Active Words and Word-Combinations

 

flints                                           кремневая галька

freestone                                    строительный камень

lead                                            олово

tin                                               жесть

amber                                         янтарь

southwestward                           к юго-западу

dual                                            двойной

in the modern sense                   в современном значении

swampy                                     болотистый

remnants                                    остатки

survive                                       выживать, сохраняться

strings of logs                            ряды бревен

a bed of branches and boughs   основа из веток и сучьев

transverse                                   поперечный

fasten                                         укреплять

underlying                                  лежащий в основе

subsoil                                        подпочва

peg                                              (зд.) колышек; втулка

prior to                                        (зд.) до

sod                                              дерн

moisture                                      влага

1. Match English and Russian equivalents:

 

a) remnants, transverse, amber, fasten, strings of logs, freestone, subsoil, moisture, dual, flints, underlying, swampy, sod.

 

b) кремневая галька, строительный камень, янтарь, двойной,                болотистый, остатки, ряды бревен, поперечный, укреплять,                      подпочва, влага, дерн, лежащий в основе.

 

2. Answer the following questions:

 

a) When did trade ways develop in Europe?

b) What was Amber Routes?

c) How many routes were identified?

d) Which goods were moved from different countries?

e) How were the roads improved at such parts of the road as river crossings, mountain passes and so on?

f) Does a few remnants of these roads survive today?

g) Till what time were the older log roads built?

h) What did the Romans use to reduce the moisture content and increase the carrying capacity?

 

3. Find the situations, in which the following words and expressions are used:

 

Trade ways, the movement of, many of the ways … had linked together, known as, dual routes, through, thence, followed, were constructed by, in the direction of, was … covered with, … to … feet in length, side by side, underlying, there is evidence, side ditches.

 

4. Insert articles, where necessary:

 

a) They were constructed by … laying two or three … strings of logs.

b) … fourth, … Baltic-Pontus road, followed … main … eastern rivers.

c) During … second millennium BC, … trade ways developed in … Europe.

d) While … Amber Routes were not … roads in … modern sense, they were improved at difficult … places.

e) There is evidence that … older log roads were built prior to … 1500 BC.

f) … four routes have been identified.

g) … few … remnants of these … roads survive today.

 

5. Retell the text, using the given plan:

 

a) The development of trade in Europe.

b) Say, which goods were brought from different European countries.

c) The time of the Amber routes formation.

d) The four Amber routes.

e) Say if the Amber routes were roads in the modern sense.

f) Describe the construction of the Amber routes.

 

ANCIENT ROADS OF SOUTH AND EAST ASIA INDIA

 

The Indus civilization in Sindh, Balochistan, and the Punjab probably flourished in the period 3250-2750 BC. Excavations indicate that the cities of this civilization paved their major streets with burned bricks cemented with bitumen. Great attention was devoted to drainage. The houses had drain pipes that carried the water to a street drain in the centre of the street, two to four feet deep and covered with slabs or bricks.

Evidence from archaeological and historical sources indicates that by AD 75 several methods of road construction were known in India. These included the brick pavement, the stone slab pavement, a kind of concrete as a foundation course or as an actual road surface, and the principles of grouting (filling crevices) with gypsum, lime, or bituminous mortar. Street paving seems to have been common in the towns in India at the beginning of the Common Era, and the principles of drainage were well known. The crowning of the roadway and the use of ditches and gutters was common in the towns. Northern and western India in the period 300 to 150 BC had a network of well-built roads. The rulers of the Mauryan empire (4th century BC), which stretched from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra River and from the Himalayas to the Vindhya Range, generally recognized that the unity of a great empire depended on the quality of its roads. The Great Royal Road of the Mauryans began at the Himalayan border, ran through Taxila (near modem Rawalpindi), crossed the five streams of the Punjab, proceeded by way of Jumna to Prayag (now Allahabad), and continued to the mouth of the Ganges River. A "Ministry of Public Works" was responsible for construction, marking, and maintenance of the roads and rest houses and for the smooth running of ferries.