General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 02 Topic 01.doc UNIT 02 What do you think? TOPIC 01 History or progress?  READING 01 A new tower for York Square? This editorial appeared in Rani's local newspaper. When we look at our city skyline, we see little of interest. However, if plans go ahead to demolish the old four-storey King George building on York street, we will soon be able to see a stunning modern glass tower in its place. The building’s owners are holding discussions with construction giants Wilmlow. If this exciting project goes ahead, tenants of the building will only have until the end of next month to move out. Demolition will begin soon after, and we should see the new high-rise building taking shape early next year. Plans for the new building include a new car park and retail outlets on the first two floors. The remaining 10 floors will be office space. If we look at other cities around the world, they are all expanding upward. The question is, is our small city ready for such a change? Some people believe the King George building is part of our heritage and should be preserved. Others feel we should move with the times and accept modern architecture. The latter group is more realistic. The problem is that working conditions inside these old buildings are very poor. First and most importantly is space. The buildings themselves are small and cramped with poor lighting. Second the water, sewage and power systems are all very old and need to be replaced. Then of course there is the lack of eating facilities. Workers have to leave the building to buy their lunch. A modern building with cafes, takeaways and other shops would be much more convenient.. Finally, if we want to be a successful city, we need to offer better office space so that businesses will want to set up here. There are mixed feelings amongst the building's tenants. Some welcome the proposal, others don’t want to leave. The CEO of HPK Electronics, one of the major tenants, told us that his company would either move to another city or look for other office space here if the proposal goes ahead. He said he would be discussing the various options with his staff as soon as he has definite news from the building’s owners Dictionary skyline retail tenants stunning demolition heritage lack sewage latter options preserved 38