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UNIT 3 ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Before you start:
What ancient civilizations do you know?
Which of them are the oldest?
Which of them flourished on the territory of your country (your native place)?
1. Read and translate the text, paying attention to the translation of passive constructions.
The Civilizations of Ancient Mexico
Many ruins, the remnants of ancient cities and villages, are scattered over nearly all the present-day Mexico. Sculptures, great monoliths, small terracotta masks and idols have constantly been ploughed up in some parts of the country. These, as well as arms, jewels, and many other objects discovered there, are proofs of a great degree of culture attained by the native people. The study of ancient Indian civilizations, the problems, which are connected with the origin of these peoples, their languages and scripts have agitated scholars for centuries.
The Spaniards were the first to arrive in America. The first conquest in the West Indies during last years of the 15th century was a failure for the Spanish adventurers in search of riches. Then a rumour began to spread that beyond the mountains there lived the emperor of the people called the Aztecs. It was said that he lived in a gold castle, slept in a gold bed and ate from gold plates.
In 1519, six hundred Spaniards led by Hernando Cortez landed at the Mexican coast. In two years and five months they conquered the capital of the "Aztec Empire".
The Aztec Empire flourished on the territory of present Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. The Aztecs and other highly civilized peoples inhabited the central and southern parts of the country. One hundred and twenty five languages were spoken throughout the area. A system of writing and an efficient numerical system were widely used. They had a calendar of their own which was based in part on the solar year. The Aztecs raised maize, beans and other aboriginal crops. Trade was highly developed. They had an organized government and a priesthood which administered their elaborate religion.
The conquerors were greatly impressed by the wealth of the native rulers and the advanced culture of the priests. But they were more ruthless in trampling out the "heathen" civilizations of the American Indians and a decade later all the beautiful towns were churned to rubble, the manuscripts reduced to ashes and most of the people destroyed or enslaved.
Notes:
remnant -остаток
to scatter [s'kжtə] - разбрасывать
idol ['aidl]
to plough [p'lau] - пахать
arms pl. - оружие
jewels ['ʤ u:əlz] - драгоценности
proof [p'ru:f]-доказательство
to attain - достигать
script -зд. письменность
to arrive = to come
to conquer ['kɔnkə] - завоевывать
conqueror ['kɔnkərə] -завоеватель
conquest ['kɔnkwest] - завоевание
failure ['feiljə] - неудача, провал
adventurer [ d'ventʧərə] - искатель приключений
search [sə:ʧ ] - поиск
rumour ['ru:mə] - слух, молва
to spread - распространяться
Aztec ['жztek]
Spaniard ['spжnjəd]
Hernando Cortez [er'na:ndou 'kɔ:rtez]
to flourish ['flʌriʃ] - процветать
to raise ['reiz] -выращивать
priest ['pri:st] -священник
priesthood ['pri:sthud] - священство, жречество
elaborate [i'lжbərit ] - тщательно разработанный
advanced [əd'va:nst] -передовой
ruthless -безжалостный
trampling - попирание
heathen [hi:dn] -зд. языческий
to churn to rubble [ʧ’ə:n tə rʌbl] -сжигать дотла
to reduce [ri'dju:s] - зд. превращать
ashes [жʃiz] pl. - пепел, зола
to destroy [dis'trɔi] -разрушать
to enslave - порабощать
2. Consult the text and find the words
a) close in meaning to: area, precious stone, weapons, evidence, to grow
(crops), to manage, commerce;
b) opposite in meaning to: foreign, success, decay, inefficient;
c) the English equivalents of: достичь высокой степени цивилизации; выращивать различные культуры; распространять слухи; производить сильное впечатление на; управлять делами государства; коренное население; таинственная маска; сжигать дотла; в поисках богатств.
3. Express agreement or disagreement with the following. Begin your answer with: "I think it's true". "I'm afraid I can't agree to that". "I think it's wrong".
1.Remnants of civilization of Ancient Mexico are proofs of a great
degree of culture attained by the native people.
2. Ancient Indian civilizations present no riddles to solve.
3. The first Europeans to arrive in America came from Britain in
search of riches.
4. A rumour began to spread that the Aztecs were wild people,
dangerous to deal with.
5. Spaniards led by Cortez landed at the Mexican coast in 1519.
6. The Aztec Empire is known to have perished long before the
Spaniards landed in America.
