7. Answer the questions to part II:
Was Hubert Fritz successful in making an “intelligent house” in Rosenheim? Give ground to your answer.
What does he appeal for?
Does Rolf Disch share all the ideas of Hubert Fritz?
Has Rolf Disch succeeded in building a solar house according to his construction philosophy?
Can you describe Heliotrop?
Is it a “zero-energy house”, a “low-energy house” or a “plus-energy house”? Explain why.
What project is Disch planning to realize in the near future?
Does Disch think that “plus-energy houses” can make a profit?
Do you believe he will manage to realize his project?
What is another example of an energy-self-sufficient solar house described in the text?
What supplies electricity there?
What is faster to recoup: the higher investment costs for a “passive house” or for a “plus-energy house”?
What figure is considered to be the yardstick in cheap building?
What is more realistic to aim for according to Hans Erhorn?
What will help to make sustainable construction affordable?
Comprehension check
8. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:
Hubert Fritz is a famous German economist.
“Plus-energy houses” are small power plants that feed more electricity into the grid over a year than they take out.
The planners and construction firms are unanimous about the materials that will enable them to achieve low-energy consumption levels.
For Hubert Fritz the best construction material is wood.
Germany is a centre of wooden house building.
The windows open when the air conditioning goes off in an “intelligent house”.
Rolf Disch is on the same wavelength as Hubert Fritz on the point of using only one building material.
The Heliotrop produces 3 times as much electrical energy as it uses each year.
Rolf Disch is a designer of a hydrogen-based system meeting the year-round needs of a family of three.
Energy-self-sufficient solar houses are affordable for the “man in the street.”
Architects and construction firms have already succeeded in making the low-energy houses the norm.
9. What is not mentioned in the text?
plus-energy houses concept
the usage of renewable materials in construction
making sustainable construction affordable
sustainable development of the German economy
the necessity to be ecologically oriented
10. Make sure you can explain the following word combinations:
Recyclable houses
Renewable materials
Sustainable construction
Environmentally friendly building future
Ecologically inspired architects
Energy-wasting rubble
Intelligent house
Energy-saving construction
Energy-self-sufficient house
Sustainably managed forests
What do you think:
Do new types of houses have any chances to get ground in Germany and other countries?
What do you know about such trends in the construction industry in our country? Does it follow the lead of Hubert Fritz and his supporters?
Can you imagine living in such a house? Would you like to have such an experience?
12. Make up the plan of the text.
13. Make a summary according to your plan. The following word-combinations will help you:
The title of the text is…
Such problems as… are touched upon in the text.
The first part is devoted to…
The second part enumerates/ illustrates/ gives examples of/emphasizes…
The final part draws our attention to/ proves that/ stresses the necessity of…
The main idea of the text is …
From my point of view the text is rather helpful/ useful/ informative/ interesting.
The article is provided with pictures/ drawings.
Language focus