VOA · As It Is
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:162025-02-26public domain
As It Is is VOA Learning English's daily news magazine. Each report covers a current story in clear, learner-speed English with a controlled vocabulary — the closest thing to real news broadcasts that intermediate learners can fully digest, and ideal raw material for dictation.
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01Skyscrapers were invented in the United States.
02Two new technological developments made very tall buildings possible in the late 1800s.
03One development was the mechanical elevator.
04It meant that people would not have to climb many steps to reach the upper floors of tall buildings.
05It saved time and effort.
06The second was good quality steel that could carry the heavy load of a tall structure.
07These two developments helped make the skyscraper possible.
08Many experts consider the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois to be the first skyscraper.
09It was completed in 1885 and later increased to a height of 55 meters.
10Today, this would not be considered tall, but at the time, this height was striking.
11What was different about the Home Insurance Building was its structure.
12It was built using a steel frame.
13This frame carried the weight of the building rather than the walls.
14The method was known as skeleton construction at the time.
15Before this technology, a tall building required thick stone walls to support its weight.
16Thick walls are extremely heavy and take up a big area that could be used for floor space or windows.
17William Jenny was the engineer who helped build the Home Insurance Building.
18He understood the possibilities that steel frames could offer.
19Some people consider him the father of the skyscraper.
20Soon after the building was finished, builders in Chicago and New York City began copying and improving on the idea of building upwards.
21Builders in these cities and others would also begin competing for the title of tallest building.
22The Empire State Building in New York City was completed in 1931.
23It was the tallest building in the world for more than 40 years.
24It is still one of the most popular.
25Millions of visitors have seen New York from observation areas in this building.
26Chicago became home to the world's tallest building in 1973 when the Sears Tower was completed.
27It is 442 meters tall.
28The Sears Tower, which is now called Willis Tower, was the tallest building in the world for 23 years.
29Then, in 1996, two taller buildings were completed.
30They are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
31They are about 452 meters tall.
32The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, CTBUH, is a non-profit organization based in Chicago that studies tall buildings and their place in the design of cities.
33CTBUH supports tall buildings as a way to create more sustainable cities to live in.
34The group publishes a list of the world's tallest buildings.
35Today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is considered the tallest building at 828 meters.
36The tallest building in the United States and North America is One World Trade Center in New York, which replaced the two towers of the World Trade Center destroyed in the terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001.
37One World Trade Center stands at 541 meters.
38I'm Jill Robbins.
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