英国“蜗居”VS 德国“倒立屋” -新概念英语

如今，房子成了社会各界的热点话题，从上到下的关注度有增无减。在我们观望期待自己的“蜗居”时，不妨看看地球那边的房子吧。

德国动物园“倒立房”

德国杰托夫市的动物园里近日新添了一栋倒立的房子。如果不知道这是当地木匠杰哈德·莫德斯特和他的朋友一起设计的作品，人们可能就会认为这是超强台风把谁家的房子给掀飞到这儿了。

高逾7米，厨房、浴室、起居室、卧室一应俱全……在这栋屋顶和阁楼都由钢筋所铸成的房子中，里面的所有设施和家具都被吊在“房顶”上，进到里面，就像是进入了一个完全颠倒的世界。

而这座“疯狂房屋”的灵感源自英国作家罗尔德·达尔的童话《蠢特夫妇》。在故事中，一对夫妇经常虐待猴子，并迫使它们倒挂。猴子们之后“以彼之道，还施彼身”，将这对夫妇的所有家具都黏在了天花板上。

Upside-down house to open for tourists

A completely upside-down house is to open as a tourist attraction in Germany.

Standing on a pointed roof and supported by steel beams in the attic, the house has an upside-down kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.

This bizarre upside-down house was created on the grounds of a zoo in Gettorf, Germany. The roof is reinforced with steel girders, reports the Daily Mail.

Local carpenter Gerhard Mordhorst and his colleagues Gesellse Splettstober and Manfred Kolax put the unusual building together.

"It was a challenge for us," Mr Mordhorst said. "You had to constantly think of the mirror image."

They described the job as the "craziest" one they had been asked to do and found the bathroom the trickiest to put together because of bulky items like the shower.

In total they screwed 50 separate pieces into the floor-ceiling, including beds, tables, a microwave and pictures. The heaviest piece of furniture was a 100lb wardrobe with mirror.

The men spent months to perfect every little detail and even took to needle and thread to keep the bed linen in place.

The 'crazy' house was thought up by Hamburg investor Dirk Oster. He will open it to the public at the end of March.

英国“蜗居”：麻雀虽小，五脏俱全

而在英国，相信在看到雷伊·巴克尔的房子之后，不少人会惊讶得合不上嘴。据英国媒体近日报道，这个比斯诺克球桌还要小的“蜗居”只有11英尺长(约3.3米)，5.5英尺宽(约1.6米)，它的面积只有60.5平方英尺(约5.6平方米)，是目前英国发现的最小房子。但据房产公司估计，对于这个位于英国西伦敦骑士桥购物区哈罗斯精品店对面的房子而言，它的位置就是一切，价值更在20万英镑(约合人民币207万元)左右。

这套房子的现任主人是巴克尔先生，49岁的他在4年前用12万英镑的价格买下了它。而这座房子在1987年最初出售的价格只有3.7万英镑。现在，因为房内设施齐全，巴克尔在房子里自得其乐，“实际上，我甚至可以一边上厕所，一边冲茶”。

Flat 'smaller than a snooker table' worth £200,000

The flat, which measures 11ft by 5.5ft, is priced at £35,000 more than the average home in Britain. A full-size snooker table measures 12ft by 6ft.

Located close to Harrods in exclusive Knightsbridge, the apartment was converted from a broom cupboard in 1987. It was originally bought by a secretary for £36,500. Its two rooms, which measure 60.5sq ft, come with a toilet and a shower-cum-wardrobe.

Owner Ray Barker, 49, bought the flat for £120,000 four years ago, to use rather than commute home to Bath from work in London every day.

"I can do the cleaning while lying in my sofa bed. In fact, I can wash up, answer the door, make a cuppa and go to the loo all at the same time," Mr Barker told The Daily Mirror.

Estate agents Brian Lack & Co, said: "Judging by other similar flats we've sold in the much-prized area, it could easily go for £150,000 to £200,000."

The Smallest House in Great Britain, also known as the Quay House, is now a tourist attraction in Conwy, Wales. It measures 10ft by 6ft, and was lived in until 1900, by a 6ft 3in fisherman called Robert Jones.