Uchebnoe_posobie_Iz_istorii_iskusstv_Ch1

8)huge –огромный;

9)carving – резная работа;

10)vast – обширный, громадный;

11)dedicate – посвящать, предназначать;

12)plunder – грабить.

2. Answer the questions.

1.What was the capital of Babylonia?

2.How did Herodotus describe Babylon?

3.What were the walls of the city made of?

4.Where did religious processions pass during festivals?

5.What parts did Euphrates divide the city?

6.Who were two famous temples dedicated to?

7.How were the “hanging gardens” constructed?

8.When was Babylon captured?

3. Say if these statements are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1.The walls were made of sundried brick, more than 90 meters high and 25 meters thick.

2.Marduk was the chief Babylonian god.

3.The towers crowed a huge gate called the Ishtar gate.

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4. A four-horse coach could turn round on the top of the

walls.

5.Babylon was captured in 589 B.C. by the Persian king

Cyrus.

6.One of the temples was built in honour of the god Marduk.

4. Find antonyms to the following words in the text and make four sentences with them.

Thin, unsteady, unknown, modern, round, tiny, low, few, narrow, bad.

5. Put different adjectives, adverbs and nouns in this sentence to make it more interesting and informative.

Babylon was the capital of Babylonia.

6. Fill in the gaps with the Past Simple of the verbs in brackets.

1.Trees and plants (to cover) the brick terraces.

2.The wide sacred street (to lead) out of the city at a huge gate.

3.The large walls (to surround) Babylon.

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4.The Greek historians Herodotus (to write) about the great size and magnificence of Babylon.

5.The walls (to be) more than 90 meters high and 24 meters thick.

7. Find the English equivalents for the following.

Описывать, обоженный кирпич, прямоугольное здание, вести из, внешние лестницы, окруженный стенами, более чем, внутренний двор, такой прочный, разрушить, несколько этажей, две равные части, посвященный богу.

8. Write a written translation.

Вавилон был самым большим и богатым городом Древнего Востока. Его площадь равнялась 450 га. В нем были прямые улицы с двухэтажными домами, системой водопровода и канализацией, каменный мост через Евфрат. Город окружало двойное кольцо крепостных толстых стен, через которые в город вели восемь ворот. Самыми важными были двадцатиметровые ворота богини Иштар, сложенные из бирюзового глазурованного кирпича с орнаментом из 575 львов, драконов и быков.

9. Retell the text “Babylon”.

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UNIT 4

The Art and the Architecture of Babylonia and Assyria

1. Read and translate the text.

Babylon and Assur were two of the greatest cities of Mesopotamia. They became the centers of the empires of Babylonia and Assyria. Their histories were closely connected, as one or the other controlled the fertile region between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

The Babylonians and Assyrians were influenced to a great extend by the artistic and intellectual achievements of the Sumerians. Like the Sumerians, they built their temples and palaces of brick made from mud dried in the sun or kilns. In the center of each city was the shrine of a local god. As a city grew in size and importance, its shrine became more elaborate until it might end up as a magnificent temple. The temple building was based on a large platform reached by ramps and staircases. It was crowned with a high tower. The Babylonians made some towers in the form of might steps up to seven stories, and these were known as ziggurats. The Biblical Tower of Babel was probably a ziggurat. A small temple stood on the top, it was usually covered with blue glazed tiles.

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The Babylonians and Assyrians decorated their public buildings in different ways. The Babylonians covered the walls with colored glazed brickwork. The Assyrians preferred carved slabs of limestone or alabaster. The sculptures depicted scenes of war and hunting or religious and court scenes. Many of them showed the king as a distinguished figure with a beard and curly hair, while the people by him looked all alike and comparatively insignificant. The hunting scenes were vivid.

Outside the gates of the Assyrians’ temples and palaces, lions or bulls with human heads kept guard. The cities were well planned with wide avenues. Great aqueducts were constructed to supply water.

Vocabulary:

1)to a great extent – в большой степени;

2)mud – грязь;

3)kiln – печь для обжига;

4)shrine – храм;

5)ramp – наклонная плоскость;

6)mighty – могущественный;

7)slab – плита;

8)depict – описывать;

9)vivid – яркий, живой.

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2.Answer the questions.

1.What country controlled the region between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates?

2.How did they make bricks?

3.What was in the center of each city?

4.How can you characterize their shrine?

5.What was the difference in the decoration of Assyrian and Babylonian buildings?

6.What did the sculpture describe?

7.What were usually outside the important buildings?

8.Can we see the remains of ancient Babylon? Where are

they?

3. Fill in the gaps with right prepositions: of, by(2), to, in(2), with, on.

1.The shrine was built ____ a large platform reached

____ ramps and staircases.

2.The arts ____ Babylonia and Assyria were influenced

____ the Sumerians.

3.The temple was crowned ____ a high tower.

4.These cities rapidly grew ____ size.

5.They tried ____ construct great temples.

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6. The bricl was made ____ mud dried ____ the sun or

kilts.

4. Match the beginning of the sentences to their ends using information from the text.

5. Translate the following phrases into Rusiian and make four sentences with them.

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UNIT 5

Wonders of the world

1. Read and translate the text.

The Egyptian pyramids

In the Libyan Desert you can see the only remained wonder of the world – the Egyptian pyramids. Once there were about 80 pyramids, the oldest one was Zocer’s pyramid made by the first named architect Imhotep in the 3rd millennium B.C. The height of the pyramid was about 60 meters. It was the staircase leading to the Heavens.

Today there exist 3 pyramids – Cheops’s, Chephren’s and Mecerine’s ones. The largest one is the Pyramid of

Cheops. It is about 147ms high with the square side about 233ms long and 201 steps. The total square is about 50.000 square meters. It consists of 2.300.000 cubic blocks of stone (limestone plus polished white stone). The pyramid had been being built for 20 years. Its architect was Khemium.

Vocabulary:

1)staircase – лестница;

2)length – длина;

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