7. The conquerors were greatly impressed by the advanced culture of
the American Indians.
4. Render the text in detail using the following plan:
1. The Aztec civilization of ancient Mexico.
2. The discovery of the American continent by the Europeans.
3. The conquest of the Aztec state by the Spanish adventurers.
4. The end of the civilizations of the American Indians.
5. Remnants of the ancient Indian civilizations found in present Mexico.
5 a) Read the text, put in the right article, and define its general idea and character (scientific, popular science or fiction).
The Mayas
... Mayas are one of ... most important aboriginal peoples of ... America.
On the basis of the dates of ... Mayan inscriptions it is considered that there existed ... Maya Old Empire. It flourished for about 450 years in ... Southern Yucatan. ... most probable date of ... beginning of Maya Old Empire civilization is ... first century of ... Christian Era. The Old Empire period was ... golden age of Mayan art and culture. Great cities rose up and flourished on ... territory of ... Empire. The mathematical and astronomical science attained high degree of development. Their calendar was even more accurate than the Julian calendar. Their system of writing presents ... remarkable stage of advancement. Their art was highly developed.
By ... time of ... Spanish conquest ... Maya Empire had already come to ... end. ... reason of its end is uncertain. It is to be hoped that future investigation will find ... real solution of this and other problems.
Notes:
Southern Yucatan ['sʌрən ju:kə'tən]
accurate ['жkjurit] - точный
Julian ['ʤ u:liən]
investigation - научное исследование
5 b) Listen to the statements and answer which of them are not true to fact. Correct them.
1. Maya Old Empire flourished only for one hundred years.
2. It began to exist in the 1st century A.D.
3. There were only villages on its territory.
4. Science was highly developed.
5. There is a definite reason for the end of the Maya Empire.
5 c) Give the main points of the text in a few sentences.
6 a) Listen to the text and answer the question: In what connection are the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs mentioned in this text?
MYSTERIES OF THE MAYA /A question of class/
In the great epoch of Maya civilization, there was a profound cultural dichotomy. On one hand, you find the elite - a small group of priests and chiefs charged with preserving knowledge. They understood astronomy, architecture, engineering, art. They alone knew how to plan the building of the great monuments. They alone knew the meaning of
everything in the temples. They could predict eclipses and cast horoscopes. In return, they led splendid lives.
It was the function of the rest of the population to provide luxuries for the lords, as well as to meet all their everyday needs. So the common people farmed, cut wood, hunted, and then brought the fruits of their labour to the ceremonial centres. When the elite traveled, it was even the duty of the people to carry them in litters on their shoulders.
Among the ruins of Palenque there is the somber, awesome tomb of Pacal, the powerful ruler who died A.D.694, and who is buried deep in the heart of a pyramid called the Temple of the Inscriptions, the most elaborate pyramid tomb in the New World. The similarities between this tomb and the crypts of the Egyptian pharaohs who ruled earlier beside the Nile are striking. In each instance, pyramids rose above the burial sites, and the builders took elaborate precautions to conceal the entries; inside the tombs, grave goods accompanied the corpse into the afterlife; the sarcophagus top bore the likeness of the dead king. Yet the burial tomb of Pacal is more barbarious. Six youthful victims were slaughtered outside this ruler's door to serve him in the hereafter.
Notes
profound [prə‘faund] - глубокий
dichotomy [di’kɔ:təmi] – дихотомия (последовательное деление на две части)
elite [‘eilit]
to charge with – вменять в обязанность, возлагать ответственность
eclipse [i’klips] - затмение
cast horoscope [‘hɔrəskoup] – составлять гороскоп
luxury [‘lʌkʃəri] - роскошь
litters - носилки
somber - мрачный
awesome [‘ɔ:səm] – внушающий благоговение
crypt - склеп
precaution [prə‘kɔ:ʃn] - предостережение
to conceal [kən’si:l] – скрытьб утаить
sarcophagus [sə‘kɔfəgəs]
bear (bore, born) – зд. нести изображение
slaughter [‘slɔ:tə] – убить
6 b) Look through the text (you are given 2 minutes) and find the places where it is said about:
1) class division; 2) the duties of each class; 3) the striking similarities between Mexican and Egyptian pyramid tombs; 4) more barbarious character of Pacal's burial.
