Nowadays, more and more cities are facing a shortage of housing. The main reasons for this are a growing population and a lack of land which can be built on. Increases in sea level have not helped matters, and some places are actually (1) to hold on to areas which are next to the sea.

One city that has decided to give up the fight and go with the flow is Amsterdam. Since 1997, authorities from the Dutch city have been (2) called IJburg, which is located to the east of the city centre. Jburg consists of six man-made islands in the IJmeer lake, one of which is home to a community of floating houses. The first stage, completed in 2011, featured 93 such houses, but more will be added as long as there is enough interest from people (3) to the area.

Possible inhabitants of the suburb can rent an area of water for fifty years at a price of around €360,000. They then order their (4) and state any preferences they may have, such as the number of rooms or the layout of the interior. The house is built in a factory and when it is complete, it is towed along the river to the area that the owner has rented.

Inhabitants of the floating homes never need to worry about floods or rising waters again. The buildings are fixed at the side of the lake, but are free to move upwards or downwards (5) F of the water.

The area's first residents started (6) back around 2010, and, so

far, their opinions have been very positive. Rik Bos, who is a resident of IJburg, enjoys admiring the beautiful view from his new house. "It was always an ambition of mine to live next to a lake, and now I'm actually living on a lake!' he says. 'It really is a dream come true.'

A. floating house

B. looking to move

C. fighting hard

D. becoming difficult

E. living in their floating homes

F. depending on the level

G. keeping areas of land

H. building a new suburb​