Three & SEVEN

LESSON 10. The aim of the lesson is to review the ways of expressing ideas laconically yet effectively. You will also …………………

1. Read the given paragraph and identify its structure (the mode of thought: narration, description, exposition, argumentation or urging; the thesis, the general logical structure.)

The fact is that there are hundreds of miracles on the Earth, and perhaps a reasonably travelled person could now name at least fifty wonders comparable to the original seven, even without escaping from the confines accepted as belonging to the ancient world. There must have been just as many ancient times, contemporaneous with the reign of Alexander the Great, when such lists were first compiled. And therefore, the question is why there were only seven wonders listed in the first place? The answer is comparatively simple, if somewhat foreign to our understanding. It lies in the fact that the number was itself a holy number. We have inherited a seven-day week - because, according to the ancients, there are seven planets, and because these were governed by seven angelic beings, seven gods, and seven evil demons. There were seven deadly sins, and seven great virtues. When the late medieval magicians wrote their tracts on numbers, they always gave precedence to the number seven, to the "holy" number, for within its compass were said to lie the secrets of the universe, to a point where it was believed that any man who could piece together the mysteries of seven and three would attain all human knowledge! This is why there were seven wonders listed in the ancient world - not because there were only seven great marvels!

2. a) When giving a lecture on the subject, one is supposed to provide pauses. Similarly, a paragraph is not only a logical construction, but also a compositional device, regulating the rhythm of the discourse.

Where would you make pauses if that speech were yours? How would you break it into smaller paragraphs for consideration of compositions?

b) Give a one-sentence summary of the above paragraph, reflecting its LOGICAL structure.

3. What would you write in a paragraph beginning and ending with the following phrases:

a) All great art submits to tradition ................ No matter how pressing tradition is, art always defies its limitations.

4. Describe one of the Seven Wonders of the World trying to explain why it was nominated as one.

v The Pyramids.

v The Hanging Gardens in Babylon.

v The Statue of Zeus in Olympia.

v The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

v The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

v The Colossus at Rhodes.

v The Lighthouse at Alexandria.

5. Make a list of seven contemporary wonders of the world. Account for your choice.

6. Why are numbers 3 and 7 are considered to be holy?

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1258