2015-05-26
786
Text 1
Read the following proper nouns correctly.
B.C. (before Christ [kraIst]) – до нашей эры
Stonehenge ['stqun'hendZ] – Стоунхендж
The British Isles ['brItIS'QIlz] – Британские острова
The Iberians [QI'bIqrIqnz] – иберы (древнее племя)
Druid ['drHId] – друид (древнее племя)
Court of Justice ['kLt qv 'dZAstIs] – суд (справедливости)
Read and translate the text.
Mysterious Stonehenge (1, 300)
About three thousands years B.C. many parts of Europe including the British Isles, were inhabited by people called the Iberians. We do not know much about these early people because they lived in Britain long before a word of their history was written, but we can learn something from their weapons and the remains of their dwellings which have been found. The Iberians used stone weapons and tools. They could polish stone and make smooth objects of stone with sharp edges and points.
In some parts of modern Britain one can see a number of huge stones standing in a circle. These are the monuments left by the earliest inhabitants of the country. The best known stone circle named Stonehenge dates from between 1900 and 1600 B.C. It is made of many upright stones, standing in groups of twos, 8.5 metres high. They are joined on the top by other flat stones, each weighing about 7 tons.
No one can tell how these large stones were moved, or from what places they were brought. Stonehenge is still a mystery to scientists. What was it used for?
There are a lot of legends and fancies of antiquarians. Some believed that the early British kings, killed by the invading enemies, were buried here. Others think that Druids made it to house their pagan rites. Some say it was used for sun worship, assuming that it had been deliberately laid out so that its axes pointed toward the sun on the horizon at the summer solstice. And there is perhaps the best summation of E. Herbert Stone. He says: “It may have been a Temple for some form of worship – or a Court of Justice – or a Hall for ceremonial meetings of tribal chiefs. But all we can say with certainty is “We do not know”.
|
|
|
Notes
1) a number of – ряд; несколько;
2) pagan rite – языческий ритуал;
3) summer solstice – летнее солнцестояние;
4) tribal chief – вождь племени.
Learn the key words and expressions.
axis – ось
believe – считать, полагать
bury – хоронить
circle – круг
dwelling – жилище
edge – край; горизонт
flat – плоский
house – помещать, вмещать
include – включать
inhabit – жить, обитать
join – соединять
point – острый конец; наконечник; быть направленным
polish – шлифовать
remains – остатки
scientist – ученый
sharp – острый
smooth – гладкий, ровный
temple – храм
tool – инструмент
weapon – оружие
weigh – весить
worship – поклоняться, почитать; поклонение
