Read the text in one minute. Answer the questions orally without looking at the text again.
1. Which of the activities in exercise 1 were mentioned?
2. Can you remember any places that were in the text?
3. Is the text mainly about the past, present or future?
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Shopping malls have never been just about shopping. They began in the United States after the Second World War and, for the young, they were always a place to 'hang out' and be seen. However, the world has moved on, and just providing shops and a food court is no longer enough to keep malls alive. Malls became less popular at the start of the 21st century, mainly because of online shopping. There is even a website, deadmalls.com, which shows the end of many US malls. Malls need to change to survive. So what will the mall of the future look like?
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B. Malls are already becoming bigger and better all over the world. Asia and not the US is now the 'mall capital' of the world and is home to the five largest malls in the world. China is home to the two largest. Some malls in the Middle East and East Asia are starting to specialise. It is predicted that this will happen more and more in the future. Some malls will only sell electrical items, for example, or only fashion for young people. Some malls will only include expensive shops or cheap shops, as already happens in Bangkok and Singapore.
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C. Malls are becoming 'the new downtown', with cinemas, bowling alleys, climbing walls and even concert halls. Xanadu, a mall 30 km from Madrid, is a recreation centre for a family day out as well as a shopping centre, with ski slopes, minigolf, go-karts, balloon rides, bowling and billiards. We have always been able to grab a burger at the mall, but in the future we are going to see 'fine dining' too, with more expensive restaurants based at malls, as well as spas, fitness centres and art galleries. There are also going to be more apartments and office space so that more people can live, work, shop and be entertained in one location.
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D. Mat! owners are going to need to think of new ideas to remain in business. One growing trend is the seasonal changes in the mall. It began with having Santa Claus in December, but now there are 'pop-ups' - temporary shops, stalls and kiosks - for other seasons and events. Brent Cross in North London has an 'urban beach' in summer, and its main lobby has different promotions and events every week, from bungee jumping for kids to free health checks.
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E. So, we have looked at the facilities malls wilt need to offer. Malts will need to consider the environment too.There will be more open-air malts and more natural features. Mall designers will have to make sure people can get there by public transport. They will also need to use more natural sources of heat and light. We will see more plants, trees, grass and even water falls at our local malls in the future.
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| F. The future of malls looks exciting: there will be 'virtual malts' and technology wilt be used within malts to help us shop, find bargains and even park our car. With all these creative innovations, the malt will go from strength to strength. |
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