Pronunciation guide

Abu Sahl al-Quhi

Girard Desargues

Hellenistic

Interior

Janos Bolyai

Postulate

Spatial

B Comprehension

Read the text and choose the correct answer.

1 Geometry was first used to solve

A common problems.

B abstract problems.

2 During the Classical Period of Greek civilisation,

A the way problems were solved changed.

B people were only interested in geometry.

3 The Greeks made important advances in geometry

A only during the Classical Period.

B during both the Classical and Hellenistic Periods.

4 After the decline of Greek civilisation,

A mathematicians used geometry to solve other kinds of problems.

B nothing new was discovered.

5 Between the 17^th and 19^th centuries, European thinkers

A ignored the Greeks' ideas about geometry.

B created new types of geometry.

Before you read

Discuss these questions with your partner.

-» What developments in geometry do you know about that occurred during the Renaissance

(c 15^th -17^th centuries AD)?

-» What differences and what similarities can you think of between maths and philosophy?

D Vocabulary

Find a synonym in the box for the words or phrases in green in the sentences.

Then check your answers in the text.

N knowledgeable n tutor

n prosperity n synthetic geometry

N goal n advance

N on the continent n analytic geometry