6 c) Tell your classmates the gist of the text.
7a) Read the text to get its general idea. Entitle it.
Most Mayanists advance uncertain theories for the sudden collapse of the Classic culture. A failure of trade, overtaxing of agricultural means, earthquake, hurricane, invasion and disease are cited. Sir Thompson has written that peasant revolt played a key role in the collapse. Professor Barrera agrees. "The gap between the elite and the peasantry grew wider with the passage of time," he says. "At a certain point, the ever-increasing demands of the aristocracy became unbearable. The people rebelled. Their only weapon was their overwhelming numbers. They probably strangled most of their overlords with their bare hands".
/Today, only the ruins remain. But they possess a power of their own - an immortality compounded of stone, silence and solitude. Overhead, the constellations, so familiar to
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 -Ptolemy- name 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 ape-like 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?
4 a) 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
whale ['weil] - кит
Connecticut [kə'netikət]
6 a) Test. Read the text (you are given 5 minutes) and fulfil the
assignments.
The Sepulchre of a Sarmatian Queen Found
Decorations made by an antique master, and cult and everyday objects dating to the 1st-2nd centuries A.D. have been found in a sepulchre [‘sepəlkə] of a Sarmatian queen unearthed by an archaeological expedition from Donetsk University (the Ukraine).
There are about 4,000 burial mounds on the territory of the Donetsk Region. Some of them date back to the Scythian-Sarmatian era. The warlike tribes of Sarmatians came to the steppes near the Black Sea in the 3rd century B.C., routing the Scythians who were related to them by origin. The flourishing of Sarmatian culture and might happened in the 1st-2nd centuries A.D., and it is also to this period that the rare finds from the sepulchre of a Sarmatian queen in Ukraine belong. The remains of a woman's dress made of gold-brocaded fabric, as well as a multitude of golden decorations, led the archaeologists to believe that their find was a sepulchre of a Sarmatian queen. Through some ancient custom she had died a violent death to follow her dead husband. On a bronze pot discovered in the mound the archaeologists found a tamga - the sign of a royal dynasty. The same sign was found on bronze jars and bowls of Roman and Hellenic make from the same mound.
Telling about the Sarmatians' way of life, historians noted that even the women of that nomadic tribe were warriors and fought the enemies as men's equals.
The fighting nature of the young Sarmatian woman did not prevent her from remaining feminine: she liked exquisite decorations, nice clothes and makeup. Archaeologists uncovered in the mound gold rings, earrings, a gold medallion and a gold vessel with remains of perfumes, inlaid with filigree and precious stones - a masterpiece of a jeweller.
Also found in the tomb were bronze scales, dice cut out of amber, religious miniature figurines, antique masks. All these, archaeologists believe, are objects of cult. Obviously, the young Sarmatian woman was also a priestess.
"The study of the Sarmatian tomb", says the head of the expedition, "gives us new information on the mode of life, customs and connections of the Sarmatian tribes".
Test
1. Archaeological expedition unearthed
a) the sepulchre of Sarmatian king;
b) the unknown tomb;
c) the grave of Sarmatian queen.
2. There are … burial mounds on the territory of the Donetsk region
a) practically no;
b) approximately to four thousand;
c) more than 4,000.
3. The archaeological finds belong to
a) the 3rd century B.C.;
b) the 1st - 2nd centuries A.D.;
c) the 3rd century A.D.
4. The Sarmatian queen
a) was killed;
b) died a natural death;
c) starved to death.
5. Sarmatian women were
a) peaceful persons;
b) interested in military affairs;
c) warlike as well as peaceful persons.
6. Archaeologists found … in the grave
a) stone beads;
b) luxurious jewelry;
c) modest objects.
6 b) Read the text for the second time and answer the questions:
1. What kind of people were Sarmatians?
2. What artifacts made archaeologists think that the grave belonged to
a) woman; b) a Sarmatian queen, c) a priestess.
