新西兰英语 431 Energy efficient house

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　　Four Victoria University architecture students designed this small house – like a Kiwi bach – for a competition in Washington DC in October. The competition is sponsored by the US Dept of Energy and is called the Solar Decathlon – decathlon means 10 different things they will be judged on. These include hosting a movie night and two dinner parties in the 60 sq. m house. They will also be judged on design, comfort, cost and the amount of energy it uses. The students say people living in this small house would never need to pay electricity bills. There are 28 solar panels, some concrete floors to hold the heat of the sun, and triple glazed¹ windows. It is built from New Zealand timber.

　　A Kiwi bach is a small holiday house at a beach. There are about 50,000 Kiwi baches in New Zealand.

　　The students were chosen for the final of the Solar Decathlon competition, along with 19 other finalists. 16 finalists are American. This is the first time there has been an entry from a southern hemisphere country. The house will be packed up and shipped to Washington. It has to be built in just 7 days.

　　Vocabulary

　　Double means times two – double glazed windows have to panes² of glass to keep in the heat. Triple means times three – three panes of glass.

　　Southern hemisphere countries are south of the equator.

　　Note the preposition following “judged”. They will be “judged on” 10 different things.

　　“Bach” is pronounced “batch”. “architect” is pronounced with a “k” sound.

　　Question

　　Why is the US Dept of Energy sponsoring this competition?

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