Beginning of art in building

Architecture is defined as that shaping art, of which the function is to express and arouse emotion by combinations of ordered and decorated form. Architecture as an art first appears in Egypt. Us two divisions here may be roughly described as the pyramid age and the age of the temples. The pyramids are among the oldest monuments in the world, and date from about 3000 В. C. They consist of vast conical masses of masonry,¹ raised over a small tomb containing the sarcophagus of the pharaoh or monarch. The height of the oldest pyramid of Khufu was 480 feet 9 inches, and its base was 764 feet square, covering 13 acres.

Egyptian temples were at first tremendously massive, with great square pillars; soon graceful round pillars succeeded these, and grace became the keynote² of the whole. Egypt built with stone; Babylon, having no stone, built with sun-dried bricks. Today, the tremendous architectural marvels of Babylon are huge formless mounds of sand on the plain. Such Babylonian marvels of antiquity as the eight-terraced tower of Bel,³ and the famous hanging gardens of Semiramis, remain as dim as legends today.

Classic Greek art developed three forms or orders of architecture - the Doric,⁴ the Ionic,⁵ and the Corinthian.⁶ The Doric, the simplest of all, had a simple fluted column, with a square capital above; its effect was massive simplicity. The Ionic had a slenderer column, with curved volutes⁷ in the capital, conventionalized⁸ from Egyptian lily-petals.⁹ The Corinthian, the most elaborate of the three, had a conventionalized acanthus-leaf pattern at the top. ^:

The typical Greek temple is a parallelogram, with columns at both ends or all around; the earliest form had columns only in front. The temple itself was always a small enclosure within the vast portico.

Among the most impressive remains throughout the rest of Greece are the temple of Parthenon at Athens, and the temple of Poseidon, or Neptune, which is the most perfect and best preserved of all the relics of classic antiquity.

 

Questions

1) What is architecture?

2) Where does architecture as an art first appear?

3) What was the greatest pyramid in Egypt?

4) What did Egyptian temples look like?

5) Why weren't Babylonian marvels of antiquity preserved?

6) What were three forms of classic Greek architecture?

7) What was a typical Greek temple?

 

Notes

1) masonry - каменная или кирпичная кладка

2) keynote - основной принцип, идея

3) tower of Bel - Вавилонская башня

4) the Doric - дорический

5) the Ionic - ионический

6) the Corinthian - коринфский

7) Volute - спираль, завиток

8) conventionalized - изображенный условно

9) lily-petals - лепестки лилии

TEXT 5

ТНЕ TYPICAL SEED PLANT

The common garden bean is a typical seed plant. The vegetable railed "bean" is the seed of the bean plant and is contained in a pod. This pod, with its seeds, is the fruit of the plant. The bean seed has two seedleaves, or cotyledons.¹ that s ground a baby bean plant, or embryo. The cotyledons supply the embryo with food and act as a protective covering. If the seed is planted properly in soil and is watered, it will germinate, meaning a young bean plant will emerge from the seed planted This plant has roots, stems, and green leaves that have chlorophyll, enabling it to manufacture its own food.

The young plant grows rapidly, producing additional roots, stems, leaves, and finally blossoms. When the flowers appear the plant is ready to reproduce (produce offspring). Each bean flower has tiny yellowish pollen grains, which are transferred to its own female structure or that of another bean plant's flower. The pollen contains sperms or male cells, that bring about fertilization of the eggs, or female cells, which are in the ovary of the female structure. The fertilized egg develops into an embryo, while the rest of the egg becomes its seed. The ovary wall enlarges to become a pod, which is the fruit of the bean plant, and the whole life process begins again. A similar process takes place in the pine, spruce, apple, peach, oak, grass, and all other seed plants.

The major parts of a seed plant are roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit. Each of these structures plays an important part in the life of the plant. Some seed plants are annual,² that is they complete their life cycle from seed to seed in one year; such plants include the bean, pea, and the grasses. Others are biennial,³ needing two years for the cycle to be completed, these include the beet, parsnip, and carrot. Many are perennial, living for many years; among these are the oak, pine, rose, and lilac. Although there are many variations in different species of seed plant, their principle structures are basically alike and perform the same functions. The roots anchor the plant in the soil and support it. They absorb water and mineral salts from the soil and pass them along to the conducting tubes in the stem to be carried to the leaves. Many roots also store food.

The leaves carry on the process of photosynthesis and are equipped to give off excess water in the form of water vapour. The roots, stems and leaves all are equipped to take in oxygen, which the plant uses to carry on all activities except photosynthesis.

The seed is the structure whereby seed plants can survive over long periods of time under unfavourable conditions. Many kinds of seeds can retain their ability to germinate for many years after they are formed, and need only moisture, warmth and soil to develop into a new plant.

 

Questions

1) What is a typical seed plant?

2) What does the bean plant consist of?

3) What part do the cotyledons play in the life of the bean plant?

4) What plants are called annual?

5) What plants are called biennial?

6) What are perennial plants?

7) What are the main functions of the roots?

8) What are the functions of the leaves?

 

Notes

1) cotyledon - семядоля

2) annual - однолетние

3) biennial – двухлетние

 

TEXT 6