3. Did these finds enlarge the knowledge of archaeologists of the Sarmatian tribes? In what way?
7. Explain in English the main idea of this text to a non-historian student.
В начале ХХ века выдающийся русский археолог В.А.Городцов на Северном Донце (in the Northern Donets basin) вел раскопки курганов (barrows), большинство из которых (most of them) относились к эпохе меди-бронзы (to the Copper-Bronze Age). Городцов заметил, что наиболее древние погрения располагались в простых ямах (in simple pits), последующие по времени (that later burials) - в так называемых катакомбах (in the so-called "catacombs"); наиболее поздние находились в деревянных срубах (in timber-framed structures).
Взяв за основу зти три типа погребальных сооружений (tomb construction), В.А.Городцов выделил (distinguished) три археологические культуры: ямную, катакомбную и срубную (Old Pit, Catacomb and Timber-Frame). При этом было замечено, что каждому типу соответствуют определенная поза захороненного (the skeleton's position) и разные вещи (grave goods), положенные в могилу. Особенно явно (Notably) различалась керамика (the pottery).
Благодаря работам исследователей удалось установить (have been able to establish) территорию, которую занимали племена каждой из культур, выяснить время их существования (the time of their existence), изучить хозяйство и быт (to study their economy and everyday life), познакомиться (to examine) с произведениями древнего искусства.
8. Translate this text into English in writing.
Микенцы
С момента первой публикации в 1964 г. книга лорда Тейлора "Микенцы" (William Taylour "The Mycenaeans" [mai’sinianz]) зарекомендовала себя (has established itself) как лучшая исследовательская работа в области археологии о микенцах. В книге рассматриваются великие открытия, сделанные Шлиманом (Schliemann) и его последователями в цитаделях Микен (Mycenae [mai’sini]), Тиринфе (Tiryns [‘taiərins]), Пилосе (Pyloc [‘pailɔk]), подтверждающие, что рассказ Гомера (Homer) о Троянской войне (Troy [trɔi]) не сказка, а быль. В книге рассматриваются и произведения искусств, проливающие свет на блестящую цивилизацию; и, прежде всего, книга охватывает историю подъема и падения (the rise and fall) в течение 400 лет этой великой цивилизации, которая оставила свой отпечаток на (that set its trace on) на бронзовом веке Средиземноморья и завещала (bequeathed [bi'kwi:рt]) свое наследие Грекам Классического периода.
Vocabulary Study
9. Write out a)all the archaeological terms from the texts grouping them under the headings: 'Remains or Relics', 'Artifacts', 'Monuments'; b) all the verbs that deal with the work of archaeologists.
Speech practice
10. Choose one of the topics for a short talk to be given in class:
•Archaeology is a science.
•The main aims of archaeology.
•The specific features of archaeology.
•The profession of an archaeologist is important for present-day life.
•Tell your classmates about one of the most interesting (mysterious)
discoveries from your point of view.
•Tell your classmates about one of the most prominent archaeologists.
11. Have a round-table discussion on one of the topics given above.
Composition
12 a) Write a short definition of archaeology as a science.
b) Excite your friend's curiosity of archaeological profession.
c) Write a paragraph about the latest discovery in archaeology.
It's interesting to know.
13 a) Look through the text and explain the meaning of the phrase and say whether it is used nowadays. Give examples.
To bury one's talent
A talent was an ancient monetary unit, a gold or silver coin. The phrase to bury one's talent was taken from a Gospel parable. A slave buried in the ground the money (a talent) given to him by his master. When the man returned and asked the slave what he had done with the money, the latter replied that he had hidden the talent in the ground and had it quite safe. The master reproached his slave for being lazy, adding that he could have lent the money to the traders and thus have made more money.
In the course of time the word talent changed its meaning and came to denote the natural endowments of man. To bury one's talent means to disregard one's abilities and gifts, to make no use of them.
Notes:
Parable ['pжrəbl], course ['kɔ:s], endowments [in'daumənts]
13 b) Do the following two-way translation:
- Откуда возникло выражение зарыть талант в землю?
= The phrase is drawn from a Gospel parable about a slave and his
master.
- В притче, насколько я помню, слово талант имеет значение
отличное от современного.
= You are right. There talent is used in its original meaning and denotes
an ancient monetary unit.
- Как распорядился раб деньгами, полученными от хозяина?
= The slave secreted the talent in the ground and on his master's return
said that he had all his money safe.
- Но хозяин, кажется, вовсе не стал благодарить или хвалить его за
бережливость, не так ли?
= Just on the contrary. The master reproached the slave for being lazy.
