Числова_английский

the Maya as priest-astronomers, still move in their changeless patterns. But new men in new countries with new instruments now track their progress. The priest-astronomers are gone./ Chichen Itza and Bonampak lie empty in the silver moonlight.

The Maya prophets knew this, too, would happen. Long ago one of them wrote: "All moons, all years, all days, all winds take their course and pass away".

Notes:

to advance - зд. выдвигать collapse = downfall overtaxing - зд. истощение unbearable - невыносимый

to strangle - душить (задушить) immortality - endless life solitude - уединение

constellation - named groups of fixed stars prophet ['prɔfit] – пророк

7 b) Translate in writing the part of the text given in brackets.

7 c) Tell your classmates the central idea of the text, using the words in bold type (key words).

8 a) Read the text and translate in writing the part of the text given in brackets without using a dictionary.

'Sweat of the Sun' - Gold of Peru

/Exhibition of Peruvian prehistory/

/South American Indian civilizations, in an intriguing similarity with the ancient Egyptians, had elaborate burial rituals. The burial practices of Inca and pre-Inca societies required that members of the ruling elite should be mummified, wrapped in exquisite textiles, and laid in burial chambers accompanied by gold and silver objects, high quality ceramics, and beautifully ornamented wooden and metal tools. In death, as in life, the ancient Peruvians were adorned by gold earrings, gold nose ornaments and necklaces of gold and semi-precious stones.

In many of the cultures featured in the exhibition, the death of a king or noble could result in human sacrifice. The Incas believed that human fortunes were directed by gods, and human sacrifice was used in an attempt to win favour these mystical forces./

The exhibition, which covers 3,000 years of Peruvian prehistory, includes artifacts from the Nazca civilization which, around 300 A.D., created massive figures and geometric forms on the surface of the Peruvian desert. Some of the Lines are up to 120 metres across and can only be properly appreciated when viewed from the air. The subject of serious scholarship and sensational speculation, it has been argued that the Nazca

Lines are a gigantic astronomical calendar, ritual pathways, or even runways for visitors from outer space! 'Sweat of the Sun' Gold of Peru is unique opportunity to admire the arts and crafts

of long lost civilizations.

8 b) Ask your classmates questions to cover the contents of the text. Do it in written form.

8 c) Discuss with your classmates burial rituals, human sacrifices, artifacts of the Nazca civilization.

9 a) Read the text and then speak on one of the wonders. Add whatever information you can.

The Seven Wonders of the World

Of the seven celebrated creations of the ancient world known as The Seven Wonders of the World only the pyramids have survived.

In the 6th century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar [,nebjukəd'nezə] the king of Babylon, ordered to build beautiful gardens on the roof of his palace. These were the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon. They rose terrace upon terrace to a height of 64 metres and covered an area of 1,5 hectares. All sorts of trees and flowers were planted there. According to the story, these wonderful gardens were laid out to please a queen who came from a hilly country.

Next comes the statue of Zeus [zju:s], which was made by the famous sculptor Phidias

['fidiəs] for the temple in Olympia. Zeus - a gigantic figure, seven times lifesize - was seated on a golden throne decorated with precious stones. The fate of it is unknown.

The temple of Artemis ['a:timis] was erected in Ephesus ['efisis], a city in Asia Minor.

According to a legend, in 356 B.C. the temple was set on fire by Herostratus [hi'rɔstrətəs], who sought thereby to become famous. Some years later it was rebuilt. The new temple was all of white marble and filled with statues and works of art. Its columns were 20 metres in height, its length was 135 metres and its width 70 metres. It was destroyed by the Goths in the middle of the 3rd century A.D.

One of the Wonders has supplied by a widow's tender thought of her husband. Upon the death of king Mausolos [mə'sɔ:les], who had reigned over a small ancient state in Asia

Minor, his queen ordered to erect a beautiful tomb known as the Mausoleum [,mɔ:səliəm]. It was 50 metres high and its pyramid-like top was surmounted by gigantic statues of Mausolos and his queen. At the beginning of the 15th century it was destroyed by the

Crusaders.

The Colossus of Rhodes [roudz] had a short and inglorious history. A bronze statue of

the Greek sun god Helios ['hi:liəs] of about 35 metres in height, it was set up in 260 B.C. at the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes. Sixty years later it was overthrown by an earthquake.

The last of the Wonders was the Pharos ['fɛərəs] - the lighthouse of Alexandria

[,жlig'za:ndriə]. It was built late in the third century B.C. on the island of Pharos at the entrance to the harbour of Alexandria. For years the flames on its top guided the ships safely into the harbour of Alexandria. It was destroyed in an earthquake.

