Exercise 9. Explain the words in bold and then match them with the best definition.
1. a curse, 2. a flood, 3. a reign, 4. a scepter, 5. a temple, 6. a throne, 7. a wheel , 8. a wonder, 9. an earthquake, 10. an excavation, 11. ivory, 12. marble
a) a building or place dedicated to the worship of a deity or deities;
b) a chair occupied by an exalted personage, such as a sovereign or bishop, on state or ceremonial occasions, often situated on a dais and sometimes having a canopy and ornate decoration;
c) a hard crystalline metamorphic rock resulting from the recrystallization of a limestone, it is used for building and sculpture;
d) a hard smooth creamy white variety of dentine that makes up a major part of the tusks of elephants, walruses and similar animals;
e) a monumental human creation regarded with awe, especially one of seven monuments of the ancient world that appeared on various lists of late antiquity;
f) a solid disk or a rigid circular ring connected by spokes to a hub, designed to turn around an axle passed through the center;
g) a staff held by a sovereign as an emblem of authority;
h) a sudden movement of the earth's crust caused by the release of stress accumulated along geologic faults or by volcanic activity;
i) an appeal to some supernatural power to inflict evil on someone or some group;
j) the period during which a monarch is the official ruler of a country, a sovereign;
k) the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land;
l) the site of an archeological exploration; a cavity formed by digging or scooping;
Speaking
Exercise 10. Complete the text “Stonehenge” using the words from the list. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.
a) a man, b) circle, c) druid, d) excavation, e) geometric, f) movements, g) roadway, h) ruling family, i) stones, j) the sun
Stonehenge is a group of standing 1) .....on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, South England. Preeminent among megalithic monuments in the British Isles, it is similar to an older and larger monument at Avebury. The great prehistoric structure is enclosed within a circular ditch 91 m in diameter, with a bank on the inner side, and is approached by a broad 2) .....called the Avenue. Within the circular trench the stones are arranged in four series: The outermost is a circle of sandstones about 4.1 m high connected by lintels; the second is a 3) .....of bluestone menhirs; the third is horseshoe shaped; the innermost, ovoid. Within the ovoid lies the Altar Stone. The Heelstone is a great upright stone in the Avenue, northeast of the circle.
It was at one time widely believed that Stonehenge was a 4) .....temple, but this is contradicted by the fact that the druids probably did not arrive in Britain until 250 BC. In 1963 the American astronomer Gerald Hawkins theorized that Stonehenge was used as a huge astronomical instrument that could accurately measure solar and lunar 5) .....as well as eclipses. Hawkins used
a computer to test his calculations and found definite correlations between his figures and the solar and lunar positions in 1500 BC. However, as a result of the development of calibration curves for radiocarbon dates, Stonehenge is now believed to have been built in several stages between 3000 and 1500 BC, with the main construction completed before 2000 BC. 6) .....and testing in 2008 established a date of between 2400 and 2200 BC for the erection of the bluestones. Some archaeologists objected to Hawkins's theory on the basis that the eclipse prediction system he proposed was much too complex for the Early Bronze Age society of England.
Most archaeologists agree, however, that Stonehenge was used to observe the motions of the moon as well as 7) ...... Research by the archaeologist Alexander Thom, based on the careful mapping of hundreds of megalithic sites, indicates that the megalithic ritual circles were built with a high degree of accuracy, requiring considerable mathematical and 8) ..... sophistication. More recent speculation on the Neolithic ceremonial and cultural functions of Stonehenge has included its possible use as a center for healingand as a burialground for a local 9) ...... Among the burials near
the site have been found remains of 10) .....who was raised near the Alps and a teenage boy was raised near the Mediterranean. Evidence of a former stone circle with 25 bluestones has been found nearby beside the River Avon; the stones once used there may have been incorporated into Stonehenge. http://www.answers.com/topic/stonehenge
Exercise 11. Read the text “Teotihuacan” and make up an oral summary of it.
Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 48 km northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. The name means "where man met the gods." Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was the center of a state empire, its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented;evidence of Teotihuacano presence can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya region. The Aztecs may have been influenced by
this city. The ethnicity of the inhabitantsof Teotihuacan is also a subject of debate. Possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups. Scholars have also suggested that Teotihuacan was a multiethnic state.
The city and the archaeological site are located in what is now the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of México. The site covers a total surface area of 83 square km and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is the most visited archaeological site in Mexico.
Exercise 12. Complete the table “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” using the words/word combinations from the list. Then speak about one of them.
