Name ______________________________ Core _________ Date ________________________
China Reaching New Heights
The 121-story Shanghai Tower is due to be
completed in 2014. It's far more than just a recordsetting high-rise building. It will also be the most ecofriendly skyscraper in China. Facing pressure from the
government to make buildings environmentally
friendly and make them fit into already cramped
business districts, builders are pushing design in new
directions. The Shanghai Tower will showcase a
sustainable design that developers say will set a new
BEIJING, China In China, city planning is
definitely looking up. China is building skyscrapers at
a furious pace, both in well-known urban areas and
more obscure locales. At the current rate, China is on
track to pass the U.S., which is the birthplace of the
skyscraper, as the country with the most buildings
among the world's 100 tallest.
The shift in skyscraper construction is drastic.
North America's share of the 100 tallest buildings will
fall from 80 percent in 1990 to 18 percent by 2012.
That is according to Antony Wood, executive director
of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat at
the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He says
that by 2012, 34 of the tallest 100 buildings will be in
China.
"So 34 percent of the 100 tallest buildings will
be in a single country. That has only happened once
before. And that was with the USA," Wood said. Part
of China's wave of skyscraper construction includes
the Shanghai Tower. The 2,074-foot tower will be
China's tallest building. It will also be the secondtallest building in the world. Only the 163-story Burj
Khalifa in Dubai will be taller.
standard for "green" (environmentally friendly)
communities. The building will be in 100,000 square
feet of open green space. This space will be a public
park and the front entry to the tower. Wind turbines
will be placed on the roof to generate power. The
building will also capture rainwater that will be used
for heating and cooling. In addition, the outside glass
on the building will allow sunlight in to support nine
sky gardens.
The Shanghai Tower is one of many projects
that is providing work for architects and engineers.
Because it employs so many people and is so
elaborate, the Shanghai skyscraper is considered a sign
of vitality and wealth in the economy. The latest trend
in skyscraper-building points to a change in global
economics. The tallest buildings are no longer being
constructed in America, where the economy is weak,
but in China.
In the U.S., the high-rise market is "pretty
much dead," said Dan Winey. Winey is a managing
director for Gensler, the Shanghai Tower's San
Francisco-based architectural firm. "For us, China in
the next 10 to 15 years is going to be a huge market."
He says the advanced environmental features being
included in the Shanghai Tower might be rejected as
too costly in the U.S. or other western markets.
They hope to do this with structures that will draw
Financial gloom has shut down plans for new towers in
more businesses and people to their cities.
Chicago, Moscow, Dubai, and other cities.
China, on the other hand, is experiencing
"Governments [in China] are encouraging these
[symbolic] buildings in order to give a very clear
economic growth forecast at 10 percent in 2011. This,
message to the outside world: Please pay attention to
along with demand for space in a crowded country, is
our city," said Dennis Poon. Poon is a manager at
driving the need to build fast and tall. Chinese leaders
Thornton Tomasetti, the Shanghai Tower's structural
want to promote their cities as commercial centers.
engineering company.
Dictionary
drastic (adjective)
financial (adjective)
obscure (adjective)
serious or severe
having to do with money
unknown; not famous
sustainable (adjective)
vitality (noun)
able to be continued with little or no long-term effect on the environment
The capacity to grow or develop
Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the choice the best completes the statement. (2 points each)
1. According to the article, why is construction of the
4. The article states: The Shanghai Tower is one of
Shanghai Tower important?
many projects that is providing work for architects
A. The building will help the economy of China,
which has become very weak.
B. The building is significantly taller than any other
skyscraper in the world.
C. The building represents economic stability and
provides many jobs to Chinese workers.
D. The building will provide jobs to workers from
cities around the world.
2. What is this article mainly about?
A. China's new skyscrapers will have wind turbines
on the roof to generate power as part of an effort
to make them sustainable.
B. China is building skyscrapers, which is providing
and engineers. Because it employs so many people and
is so elaborate, the Shanghai skyscraper is considered
a sign of vitality and wealth in the economy. Which
would be the closest synonym for the word elaborate?
A. Reliable
B. Fundamental
C. Sophisticated
D. Isolated
5. Which of these is a statement of opinion?
A. The environmental features in the Shanghai Tower
could be better.
B. China's Shanghai Tower will be the second-tallest
building in the world.
jobs and showing the world that China is doing
C. The U.S. is the birthplace of the skyscraper.
well.
D. The Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai.
C. Part of China's wave of construction includes the
Shanghai Tower, which will be the second-tallest
building in the world.
D. Financial gloom has shut down plans for new
skyscrapers in Chicago, Moscow, Dubai, and
other cities.
3. Based on the article, the reader can predict that
__________.
A. The Shanghai Tower will create more pollution
than most other buildings.
B. The Shanghai Tower will be completed years
earlier than planned.
C. China's new Shanghai Tower will become a
tourist attraction.
D. China will start building more one-story buildings
in business districts.
6. The author probably wrote this article to __________.
A. Describe the uses for a new skyscraper called
Shanghai Tower
B. Convince the reader that skyscrapers are
environmentally friendly
C. Inform the reader about wind turbines as a source
of energy
D. Illustrate that China is undergoing rapid
development
7. Which is the closest synonym for the word drastic?
A. Miraculous
B. Basic
C. Extreme
D. Horrid
8. Which question is not answered by the article?
A. Which cities have put off plans for new
skyscrapers?
B. What are some of the features planned for
C. Which company employs Dennis Poon as a
manager?
D. Where is the tallest skyscraper in the U.S.
Shanghai Tower?
Opinion Question: Do you think it's important for countries to build skyscrapers?
Math- China has 6 of the world's 15 tallest buildings, and the U.S. has 3 of the world's 15 tallest buildings. What
percentage of the world's 15 tallest buildings are not found in the U.S. or in China?
A. 60%
B. 30%
C. 50%
D. 40%
Thought Question: Bar graphs are used to compare data amounts. The bar graph below shows some facts about
skyscrapers in four countries:
Study the bar graph. Which country has the least number of skyscrapers? Which city has the most skyscrapers?
Which cities seem to have about the same number of skyscrapers? About how many skyscrapers do these places
have? How can you tell? Finally, how might this bar graph look different with data from 2015? Explain, using details
from the article and your own ideas.