Digging it down under

The Harper family live in a large, comfortable home. Like many other houses, it has all modern conveniences. Unlike many other houses, it has no windows. The Harpers live in Coober Pedy, Australia, where two thirds of the population live underground.

Coober Pedy is an opal-mining town in the Australian desert. Above ground, the town does not look very welcoming. The earth is red and dry under the scorching sun. There is a small number of shops and offices. Underground, however, it’s a very different story. There are shops, hotels, restaurants and churches, all built underground to escape from the extreme temperatures and violent dust storms of the desert.

The underground dwellings range from dugouts to luxurious caverns with beautiful furniture. The Harper family home has 3 spacious bedrooms and a large living room. The Harper children, Tom and Wendy, spend most of their time in the games room or swimming pool! The house is clean and comfortable and the Harpers enjoy entertaining guests there.

The Harper’s beautiful home is a result of their own hard work, as it was once just a small, two-room cave home. “The advantage of living underground is that, if you need another room, you just dig it!” says Mr. Harper. “And the advantage of living in an opal-mining town is that you often find opals while you are extending your house!” Besides, children can make as much noise as they want, because the walls are soundproof.

The underground homes at Coober Pedy offer an interesting way of life, as well as peace and quiet and relief from the desert sun. The Harper family are certainly content. “Life is so much simpler underground,” says Wendy. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

to dig -копать

opal-mine – шахта по добыче опалов

scorching -палящий

dugout -землянка

cavern -пещера

to extend -расширять

quiet – тишина, спокойствие

relief – зд. спасение, облегчение

content – довольный

2. Find the English equivalents in the text:

подобно другим домам, все современные удобства, две третьих населения, жить под землей, выглядеть радушно, просторный, игровая комната, двухкомнатная пещера, преимущество, звуконепроницаемый, подземный дом, представить себе.

3. Answer the questions:

1. Why does the Harper family home have no windows?

2. What does underground home help to escape from?

3. What kind of houses are there in Coober Pedy?

4. What are the advantage of living underground in an opal-mining town?

5. Why does Wendy think that life is so much simpler underground? Do you agree?

6. Would you like to live in such a town? Why/why not?

Литература

1) Dictionary of English Language and Culture: Longman, 2000.

2) Электронный словарь ABBYY Lingvo 11: Англо-русский словарь общей лексики. 100 тыс. статей. © ABBYY Software, 2005.

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Vocabulary………………………………………………………………4

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Part 2…………………………………………………………………..28

Part 3…………………………………………………………………..95

Литература………………………….………………………………..103

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