9 b) Compete in a contest: Who knows more about Wonders. Work in pairs.

10. Tell this story in English to a non-historian student.

The Discovery of the Sumerian Civilization

Когда в середине 19 века начались раскопки в древней Месопотамии (Mesopotamia), находки (the findings) ассоциировались с ассирийцами и вавилонянами (the Assyrians and Babylonians), народами, известными с древних времен. И только постепенно (Only gradually) совершенно (entirely) незнакомый народ, (гораздо более древний) появляется из небытия (emerged) - шумеры (the

Sumerians). Никто не слышал о них сотни лет назад, т.к. они сошли со сцены (had disappeared from the scene) задолго до прихода Александра Македонского (Alexander the Great) в Западную Азию (Western Asia). Тем не менее (Yet), их цивилизация стояла у истоков (the very beginning) прогресса человека и представляла, вероятно, самую древнюю цивилизацию на земле.

Сегодня полагают, что именно шумерам принадлежат (have introduced) всемирно известные открытия в математике, сельском хозяйстве, технологии, управлении,

архитектуре, литературе и, прежде всего, в изобретении письменности. Именно благодаря изучению (It was through the study) особенностей клинописных писаний

(cuneiform scripts), ученые впервые предположили (suspected) существование гораздо более древнего народа, чем народов, которые были известны как прародители (originators) клинописи. Это стало возможным после расшифровки

глиняных табличек, в которых находились случайные упоминания (occasional reference) о королевских личностях: Короле Шумер и Аккад (King of Sumer and

Akkad).

11 a) Test. Read the text with the help of a dictionary and be ready to fulfill the assignments.

The Rosetta Stone

Napoleon Bonaparte's ambition to control all the area round Mediterranean Sea led him and his French soldiers to Egypt. After losing a naval battle, they were forced to remain there for three years. In 1799, while constructing a fort, a soldier discovered a piece of stele (stone pillar bearing an inscription) known as the Rosetta stone. This famous stone, which would eventually lead to the deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics

[haiərə‘glifiks] dating to 3100 B.C., was written in three languages: hieroglyphics (picture writing), demotic (a shorthand version of hieroglyphics), and Greek. Scientists discovered that the characters, unlike those in English, could be written from right to left and in other directions as well.

Twenty-three years after discovery of the Rosetta stone, Jean Francois Champollion, a

French philologist, fluent in several languages, was able to decipher the first word -

Ptolemyname of an Egyptian ruler. This name was written inside an oval called a "cartouche". Further investigation revealed that cartouches contained names of important people of that period. Champollion painstakingly continued his search and was able to increase his growing list of known phonetic signs. He and an Englishman, Thomas Young, worked independently of each other to solve the deeply hidden mysteries of this strange language. Young believed that sound values could be assigned to the symbols, while Champollion insisted that the pictures represented words.

Notes:

cartouche -[ka:’tu:ʃ] - картуш -орнаментальный завиток

Test

1.How many years elapsed between the date of the oldest hieroglyphics deciphered by means of the Rosetta stone and stone’s discovery?

	a)1,301;	b) 1,799;	c) 3,100;	d) 4,899.
2.	Which of the following languages was NOT				written on
	the Rosetta stone?
	a)French,	b) demotic,	c) Greek,	d) hierogliphics.
3.	Which of the following statements is			NOT	true?

a) Cartouches contained names of prominent people of the period.

b)Champollion and Young worked together in an attempt to decipher the hieroglyphics.

c)One of Napoleon’s soldiers discovered the Rosetta stone.

d)Thomas Young believed that sound values could be assigned to the symbols.

4.When was the first word from the Rosetta stone deciphered?

a)3100 B.C. b) 1766

c) 1799

d) 1822

5.What was the first word that was deciphered from the Rosetta stone?

a)cartouche,

b)Ptolemy,

c)demotic,

d)Champollion.

6.Why were Napoleon’s soldiers in Egypt in 1799?

a)They were celebrating a naval victory?

b)They were looking for the Rosetta stone.

c)They were waiting to continue their campaign.

d)They were trying to decipher the hieroglyphics.

7.Who was responsible for deciphering the first word?

a)Champollion,

b)Young,

c)Ptolemy,

d)Napoleon.

11 b) Explain why you think the deciphering of the Rosetta stone is important for both archaeologists or philologists?

