Put the words below in the gaps.

Stonehenge, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, The Tower of London, the Great Sphinx, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Kizhi, Petra, the Parthenon, Notre-Dame de Paris.

Who built them? When were they built? What was their function? Discuss with the group what you know about them.

Text 1. Egyptian Pyramids

The Great Pyramid at Giza is one of the world’s most amazing landmarks. Rising high above the Sahara Desert in the Giza region of northern Egypt, the Great Pyramid stands some 450 feet into the burning desert sky and occupies of an area of 13 acres. The rough climate of the Sahara has actually caused the pyramid to shrink 30 feet from its original height. The pyramid was such an amazing feat of engineering, that it remained the tallest structure in the world for over 3800 years! The entire pyramid was originally faced with polished limestone to make it shine brilliantly in the sun.

Most Egyptologists, scientists who study ancient Egypt, agree that the Great Pyramid was built around 2560 BC, a little more than 4,500 years ago. It took tens of thousands of workers twenty years to build. The pyramid contains over two million stone blocks. Although most of the blocks weigh two or three tons, some weigh up to 80 tons!

The Great Pyramid of Giza was ordered by the Pharaoh Khufu as a magnificent tomb. His advisor Hemon is credited with being the pyramid's architect. Khufu's pyramid is actually part of a complex of pyramids that includes the Pyramid of Khafre, the smaller Pyramid of Menkaure, a variety of smaller pyramids and structures, and the Great Sphinx. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Read the passage again and answer the questions.

1. Where is the Great pyramid not located?

A. Sahara Desert C. Southern Egypt

B. Northern Egypt D. Giza

2. The Great Pyramid was built a little more than _______4,500 __________ years ago.

3. How many stone blocks make up the pyramid?

A. 4,500 C. 3800

B. More than two million D. 2,560

4. Most of the blocks in the pyramid weigh about ____________ tons.

A. two or three C. five

B. 80 D. 4,500

5. The Great Pyramid of Giza has shrunk about ____30_________ feet.

6. Egyptians used polished ______limestone_______ to make the pyramid shine in the sun.

7. The Pharaoh ________________ ordered the pyramid to be built as his ___________.

A. Khufu; wonder of the world C. advisor; tomb

B. Hemon; tomb D. Khufu; tomb

8. Which is not part of complex of pyramids?

A. The Tomb of King Tut C. The Pyramid of Khafre

B. The Great Pyramid of Giza D. The Sphinx

9. Which of the following is FALSE?

A. Hemon was Khufu's advisor and architect.

B. The Pyramid took tens of thousands of works about twenty years to complete.

C. Khufu was Hemon's advisor and architect.

D. The Great Pyramid is the last of the Seven wonders of the World.

Put the words below in the gaps.

between comprise erosion magnificent visited resulted tomb

The Great Pyramid of Giza is truly one of the most (1) _______ ancient landmarks. Built as a giant (2) _______ for the pharaoh Khufu, the Great Pyramid took tens of thousands of workers over 20 years to complete. Each of the 2.4 million stone blocks that (3) _______ the pyramid weighs (4) _______ one and two tons! Although the pyramid rose 481ft from the floor of the Sahara Desert, wind (5) _______ has (6) _______ in a loss of about 30 feet from the pinnacle of pyramid. Today, the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the world's most (7) _______ monuments.

Text 2. Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13km) north of Salisbury.

It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world.

Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC although the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.

The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned and managed by English Heritage whilst the surrounding downland is owned by the National Trust.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1414