Lower Intermediate

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LOWER INTERMEDIATE - UNIT 1B - READING 1 (page 2)

FAMOUS BUILDINGS

Read about some famous buildings.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France was built in 1889. For 40 years it was the tallest building in the world. It was built for the World Fair and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was started in 1173 and completed almost 200 years later in 1350. In 1178 the builders realised the tower was leaning, but they decided to continue building it. In 1990 the Italian government closed the building. They said it was dangerous for tourists. The lean was reduced and the tower was re-opened in 2001.

The Sydney Opera House was started in 1957 and completed in 1973. At first many Australians hated it, but now it is a tourist attraction. It was designed by a Danish architect.

The World Trade Centre in New York was completed in 1977. The chief architect was Minoru Yamasaki. The Centre had two 110 storey towers called 'the twin towers.' One tower was 414 metres tall and the other one was 412 metres tall. Each tower had 21,800 windows and 104 elevators. 50,000 people worked there. The towers were destroyed on 11 September, 2001.