Vocabulary Study

12.Write out all the words from the texts for describing:

a)the archaeological evidence of ancient civilizations;

b)the level of their development.

Speech Practice

13. Choose one of the topics for a short talk to be given in class:

•The earliest known civilizations that flourished in the ancient Near East, America, Africa (the time of their existence, the place of their location, main occupations of the inhabitants).

•Proof (evidence) of the existence of ancient civilizations (archaeological finds, historical records, inscriptions, epic poems, etc.)

•The system of government and religious beliefs.

•The burial rituals.

•Advanced level of development of ancient civilizations.

14.Have a round-table discussion on the following problems:

1.What contributions were made to the progress of mankind by each of the ancient civilization?

2.Why did the ancient civilizations perish?

3.Did the conquerors try to preserve the civilization of ancient people?

4.The unsolved problems of the ancient civilizations.

Composition

15.1. Write a short definition of an ancient civilization.

2.Give a brief account of the ancient civilizations in Asia, Africa or America. If you have some latest information, don't forget to mention it.

3.Write about the importance of studying ancient civi lizations.

It's Interesting to Know

16. Look through the text. Explain the meaning of the phrase and say whether it is used nowadays. Give examples.

Bread and Circuses

The phrase 'bread and circuses' is taken from a satire by Juvenal, a Roman satirical poet. During the reign of Emperor Augustus it was the demand of the Roman populace.

The phrase is a translation loan of the Latin 'Panem et circenses!' (bread and cirsus games!) The parties struggling for political influence in Rome tried to canvass supporters among the poorest but most numerous city population by arranging for them feasts with free food and spectacular amusements, the favourite amusement being circus games. But the people did not care which party stood them free dinner, and Juvenal in his satire castigates the Roman mob for their indifference to politics.

Notes:

Juvenal ['dzu:vinl] Augustus [ɔ:'gʌstes] satire ['sжtaiə] circuses ['sə:kəsiz]

populace ['pɔpjuləs] - простой народ, чернь

to canvass ['kжnvəs] - собирать голоса (перед выборами)

spectacular [spek'tжkjulə] - эффектный to stand - зд. ставить

to castigate ['kжstigeit] - жестоко критиковать, бичевать mob - толпа, сборище

ROLEPLAY

You are a student of Art College. Write to your friend a letter, telling him about the ancient Maya’s culture and present day Mexican folk art. Use the following expressions:

The civilization dates back to… To flourish…

Marvelous architecture… Brilliant culture…

Sophisticated system of astronomy… Elaborate calendar…

Preservation of craft skills… Folk art in today’s Mexico…

To reflect craftsman’s cultural histories…

CHICHEN ITZA

Master builders, the lowland Maya flourished after A.D. 250 for at least a thousand years. Ruins of their cities dot the Yucatan Peninsula.

While Europe endured (continued) the Dark Ages, the Maya established scores of city-states. Governed by hereditary rulers, city-states often shared power as political allies. The Maya developed the most sophisticated system of writing in the Western Hemisphere, traced the path of the planet with great precision, and marked the passage of time with an elaborate calendar system.

Between A.D. 500 and 1200 the Maya built Chichen Itza. Encounters (meetings) with other Mesoamerican cultures may have influenced the blend (mixture) of architectural styles at this commercial and ceremonial center, where archaeologists have revealed steam baths, ball courts, temples, and what may be an observatory. The focal point of Chichen Itza is El Castillo, a 79-foot-high pyramid crowned by a temple.

El Castillo is thought by many to be the Maya calendar constructed in stone. Its four staircases have 91 steps each; include the top platform and the total is 365, the number of days in a solar year.

Inside the pyramid is yet another building of similar construction that houses a jade-inlaid [ʤeil ‘inleid] (инкрустируемый нефритом) throne in the image of a jaguar

['ʤжgjuə], a symbol of power. Nearby a sculpted human figure, a Chac Mool, may have served as an altar for religious offerings.

FOLK ART

Mexican folk art reflects artisans’ cultural histories and views of the environment. Artists often use materials supplied by nature to create practical housewares, decorative objects, musical instruments, and religious icons.

Collectors wander the local markets, where they can find palm-frond figures crafted in Puebla, ceramic trees of life fired in Acatlan, shawls woven in Tenancingo, and dance masks carved in Iguala. Passed from one generation to the next, from mentor (tutor) to student, skills are shared by entire families, who create pieces for each other and their neighbors that may find their way to museums and the galleries of private collectors. Yet economic need has caused many artists to produce their work in great quantity for export, removing their craft from the realm [‘relm] of traditional folk art. “What makes true folk art is how it is used,” says curator of Latin American Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art in Texas. “It changes with the needs of the people. It dies every day and is born every day.”