- А как, по мнению хозяина, раб должен был распорядиться
деньгами?
= The master said that the slave could have lent the money to the
traders and thus could have made more money.
- С течением времени слово талант изменило свое значение и
стало синонимом природных способностей человека.
= And the expression 'to bury one's talent' changed the meaning
accordingly. Now it means to disregard one's abilities and gifts, to make
no use of them.
ROLEPLAY
You are a great scientist in antiquity. Mark the following statements as true or false, according to the contents of the article.
1. The most important heritage of antiquity in Italy was architecture.
2. The Greek and Latin writers’ influence on the Italian mind in the 14th century was great due to the discovery of new conception.
3. Only some privileged Latin writers can draw their inspiration from the ancient treasure.
4. Petrarch worshiped Homer as he could read Homer’s works in the original.
5. A complete Latin translation of Homer’s Iliad was not a good one.
6. The 15th century saw a real boom in the field of translation from Greek in Italy.
THE CLASSICS
But the literary bequests of antiquity , Greek as well as Latin, were of far more importance than architectural, and indeed than all the artistic remains which it had left. They were held in the most absolute sense to be springs of all knowledge. The literary conditions of that age of great discoveries have often been set forth; no more can here be attempted than to point out a few less-known features of the picture.
Great as was the influence of the old writers on the Italian mind in the 14th century and before, yet that influence was due rather to the wide diffusion of what had long been known than to the discovery of much that was new. The most popular Latin poets, historians, orators and letter-writers, together with the number of Latin translations of single works of Aristotle, Plutarch, and a few other Greek authors, constituted the treasure from which a few favoured individuals in the time of Petrarch and Boccaccio drew their inspiration. The former, as is well known, owned and kept with religious care a Greek Homer, which he was unable to read. A complete Latin translation of the Iliad and Odyssey, though a very bad one, was made at Petrarch’s suggestion, and with Boccaccio’s help, by a Calabrian Greek, Leonzio Pilato. But with the 15th century began the long list of new discoveries, the systematic creation of libraries by means of copies, and the rapid multiplication of translations from the Greek.
UNIT 5 CALENDARS, ALPHABETS, LIBRARIES
Before you start:
In the course of history men used various calendar systems.
Could you name some of them?
How many alphabetic scripts do you know of?
What was the largest and the most famous library in the ancient world?
1 a) Read and translate the text.
How the Calendar Came about
The word "calendar" has been derived from the Latin "calends", the day of the new moon and the first day of the ancient Roman month. The calendar now in use throughout the world is called the Gregorian calendar; it was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th century.
Though in early days a calendar was required primarily for religious observance, it was used for civil purposes as well. Unlike modern man, who uses artificial time intervals, primitive man utilized the cycle of recurring natural phenomena, the most obvious and most precise of which were the alternation of night and day and phases of the moon. Other less precise but naturally recurring phenomena were also made use of for calendar purposes, e.g. the sprouting of leaves, the coming of the rains, etc. Longer periods of time were often marked off by the number of harvests, the number of winters or some other occurrences. Thus a child who had lived through ten harvests or ten snows was ten years old.
Primitive man was intrigued by various celestial phenomena which displayed themselves in the clear night skies. He had recognized stars long before he invented written records. Principal stars were grouped into patterns which men identified with familiar animals or with the gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines and creatures of mythology. Since the appearance of the predominant constellations coincided with the natural phenomena, it was possible to trace the path of the moon and that of the sun through the sky. Those constellations were visible just before sunrise, or just after sunset, so primitive man naturally watched them as he rose with the dawn and 'went to bed' at sundown. The risings and settings of stars allowed him to derive the position of the sun among the stars and thus a calendrical year was ultimately obtained.
The height to which the sun rose above the horizon at midday was carefully observed by men and finally it was noticed that the sun was above the horizon for the longest period at midsummer. The shadows which were cast by trees were used by primitive civilizations to measure the altitudes of the sun. In such a way the seasons were discerned.
