SENTENCE COMPLETION PRACTICE
AMAZING HOMES
Most people live in a house or a flat. When they go on holiday they stay in a hotel
or a guest house. But some places where you can live or stay are a bit different.
A. One unusual place to live is a houseboat. Amsterdam in Holland is famous for its
houseboats - there are about 2,500 of them. They have everything that a normal house
has: a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and even sometimes a terrace on the
roof. They are cheaper than houses and people who live on houseboats enjoy being
close to nature. Some houseboats can be moved to other parts of the river, while others
are permanently in one place.
B. In Tokyo, Japan, there is a see-through house. It is like a normal Japanese house but all
the walls are made of glass. There is plenty of daylight but no privacy. Architect Sou
Fujimoto designed it for a couple to make their home. He based his ideas on early man
living in trees. It wouldn't suit everyone but the couple who live there love the feeling of
being surrounded by the natural world.
C. All around the world, people live in homes made from shipping containers. Some use
only one container, while others are made from several containers joined together. One
house in Chile was built from 12 containers. They are cheap to buy and eco-friendly.
They can also be placed in the garden or drive as guestrooms, studies or utility rooms.
D. In Germany, you can stay in a one-metre-square house, the smallest house in the
world, called the House NA. Van Bo Le-Mentzel, a refugee from Laos, built it to draw
attention to the world housing shortage. It is a wooden structure on wheels and weighs
40 kg. It has a locking door and a window. You can turn it onto its side when you want to
lie down. Franz from Munich spent the night in one recently ‘just to see what it was like’.
He found it a bit uncomfortable!
E. For an unusual holiday you can stay in an igloo, a house made of ice. These can be
found in several countries including Sweden, Norway and Finland. They are built new
every winter. Jenny and Callum, visitors from Australia, told us, ‘We slept in an igloo last
night. It's so cold here - minus 5 degrees centigrade. We used reindeer skins to keep
warm!’
F. Another couple, Shaun and Rachel from Manchester, enjoyed a recent holiday in a
treehouse in Sussex, England. They said, ‘It was right up in the trees and had
everything we needed, even wifi! It had a small kitchen and we did our own cooking. It
was the perfect place to get away from our busy lives.’
Match these words and phrases from the text (1-6) with their paraphrases (a-f).
1. houseboats a. not being watched by others
2. permanently b. not feeling pleasant
3. privacy c. homes on the water
4. surrounded by the natural world d. Nordic countries
5. uncomfortable e. forever, always
6. Sweden, Norway and Finland f. having nature all around
Choose the best paraphrase for these sentences from the text.
1. The treehouse had everything we needed
A We needed some more things for our stay in the treehouse.
B The treehouse was very well equipped.
C We need everything for the treehouse.
2. Some houseboats can be moved to other parts of the river.
A Not all houseboats are permanently fixed in one place.
B Only some parts of the river have houseboats.
C You can move to a houseboat in another part of the river.
3. One house in Chile was built from 12 containers.
A There are 12 houses in Chile made from containers.
B 12 containers were used to make one house.
C You need 12 containers to make a house in Chile.
Follow the steps, choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for
each answer.
1. The two people who live in the transparent house love it, but it wouldn't
_______________________________ .
2. The designer of the smallest house hopes to _______________________________
to the lack of houses all over the world.
3. People who stay in igloos sometimes protect themselves from the cold by making use
of _______________________________ .
4. People who have _______________________________ would find a holiday in a
treehouse ideal.
HOME FROM HOME
I remember feeling the first time l left home that I would never be able to feel at
home anywhere but in my home. No other place would have my mum and dad,
my annoying little brother and my cat, Tilly. Nowhere would smell like my home -
my mum's roast chicken in the oven and the salty, seaweed smell that drifted in
from the nearby beach. The sound of seagulls squawking was the sound of
home. Nowhere else would i feel comfortable enough to put my feet up under me
and gaze into the log fire dreaming of the future.
I was 15 when I first went away from home on a school trip to Germany. My friends
were going too, but we would all stay with differens families. I was nervous about this. I
knew the home I was going to would not be as comfortable as mine, the family would
not be as kind, and who knew what the German food would be like? I knew I would
spend three weeks, homesick and sad missing my family back home.
We arrived in Germany late at night after a long journey by coach and boat. I was tired
and hungry. We went into the school hall where the host families were waiting to meet
us. I wondered which one would be mine. Would they give me dinner at this time and
would be able to eat the unfamiliar food? Suddenly I heard my name called and the
name of my exchange partner, Brigitte Schmitt.
A pretty, blonde girl stepped forward, smiling widely. Behind her stood her parents, a
pleasant looking couple who were also smiling. They held out their hands and said
‘Wilkommen in Deutschland. Welcome to Germany!’
I spent three happy weeks with the Schrmitt family. Brigitte had an elder brother,
Hendrik and a younger sister, Lisa. They had two cats, Ping and Pong, who sat on my
lap as Hooked into the fire in the evenings. The whole family were kind and welcoming.
My room was cosy and warm and looked out onto a forest. The fresh clean smell of the
trees and of apples baking in the oven became familiar and comforting, like the smells
of home. I learnt in those three weeks that you can feel at home anvwhere that people
are kind to you.
Later that year, Brigitte came to stay with me in the UK. I gave her my room and moved
in with my brother. I cleared space for her clothes and put fresh flowers in a vase by the
bed. I asked my mum to make her famous roast chicken and an apple pie to make our
guest feel at home. We made a welcome banner and put it up on the front door. I did
everything I could to help Brigitte feel at home with us. I now understood the importance
of a warm welcome.
Read the passage and complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1. The writer's mother often cooks _______________________________ .
2. She thought the visit to Germany would make her feel _______________________.
3. Brigitte came to pick up the girl with _______________________________.
4. The Schmitt family's pets’ names are _______________________________.
5. From her bedroom the girl could see a _______________________________.
6. The girl and her family tried hard to make Brigitte _________________________.
