The Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is a Buddhist temple built by the Syallendra Dynasty in the 9th century. It is located at Magelang, Central Java. The temple is famous all around the world. For hundreds of years, it had been buried under volcanic ash and vegetation, until its discovery in the 1800s.

Influenced by Indian Gupta architecture, Borobudur Temple stands on a hill-like construction with eight stone terraces. The first five are square, surrounded by walls with Buddhist reliefs. The upper three are round. Each of these terraces has bell-shaped stupas.

A large stupa crowns the entire edifice at the centre of the top circle. Passages and stairways stretch out 4.8 km to the peak. Borobudur Temple's architecture is similar to that of the temples at Angkor, Cambodia. They form mountain-like structures that symbolise the structure of the universe.

Borobudur Temple, rededicated as a national monument in 1983, is a treasure for the nation.

(Pathway to English for Grade X)

1. What does the text tell you about?
2. Who might be interested in reading this text?
3. Mention adjectives that you find in the text.
4. When was Borobudur temple built?
5. What does Borobudur temple symbolize?

The Giant Glass Slipper Building of Taiwan

The Giant Glass Slipper building is a unique building built on the coastal area in Chiayi Taiwan with a height of 16 meters (55 feet) and a width of about 10 meters (36 feet). This shiny blue building was made of 320 tinted glass panels and costed around US$686,000. It was completed on 10 January 2016 and was officially opened on 23 July 2016.

There was no special architect for the building. This was purely the creation of the local government officials. This building is used as a wedding venue. The Slipper building qualified for The Guinness high heel shoe-shaped structure.

Inspired by the fairy tale "Cinderella and her glass slippers”, the purpose of building The Giant Glass Slipper is to develop tourism in Taiwan. This building only serves couples who are getting married. They want to make the building a blissful romantic venue. This unique building is expected to attract many tourists not only domestic but also all over the world so that it will increase the country's income.

1. What inspired the design of the building?
2. What is the function of the building?
3. What ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ is the building awarded for?
4. When was the building officially opened?
5. What was the building made of?