Notes:
cycle ['saikl]
phenomenon [fi'nɔ:minən], pl. phenomena
occurence[ə'kʌrəns]-случай, событие
hero ['hiərou]
heroine [‘herouin]
to intrigue [in'tri:g]
to coincide [koun'said] -совпадать
height [hait] - высота
altitude ['жltitju:d] - высота
to discern [di'sə:n] - различать, распознавать
crescent [kresnt] - полумесяц
phase [feiz]
precise [pri'saiz] - точный
calendar ['kжlində]
artificial [,a:ti'fiʃəl] - искусственный
to utilize ['ju:tilaiz] - использовать
to recognize ['rekəgnaiz] - узнавать
to identify [ai'dentifai]
mythology [mi'рɔlɔdzi]
predominant [pri'dɔminənt] - преобладающий
constelation [,kɔnstə'leiʃn] - созвездие
approximation [əpr,ɔksi 'meiʃən] - приближение
celestial [si'lestjəl]
1 b) Express agreement or disagreement with the following. Begin your answer with: 'Certainly you are right' or 'I'm afraid you are wrong'.
1. The Latin "calends" from which the word "calendar" is derived was
the first day of the ancient Roman week.
2. Early man required a calendar only for religious purposes.
3. The alternation of night and day and phases of the moon were the
most obvious and most precise of the recurring natural phenomena
which primitive man used for calendar purposes.
4. Man began to recognize stars long before he invented written
records.
5. Primitive people did not pay attention to various celestial
phenomena.
2. Consult the text and find:
a) a word close in meaning to: aim, route, event, exact, different, mainly,
evidently, to show, to puzzle;
b) a word opposite in meaning to: coward, late, unfamiliar, invisible,
disappear;
c) the English equivalents of the following: григорианский календарь;
явление природы; соблюдение религиозных праздников; смена дня и
ночи; мифологические существа; главные созвездия; различать
времена года; в отличие от современного человека; отождествлять с... .
3. Translate the sentences into English.
1. Появление календаря было вызвано (объясняется) потребностью человека вести отсчет времени года.
2. Календами в древнегреческом календаре назывался первый день каждого месяца.
3. Юлианский (Julian) и григорианский календари называют календарями старого и нового стиля.
4. Юлианский календарь был заменен григорианским в 1582г.
5. В нашей стране григорианский календарь впервые введен в феврале 1918г.
4. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the origin of the word "calendar"?
2. What calendar is used now throughout the world?
3. Why is it called the Gregorian calendar?
4. What did primitive man utilize to discern time divisions?
5. What celestial bodies could primitive man observe in the sky?
6. What helped obtain a calendar year?
7. What did people identify principal stars with?
8. In what way were the seasons discerned?
5. Read, translate and entitle the text. Render it by answering the following questions:
1. What is the text devoted to?
2. What facts does it provide the reader with?
3. Find the sentence in the text where the main idea is expressed.
4. Do you agree with the author's point of view? (Give your reason).
Up to now historians have assumed that calendars came into being with the advent of agriculture, for man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons. Recent scientific evidence seems to indicate that this assumption is incorrect.
Historians have long been puzzled by dots, lines and symbols that have been engraved on walls, bones, and the ivory tusks of mammoths. The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing during the last Ice Age which began about 35.000 B.C. and ended about 10.000 B.C.
By correlating markings made in various parts of the world, historians have been able to read this difficult code. They have found that it is connected with the passage of days and the phases of the moon.
It is in fact a primitive type of calendar. It has long been known that the hunting scenes, depicted on walls, were not simply a form of artistic expression. They had a definite meaning, for they were as near as early man could get to writing. It is possible that there is a definite relation between these paintings and the markings that sometimes accompany them. It seems that man was making a real effort to understand the seasons 20.000 years earlier than have been supposed.
6. Read and translate the text (you are given 3 minutes). Remember as many facts as you can to speak on the first historical writings.
Of course, the ruins of buildings, weapons, jewelry and other objects can tell us much about how people used to live in ancient times. But we learn most about the past from what people wrote. People learned to write a very long time ago.
In Armenia, for instance, one could find stone tablets with inscriptions that were carved on them more than two thousand five hundred years ago. Carved by the orders of the kings, who ruled them, these inscriptions described various military campaigns and conquests, the capture of prisoners and other booty as well as the building of canals and cities.
During excavations in Central Asia, wooden tablets and bits of leather with writing on them were discovered. Scholars are still unable to read many of them.
In Novgorod archaeologists found birch-bark scrolls. These scrolls proved to be letters, receipts, student notes, and the like.
