Apple’s New ‘Spaceship’ Headquarters Almost Complete

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

completion

Noun

kəmˈpliːʃən

the act of finishing an activity or job

The project is very close to completion.

It will take another three months to see these buildings in completion.

Completion of the new pipeline will give houses across the country access to natural gas.

We have offered to pay the design firm twenty-five percent of the fee in advance and the remainder on completion.

The completion of our new office building will bring many jobs to this city.

headquarters

Noun

ˈhɛdˌkwɔːrtərz

the location or building where a company or organization has its main offices

This building is the headquarters of the European Central Bank.

I recently got transferred to the headquarters in New York.

The headquarters for the U.S. armed services is the Pentagon.

While the building is being renovated, we've set up temporary headquarters in the branch office.

The company's new headquarters are located in an office park outside the city.

The company's headquarters are in Hong Kong.

secretive

Adjective

ˈsiːkrɪtɪv

not telling people information on purpose

Peter is very secretive.

estimate

Verb

ˈɛstəˌmeɪt

to guess or calculate what an amount or value will be

She tried to estimate the value of her ring.

He estimated that he would need five more hours to finish.

I was asked to estimate the cost of the project.

I can't estimate the value of your home without more information.

visually

Adverb

ˈvɪʒuəli

relating to appearance or sight

Children's books are almost always visually exciting.

store

Verb

stoʊr

to put or keep something in a particular place

All the files are stored in the basement.

All medication is stored on those shelves.

Most of the old data is stored on DVDs.

You can ask any of the staff in operations to show you where extra office supplies are stored.

generate

Verb

ˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt

to produce or create something such as energy

These panels are for generating solar energy.

Electrical storms generate a lot of lightning.

We need to find new ways to generate revenue.

The machine will not generate any toxic gas, which makes it environmentally friendly.

Much of the power consumed in South Valley is generated by its hydroelectric dam.

sustainable

Adjective

səˈsteɪnəbl

causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time

Wind power is a sustainable form of energy.

The trouble is that mining will not provide a sustainable economy for this community.

Economic growth has been so rapid that analysts fear it is not sustainable over the long term.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Apple’s New ‘Spaceship’ Headquarters Almost Complete

Apple is nearing completion of its new “spaceship” headquarters in northern California. The company has been very secretive about the project. But Apple officials have said they plan to move into the new headquarters in 2017.

Construction began in late 2013 and the cost of the project is estimated to be at least $5 billion.

Many people have compared the design and construction to the way Apple has developed its most successful products. These methods include extreme attention to detail and creating visually pleasing features.

The main structure of Apple’s new headquarters was built as a complete circle with glass walls on all sides. It rises up four levels from the ground. Apple’s late chief Steve Jobs once described the future building as looking “like a spaceship landed.”

The entire property – also known as Apple Campus 2 – was built to hold all the company’s employees in the area – up to 14,000. The campus includes research and testing buildings. It also has an “Energy Center” to store the power Apple generates itself.

The company says the property will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The building was described as “one of the most environmentally sustainable projects” in the world.

Panorama of spaceship campus under construction, July 2016.

Exercise 3

Questions

How much did the new “spaceship” headquarters project cost?

How was the main structure of the new headquarters built? What shape is it?

How will the headquarters be powered according to Apple?

Exercise 4

Discussion

Do you think that it will be possible to rely solely on renewable energy in the future?

Do you think Apple is setting a new standard for the office buildings of all companies?

If you had a company and you designed its office, what would it look like?

Advanced Exercises

The following exercises are for an additional lesson.

Exercise 5

Summary

Please describe the main topic of the article with 1 or 2 sentences. (1-2 minutes) Take your time to organize your thoughts first.

Exercise 6

Discussion

Are appearances important to you?

Can you describe an item the design of which you like the most?

What kind of designs do you like in general? Do you like simple things or ones that are amazingly detailed?

Would you say that investing in design is always necessary? Why or why not?

“Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.” Do you agree?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by Voice of America.