IV. Date of destruction: a) 1303–1480 AD; b) 226 BC; c) 356 BC (by Herostratus), 262 AD (by the Goths); d) 5th-6th centuries AD; e) After 1st century BC; f) by 1494 AD; g) Still in existence
VI.Modern location: a) Alexandria, Egypt; b) Bodrum, Turkey; c) Giza, Egypt; d) Mount Olympia, Greece; e) near Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey; f) Nineveh, Iraq; g) Rhodes, Greece
I. Name
II. Date of construction
III. Builder
IV. Date of destruction
V. Cause of destruction
VI. Modern location
1. The Great Pyramids of Giza
2584-2561 BC
Egyptians
still in existence
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
600 BC (evident)
Babylonians
Earthquakes
3. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
550 BC; and again at 323 BC
Lydians, Greeks
arsonby Herostratus, plundering
4. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
466-456 BC (Temple)
435 BC (Statue)
Greeks
disassembled; destroyed by fire
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
351 BC
Carians, Greeks
earthquakes
6. The Colossus of Rhodes
292–280 BC
Greeks
earthquakes
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria
280 BC
Ptolemaic Egypt, Greeks
earthquakes
Writing
Exercise 13. Read and translate the following poems written by Paul Perro. Then, try to write your own poem focuses on the topic “The wonders of the ancient world”
The Seven Wonders of the World
Do they walk on their heads
In the place they call "Down Under"?
This is something about which
I often stop and wonder.
The seven wonders of the world
Are a different sort of thing.
They're things you wonder at
Because they're so amazing.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
A statue of the mighty Zeus
Of all the gods, he was the king.
The columns were in the "Doric" style
If you care about that sort of thing.
Built to honour the Olympic Games
The statue is now long gone,
But the stadium has been rebuilt
And the spirit of the games lives on.
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Built by Queen Artemisia
A tomb for her husband, the king,
The mausoleum was said to be
A very beautiful building.
Yes, the tomb of King Mausolus
Was certainly ostentatious.
And also, for just was person
It was really very spacious.
The Colossus of Rhodes
The people of the island Rhodes
Once built a huge metal statue.
A bit like that one in New York,
Except it was not greeny blue.
They made it from bronze which they took
From the armour of an enemy.
When the sun glistened on it was
A spectacular sight to see.
Exercise 14. Make a short presentation of one of the following topics:
1. The Wonders of the Modern World:1)The Channel Tunnel, 2) The Canadian National Tower, 3) The Empire State Building, 4) The Golden Gate Bridge (USA), 5) The Panama Canal, 6) The Old City of Jerusalem, 7) The Mayan ruins.
2. The Seven Natural Wonders of the World:1) The Grand Canyon (Arizona, the USA), 2) The Great Barrier Reef (the Coral Sea, Australia), 3) The Harborof Rio de Janeiro, 4) Mount Everest (Nepal), 5) The Parícutin volcano (Mexico), 6)
The Victoria Falls (Zambia, Zimbabwe).
3. The Seven Wonders of the Underwater World:1)Palau (the Pacific Ocean), 2) The Belize Barrier Reef, 3) The Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), 4) Lake Baikal, 5) The Red Sea
4. The Seven Wonders of the Industrial World:1)SS Great Eastern (an iron sailing steam ship, UK), 2) The Bell Rock Lighthouse (UK), 3) The Brooklyn Bridge (New York City, the USA), 4) The London sewerage system (UK), 5) The First Transcontinental Railroad (Utah, USA), 6) The Hoover Dam(Arizona and Nevada, USA).
5. The Seven Wonders of Ukraine: 1) The National dendrology park “Sofiyivka” (Uman,
Cherkasy region), 2) The National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve(Kiev), 3)The National Historic-Architectural Preserve "Kamianets" (Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytsk region), 4) The National Historic-Cultural Preserve "Khortytsia" (Zaporizhia, Zaporizhia region), 5) The National Preserve "Khersones Tavriysky" (Sevastopol), 6) The National Historic-Cultural Preserve "Sofia Kyivska" (Kiev), 7) The National Historical-Architectural Preserve "Khotynska Fortetsia" (Khotyn, Chernivtsi region).
6. The Seven Natural Wonders of Ukraine: 1) The Falz-Fein Biosphere Preserve "Askania-Nova" (Askania-Nova, Kherson region), 2) The landscape park “granite-steppe lands of Buh” (Myko-
laiv region), 3) The landscape park "Dnister Canyon" (the Dnister), 4) The Simferopol Speleology Museum /Cave"Marble"/ (Chatyr-Dag), 5) The National Nature Park "Podillian Tovtry" (Khmelnytsk region), 6) The Shatsky National Nature Park (Shatsk, Volyn region), 7) The National Nature Park "Synevir" (Mizhhiria, the Carpathian Mountains).
7.The seven wonders of the ancient world: 1) The Colossus of Rhodes, 2) The Pyramids in Egypt, 3) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 4) The Lighthouse of Alexandria, 5) The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, 6) The Statue of Zeus, 7) The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.
8.New seven wonders of the world: 1) The Great Wall of China, 2) Petra (Jordann), 3) Christ the Redeemer (Brazil), 4) Machu Picchu (Peru), 5) Chichen Itza (Mexico), 6) Colosseum (Italy), 7) The Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt).
9.New seven wonders of nature: 1) Iguazu Falls (Brazilia, Argentine), 2) Jeju Island (South Korea), 3) Komodo Island (Indonesia), 4) Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines), 5) Table Mountain (South Africa), 6) Halong Bay (Vietnam), 7) Amazon Rainforest (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana).
10.The Seven Wonders of the Solar System: 1) Enceladus, 2) The Great red spot, 3) The Asteroid belt, 4) The surface of the Sun, 5) The Oceans of Earth, 6) The Rings of Saturn, 7) Mount Olympus (Mars).