The key answer of exercise 2

a)

1. Houses are built in accordance with the habitat and the surroundings. They provide protection: tree houses are a refuge from wild animals, mosquitoes and earthbound evil spirits. They also provide comfort. Igloos are cosy inside and the packed ice and snow acts as an insulator. Caves are cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and give superb protection (they won't blow down in the wind), and they are well made for decoration, e.g. paintings. Yurts are built so that nomads can move as the season and the weather changes.

b)

• a refuge from wild animals → A refuge is a place where you can hide from something. He describes tree houses as a refuge from wild animals.
• spirits are earthbound → Supernatural beings (e.g. angels, demons) live on the earth and cannot fly. He says Indonesians believe in these, so tree houses provide protection.
• wooden stilts → Long poles to support a structure built above land level. He describes houses on stilts.; acts as an insulator. does not transmit energy. He says the snow and ice of an igloo is an insulator (blocks out cold weather).
• so-called primitive dwellings → very basic places to live. The interviewer asks him how these compare to modern housing.
• adorned them with figurines → decorated them with small figures (usually clay, metal or wood). He says people decorated their cave homes with these.
• nomads in Central Asia → tribes who have no permanent home, but are constantly travelling. They use yurts.