UNIT 4

ARCHAEOLOGY

Before you start:

What does archaeology study?

Is archaeology an independent science or it is a part of history science?

Archaeology is a science that came into being towards the beginning of the XX century, isn’t

it?

1.Read, translate the text with the help of a dictionary, and see whether you can answer the questions:

a) What is the other profession which can

be compared to archaeology? b) How do the two compare?

Archaeologists are Detectives Who Dig in the Dirt

Archaeologists have often been compared with detectives, as they hunt for clues about the lifestyles of ancient peoples.

Like detectives, archaeologists go into the field to locate and preserve all kinds of information. They also use high-tech scientific tools to analyze the evidence they collect and then carefully interpret their data. In addition, like detectives, archaeologists today are not solely concerned with the traditional ‘what’, ‘when’, and ‘where’ questions but try to answer the ‘how’ and ‘why’ ones, too. Moreover, like criminologists, archaeologists attempt to generalize from specific ‘why’ answers to broader theories.

Like many comparisons, however, the similarities between archaeologists and detectives cannot be pushed too far. One obvious difference is that archaeologists do not have informants or suspects they can question. The record that archaeologists study is mute. Thus, the archaeologists’ problem is how to get the remains of the past - from broken bits of pottery to large monuments - to “talk”.

2 a) Read the first part of the dialogue, translate it and be ready to speak on archaeology in general terms. Analyse and explain the words in bold type.

Part I

- What do you know about archaeology?

= Frankly speaking, not much. To some people the word archaeology suggests something as dry as dust, a pursuit followed by elderly, long-bearded professors; to others the word is full of romance, suggesting buried treasures.

-Neither idea is very close to the truth. Archaeology is the scientific study of the material remains of past human life and activities. These materials include relics, artifacts, monuments, etc.

= But how do archaeologists manage to find out something about the earliest inhabitants who lived before a word of their history was written?

-It is owing to the fact that an archaeologist deals with all the material remains of man: the objects he used and made, his dwelling places, his tools and weapons, his own bones and burial places with buried treasure.

= I see. So the main thing for an archaeologist is the romance of treasure hunt, isn't it?

- On the contrary, most archaeologists are not working with the expectation of finding a king's tomb or similar riches. They are aiming at throwing light on some portion of man's past by the careful piecing together of evidence, much of it apparently insignificant in itself.

Notes:

to suggest [sə'ʤ est] - предполагать, наводить на мысль

neither ['naiрə] - никакой; ни тот ни другой to include [in'klu:d] - включать (в себя)

to manage ['mжnidz] - удаваться, ухитряться to find out - обнаружить, узнать

owing to the fact - благодаря тому, что

expectation [ekspek'teiʃn] - ожидание to aim at - нацеливать, направлять

to throw light on - проливать свет на что-либо piecing ['pi:sin] - составление из кусочков

apparently [ə'pжrentli] - очевидно insignificant [ insig'nifikənt] - незначительный

Archaeological terms: archaeology [,a:ki'ɔləʤ i] archaeologic(al) [,a:kiə’lɔdzik(l)] archaeologist [,a:ki'ɔləʤ ist]

pursuit [pə'sju:t] - занятие

to bury ['beri] - хоронить, прятать

burial ['beriəl] - захоронение

burial hill (mound) - могильный холм burial place - место погребения

buried ['berid] - захороненный, спрятанный

treasure ['treʒə] - сокровище, клад to remain [ri'mein] - оставаться remains - останки, остатки

relics - останки, остатки

artifact ['a:tifжkt] - остатки материальной культуры древнего человека

tomb [tu:m] - могила, надгробный памятник

evidence ['evidəns] - зд. археологические свидетельства, находки

2 b) Read the second part of the dialogue and answer the questions. Part II

= Can you explain why the archaeologists carry on their excavations?

-To begin with, archaeology is not an end in itself, not just an abstract study. It is the method of finding out about the past of the human race in its material aspects, and the study of the products of this past. These aspects may be the way people lived, the way they worshipped, the way they built, their art, their trade, their travels.

= But all these aspects are studied by historians as well, aren't they?

-Certainly, but historians are concerned primarily with written records, and the earliest systems of writing were only invented some five thousand years ago, whereas man's apelike ancestors appeared on earth about half-a-million years ago. The past does not vanish without a trace. The ruins of ancient buildings and of graves remain. In them clothing, utensils, weapons and other things are found. To learn how people lived long ago these things have to be dug up and studied.

