it? Half of it? Less than half? How much space do you really
need to be comfortable? Is 70 square feet (6.5 square meters) enough? The makers
of the micro compact home, or m-ch, think it is.
2. The m-ch is a very small but complete home for one or two people. It is only 70
square feet in size. In that small space, there is a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower,
and a living area with a flat-screen television. There is heat and air-conditioning.
3. How is there enough space for all of this in just 70 square feet? The answer is
careful design and efficient use of space. To make the m-ch, builders got ideas
from the design of old Japanese tea houses. They also took ideas from cars, boats,
and airplanes. In the living area, there are two fold-up beds.¹ There is a large table
below the beds. The table slides² into a small space in the wall. At different times of
the day, the same area can be a living room, a dining room, or a bedroom.
4. Why is the m-ch so small? There are two reasons. First, the m-ch is for people who
need a place to live for a short time and don’t need a lot of space. For example, the
m-ch is perfect for college students, business people, and people on vacation.
Second, the makers of the m-ch wanted it to be beautiful and not too expensive.
Builders use the best materials to make it beautiful. But the m-ch is small, so they
don’t need a lot of these materials, and it doesn’t cost a lot to make.
5. As the world becomes more crowded and housing becomes more expensive, many
people think that small houses like the m-ch will become more popular. But is the
m-ch really comfortable? Yes, say a group of students who are living in them. In an
experiment³ at a university in Germany, six students agreed to live in a community
of micro-houses for just one semester. However, they were so comfortable in their
small houses that they asked to stay for the rest of the year. And now other students
at the university want their own micro-compact homes.

Footnotes:

1. fold-up bed: a bed that you can bend in the middle so that it can fit in a small space
when you aren’t using it
2. slide: move quietly and smoothly
3. experiment: a scientific test that you do to learn about something
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Identifying Main Ideas

Read each question. Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. What is the main idea of the reading?

a. The micro-compact home is small but comfortable and complete.
b. The micro-compact home is popular with college students.
c. The micro-compact home is attractive, but it is expensive.
2. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
a. The m-ch is small but complete.
b. The m-ch has heat and air-conditioning.
c. The m-ch is just one room.
3. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?
a. The design of the m-ch is like a Japanese tea house.
b. The design of the m-ch is very efficient.
c. The design of the m-ch is like the design of a car or airplane.
4. What is the main idea of paragraph 4?
a. The m-ch is small because it is for college students.
b. The m-ch is small for two reasons.
c. The m-ch is small, so it is good for short stays.
5. What is the main idea of paragraph 5?
a. The m-ch is an experiment.
b. The m-ch is very popular today with college students.
c. The m-ch will probably become more popular in the future.

Identifying Details

Answer the questions. Write complete sentences.

1. How many people can live in one m-ch?

2. How big is the m-ch?

3. What is inside the m-ch?

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4. Where did the builders get their ideas for the design of the m-ch?

5. Who did the builders make the m-ch for?

FROM READING TO WRITING

Reflecting on the Reading

Discuss the questions in pairs or groups.

1. How big is the place you live in now? Do you use all of the space in your place?
Explain your answer.
2. Do you think that the m-ch is attractive? Why or why not?
3. Would you like to live in the m-ch? Why or why not?

Activating Your Vocabulary

Complete the sentences with the words from the box.

complete design materials space crowded efficient size

1. We can’t move into the house yet. It isn’t _____________. The kitchen and
bathrooms are not finished.
2. Builders need a lot of _______________ when they build a house. They need wood,
nails, glass, and bricks, among other things.
3. This room is too _______________. I think we should put the sofa in another room.
4. Do you have any extra _______________ in your garage? I need a place to put my
bike during the winter.
5. I like this rug, but I don’t think it’s the right _______________. It’s too small for this
big room.
6. I don’t like the _______________ of that car. It isn’t attractive, and it’s very
uncomfortable to drive.
7. This kitchen is big, but it is not very _______________. The stove is too far away
from the sink, the refrigerator is too small, and there is no place to put the dishes.
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WRITING
Read the model paragraph.

MODEL

The m-ch is the perfect home for a student. It has everything that a student needs. There is a
large table where you can study. When you’re tired of studying, you can lie down on the
comfortable bed and watch the flat-screen television. When you’re hungry, you can go into
the modern kitchen and make a snack. But the best thing about the m-ch is the size. It is small
and easy to clean. It takes me only 15 minutes to clean the m-ch. That means I have more
time to study and have fun with my friends.

Using Descriptive Adjectives

We use adjectives to describe nouns. Adjectives often come in front of the nouns they
describe.

EXAMPLE
The answer is careful design.

Adjectives also come after linking verbs such as be, feel, and become.

EXAMPLES
NOUN LINKING VERB ADJECTIVE

The m-ch is perfect for college students.

(describes the noun m-ch)

The students felt comfortable in the m-ch.

(describes the noun students)

The world is becoming crowded.

(describes the noun world)

Notice:
There is only one form for adjectives.
We use the same form to describe singular and plural nouns.
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Practice
Read each sentence. Underline the adjectives. Circle the nouns or pronouns that the
adjectives describe.

1. How big is it?

2. The m-ch is very small but complete.
3. In that small space, there is a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and a comfortable
area with a large television.
4. There is a large table below the beds.
5. At different times of the day the same area can be a living room, a dining room, or a
bedroom.
6. The makers of the m-ch wanted it to be beautiful but not too expensive.
7. Small houses like the m-ch will become popular in the future.
8. But is the m-ch really comfortable?
9. A group of German students lived in micro-houses for a year.
10. The students found them to be very comfortable.

Editing
Read the paragraph. Correct the use of there is, there are, and descriptive adjectives. There
are seven mistakes including the examples.

Boston is a city comfortable to live in. It is the perfect size. It is not very big, so you
can walk from one area of the city to another. It is also a city pretty. There is a lot of big trees,
beautiful parks, and old buildings. They are also wonderfuls libraries and museums.
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WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Write a paragraph about a place. Follow the steps.

STEP 1
Get ideas.
Work in pairs. Choose a topic for your paragraph. Then ask and answer the questions. If you
don’t know a word, check your dictionary or ask someone the meaning.

☐ Topic 1: The best place to study

☐ Topic 2: The best place to fall in love
☐ Topic 3: The best place to live

1. Where is the place?

2. What does it look like? Describe it.
3. Why is it a good place to study/fall in love/live? What does it have?
4. What is the best thing about the place?

STEP 2
Write your paragraph.
Complete the paragraph below by writing about your topic. Use information from your
conversation with your partner. Use adjectives to describe the place, and use some sentences
with There is / There are.

_________ is the best place to __________________________________________________

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