Name:____________________________________________________ Date:__________

Teacher:__________________________________________________ Level:__________

Achieve 2

5 Unit 1 Test
Spacious Lives in Tiny Spaces

In Japan, many homes are small. Some homes are so small

that they have a special name - kyosho jutaku - ultra-small
10 homes. These often sit on land no bigger than a two-car
garage, or on narrow strips of land wide enough for just one
car. Bill Rutherford of Homes Magazine recently traveled to
Tokyo and spoke to architect Kaito Yoshida, a designer of
ultra-small homes. Yoshida designed and lives in his own
15 home, situated on a strip of land only two meters wide.
Rutherford: When did you move into this house?
Yoshida: I bought the land about seven years ago and
spent two years planning how to use the
space. I’ve been living alone here for four
20 years.
Rutherford: Tell me about the design process.
Yoshida: As you can imagine, I couldn’t use old-
fashioned techniques for a space this narrow. I
used the latest technology possible – lots of
25 glass, plastic, even paper. It’s pretty modern.
Rutherford: But not big…
Yoshida: No. The house is only 1.7 meters wide and 14
meters long. It’s so narrow that I can only fit a
single bed in the bedroom, for example.
30 Rutherford: So your house is pretty cramped?
Yoshida: I wouldn’t say that. It feels big because I’ve
included high ceilings. In small spaces, having
high ceilings, preferably ones with lots of

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 windows in them, makes the space feel much
35 bigger.
Rutherford: Your house has a lot of natural light.
Yoshida: Yes, and because it’s small, it’s really easy to
keep warm in the winter. It’s pretty energy-
efficient.
40 Rutherford: How have you organized each room?
Yoshida: In ultra-small houses, most rooms need to
serve more than one purpose. For example, I
have a TV in my bedroom. It’s such a small
room that I can’t have both a bed and a sofa in
45 there. So my bed folds up into a couch during
the day. When I watch television, I sit on the
sofa. When I go to bed, the couch becomes a
bed. My living room becomes a bedroom.
Rutherford: That’s convenient.
50 Yoshida: Yes, it is. Living alone makes a big difference
too. This house is so small, it would be difficult
to share it with another person for a long
period of time.
Rutherford: Thank you so much for your time. Your house
55 is amazing.
Yoshida: Thank you.

Read the text again. Choose the correct answers.

1 Kyosho jutaku are …
60 a) two-car garages.
b) designers of small homes.
c) very small homes.
d) people who live in very small homes.
e) homes situated on large strips of land.
65
2 Yoshida’s house …
a) is 14 meters wide.
b) is so small that he can’t have a bed in it.
c) was designed for a married couple.

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 70 d) has two bedrooms.
e) is less than two meters wide.

3 High ceilings and windows …

a) make most houses feel bigger.
75 b) aren’t an important design feature in small homes.
c) cause people to feel cramped.
d) keep the house warm in the winter.
e) feel old-fashioned.

80 4 In ultra-small homes, most rooms …

a) have a television.
b) need to serve more than one purpose.
c) become a bedroom at night.
d) are cramped and dark.
85 e) have a bed and a sofa.
5 During the day, Yoshida ...
a) shares his home with another person.
b) turns his living room into a bedroom.
c) watches television while lying in his bed.
90 d) removes his television from his bedroom.
e) can use his bedroom as a living room.

Read the sentences. Find adjectives in the text to

describe the words in bold.
95 6 I used the latest technology possible.
a) spacious
b) convenient
c) modern
d) narrow
100 e) amazing

7 Yoshida’s bedroom is ___ space that he can’t have both a

couch and TV in it.
a) so a small
105 b) such small
c) so small

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 d) so much small
e) such a small

110 Circle the correct alternatives.

8 Rutherford accepted a job at Homes Magazine 12 months
ago. He can’t believe he ___ there for a year already.
a) would work
b) work
115 c) has been working
d) have worked
e) works

9 Yoshida ___ to live in a small space, and he enjoys it.

120 a) learning
b) have been learning
c) would learn
d) has learned
e) was learning
125 10 Yoshida ___ as an architect since he left college.
a) is working
b) working
c) works
d) worked
130 e) has been working

135

140

10
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 145

150

155

A001153
160

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15
 Answer Key

Achieve 2
165 Unit 1 Test

1 c)
2 e)
3 a)
170 4 b)
5 e)
6 c)
7 e)
8 c)
175 9 d)
10 e)

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