= What instruments do archaeologists need for their work?

-Archaeology involves skilled and laborious work. So they use different machines, then spades and picks. In places where machines and spades are found too big, smaller tools like knives, pincers and brushes are used.

=As far as I've understood the data of archaeological research is used to reconstruct various social and economic periods of history for which no written sources exist.

-Good for you. Now you know what archaeology deals with.

=Thanks a lot.

-You're welcome.

Notes:

to carry on - проводить end - зд. цель

to be concerned [kən'sə:nd] - быть заинтересованным

primarily ['praimərili] - главным образом to invent [in'vent] - изобретать

to appear [ə'piə] - появляться clothing [k'louрin ] - одежда

to involve [in'vɔlv] - зд. включать в себя skilled - опытный, квалифицированный

laborious [lə'bɔ:riəs] - трудный, трудоемкий

Archaeological terms:

to worship ['wɔ:ʃip] - поклоняться ancestor ['жnsistə] - предок

to vanish ['vжniʃ] - исчезать trace ['treis] - след

grave [greiv] - могила utensils ['ju:tenslz] pl. - утварь to dig up - рыть, копать spade - лопата

pick - кирка

pincers ['pinsəz] - щипцы, пинцет brush ['brʌʃ] - щетка, кисть

data ['deitə] - данные, факты

research [ri'sə:ʧ] - научное исследование

3.Answer the questions:

1.How does the study of the remnants of the past help archaeologists in their work?

2.In what way does the work of archaeologists differ from that of

historians?

3.Do you know what stages of excavations are and what archaeologists need for their work.

4. What	do you	think	of this profession? Isn't	it a	romantic one?
5. What	is a	short	definition of archaeology	as	a science?

4a) Read the text, put in the correct articles, and say:

a)whether you know the meaning of the word 'Stonehenge';

b)what this monument was used for (give your reasons);

c)if Stonehenge is still a mystery to scholars (give your reasons).

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is ... oldest of Britain's famous monuments. It has stood in ... middle of southern England for over 3,500 years. We don't know who built it, but it must have taken them ... very long time. They had to bring ... biggest stones, which weighed thirty tonnes, from hills twenty miles away, and they brought ... smaller fourtonne stones 200 miles from

Wales. Even today this would be extremely difficult to do.

Archaeologists used to think that Stonehenge was just ... temple for religious ceremonies. Now they think it was also ... kind of calendar, which showed ... movements of ... sun and ... moon. These were probably very important to ... builders of Stonehenge for religious reasons, and because they were farmers who needed to know exactly when they had to plant and harvest their crops.

If Stonehenge and the many smaller stone circles in Britain and France really are calendars, we have to change our ideas about people long ago. They weren't primitive or ignorant people because it must have taken years of careful study to learn where to put the huge stones. They must have also thought very carefully about how to move ... stones over long distances. Though it's interesting to see Stonehenge today, ... early Britons who built it are far more fascinating.

Notes:

Stonehenge [stounhendz]

must have taken - должно быть им потребовалось used to think - прежде думали

4 b) Express agreement or disagreement with the following. Begin your answer with: ’Certainly you are right’ or ‘ I'm afraid you are wrong’.

1.Stonehenge belongs to the Paleolithic Age.

2.The builders of Stonehenge were known as farmers.

3.It wasn't easy for the ancient people to build this monument, was it?

4.This monument was important for druids.

5.It took people 20 or 30 years to build Stonehenge.

6.The ancient people who built Stonehenge acquired much scientific knowledge.

7.Stonehenge was built just for the fun of it.

5.Read the text and say who came before Columbus and by what way. Do you agree with the main idea of the text? Give your reasons.

They came before Columbus

A team of Russian and American archaeologists said that their discovery of 9,000-year- old artifacts on an Aleutian Island was the 'first direct link' that the first men in North

America came from Siberia.

The archaeologists said several kinds of tool blades unearthed on Anangula Island this summer matched other blades previously discovered in Siberia.

'This is the first direct link we've had that the Aleuts came to the United States via the Bering land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska about 9,000 years ago', Dr. William Laughling, head of the American team of eight, told a press conference at the University of Connecticut.

'With this recent expedition, we have now found all three links: the skeleton of the Aleut who killed the whale, what he killed it with and the bones of the whale.'

Notes:

blade ['bleid] – the cutting part of an instrument or tool to match [mжʧ] - соответствовать, подходить

via ['vaiə] - через