45 L5-Homes around the world

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Oxford Read and Discover level 5 Homes Around the World by Jacqueline Martin

Introduction The place where we live, sleep, and eat is called our home. There are lots of different types of home. Homes around the world are made of many different materials, and can be many different shapes and sizes. How many different types of home can you think of? What types of home do you have in your country? What are they made of? How old are they? What are the homes below called? Where in the world can you find these homes? Discover! Now read and discover more about homes around the world!

Chapter 1 Homes in the Past About 50,000 years ago people lived in caves. Then about 5,000 years ago people started to build homes. People in the past didn't have homes like we have today. How were these homes different? Caves Caves were dark and didn't have windows. They protected people from bad weather and wild animals. The doors were made from animal skins. There was no kitchen or bathroom. Cave people cooked their food on fires. In hot weather they didn't live in homes at all they lived and slept outside. In some places where there were no natural caves, people had to dig caves out of the hills. Straw and Mud Houses The first houses were made from dry plants like straw. These houses weren't very strong. The Ancient Egyptians built houses with bricks made of mud and straw. They put the mixture into molds and left them in the sun to dry. Then they built walls with the bricks and put wet mud on top. There were holes in the walls for windows and doors. Egyptian houses had flat roofs. People often slept on the roof because it was nice and cool. In the past other people in Asia, Africa, and South and North America built mud houses, too. Different-colored mud made different-colored bricks!

Stone Houses Some people in the past built houses from stone because it was strong. Poor people lived in small houses with only one room. Important rich people built stone castles to live in. These took many years to build. The Ancient Greeks built houses with mud bricks on top of stone blocks. The roofs were usually made of tiles. The Incas lived in Peru. They built houses with stone blocks. Each block was carefully cut and polished so the houses looked great when they were finished. The houses had thatched roofs made of straw. Discover! Inca walls were strong because there were spaces between the blocks. When there was an earthquake, the blocks moved, but the walls didn't fall down! Wooden Houses The Ancient Chinese people built wooden houses. They had long roofs made of a wood called bamboo. Many Chinese houses were built on platforms to protect the wood from water. The Ancient Romans built houses with wood, mud, and stone. They also used some materials that we use today, like concrete. Some Roman houses had a bathroom, plumbing, and heating.

Chapter 2 Homes Today Some people today live in homes made of natural materials like mud, stone, or wood. Many people live in homes made of man- made materials like concrete, bricks, plastic, and glass. What is your home made of? Homes in the City In big cities many people live in apartments. These are homes on one floor of a bigger building. Some apartments are above shops or in old houses. Others are in tall buildings called skyscrapers. Apartments are often built on top of each other in one building because there isn't enough land for a lot of houses. Some houses in towns are built together in a row. These are called row houses, or terraced houses. They are narrow so you can build many on one street. Other Homes Outside the city there is more land for homes. People often have gardens or land to grow vegetables. Some people live in big houses detached from each other. Detached houses have space all around them. Other people live in houses called bungalows, or ranch houses. These are detached houses with all the rooms on one floor. The old building below is called a cottage. It is made of bricks and has a thatched roof. People in many parts of the world build homes with thatched roofs.