Most of the ancient books that had come down to us were written on parchment. One such manuscript was discovered in the library of an old monastery. This splendid poem was written about eight hundred years ago and was called 'The Lay of the Warfare Waged by Igor'. In it, the ancient poet described a campaign that Russian people fought against the warlike nomads.
Scholars took great pains to collect and study ancient objects and manuscripts as well as folklore and legends.
Notes:
jewelry ['ʤ u:əlri] - драгоценности
tablet [tжblit] - табличка
carved ['ka:vd] - высеченный
capture ['kжptə] - захват
prisoner of war [‘prisənə] - пленник
booty [bu:ti] - трофей
leather [leрə] - кожа (выделанная)
birch-bark [bə:ʧ ba:k] - береста
scroll [skroul] - свиток
receipt [ri'si:t] – рецепт (особенно кулинарный), расписка
parchment ['pa:ʧment]
manuscript ['mжnjuskript]
folklore [fouk'lɔ:]
legend [leʤ end]
7. Answer the following questions:
1. What did the first inscriptions describe?
2. Where were these inscriptions found?
3. What forms of the first alphabet do you know?
4. Was it difficult to read the first alphabets?
5. What material did people use for ancient books?
8 a) Read, translate the text and be ready to make up a dialogue on the theme.
Libraries of Ancient Times
When was the first library established? Only a hundred years ago the two Egyptian libraries which were mentioned by the Greek historian Diodorus (1st century B.C.) were looked upon as the earliest examples of such institutions, if indeed, they were not fabulous. Now we have indisputable evidence of libraries at a much earlier date.
In 1850 the famous English archaeologist Layard, being then engaged in unearthing Assurbanipal's palace (VII c. B.C.), came across several chambers containing a great number of records - decrees of Assyrian kings, accounts of wars, works on astronomy - as well as dictionaries and text-books. Having deciphered the tablets, the philologist had good reason to believe that the library had been extensively used. It had a kind of catalogue and a systematic arrangement of shelves. Four decades later, while excavating an ancient Babylonian site, archaeologists exposed a series of rooms. And there, stored neatly upon shelves were some 25.000 clay tablets, part of an ancient temple library. The library existed in the third millenium B.C. and was adjunct to the temple school. Judging by its careful arrangement under separate subjects and on separate shelves, the students could enjoy the use of a good library of reference.
The greatest library of the ancient world grew up in Alexandria in Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. It consisted of two large collections. The larger and more famous one was housed in a school which was modelled after Aristotle's Academy in Athens. The smaller collection was placed in a temple of an Egyptian god. At the height, around 200 B.C., the collections contained several hundred thousand rolls. Being connected with a number of outstanding names in Greek literature, the Alexandrian library was the greatest centre of culture in the ancient world.
The ultimate fate of the library is almost uncertain as are the names of the librarians. Apparently at least part of the larger collection was burnt in the fighting between the Egyptians and Romans around 43 B.C. Having later been complemented by the
collections of other ancient libraries, the library in Alexandria came into world prominence again. But in 391 A.D. the library was burnt by the order of one of the Christian emperors.
Notes:
Diodorus [,daiə'dɔ:rəs]
Assurbanipal [,eisur 'ba:nipa:l]
Aristotle ['жristɔtl]
Layard [lɛəd]
fabulous ['fж bjuləs] - мифический
indisputable [,indis 'pju:təbl]
evidence ['evidəns] - доказательство
chamber ['ʧeimbə] - зд. комната
to decipher [di'saifə] - расшифровывать
series ['siəri:z]
adjunct ['жdzʌnkt] - зд. дополнение
separate ['seprit]
reference ['refrəns] - справка, ссылка
to model [mɔdl] - создавать по образцу
ultimate ['ʌltimit] - окончательно
to complement ['kɔmpliment] – дополнять
8 b) Explain the underlined grammar forms in the text.
8 c) Consult the text and find the English equivalents of the following:
рассматриваться; неоспоримое доказательство; наталкиваться; иметь достаточно оснований, чтобы считать; широко использоваться; древняя библиотека храма; в университете при храме была библиотека; судя по; справочная библиотека; размещаться, располагаться; собрание книг, рукописей; окончательная судьба; будучи дополненной; по-видимому; занимать видное положение; по