Ex. 1. Read the text and say what kind of civilization was found in the Indus Valley.-

Ex. 2. Read the text again and note important details. Divide the text into logical parts. Find key sentences in each part.

 

Ex. 3. Find in the text and read aloud sentences that prove that:

1....the builders of the two great cities were very skilled;

2....the two cities located so far from one another were very much alike;

3....the inhabitants were well protected;

4....the houses in the cities were very convenient to live in;

5....bathing occupied a very important place in the life of the inhabitants;

6....there is some evidence about the religious beliefs of the Indus Valley people;

7....the cities were rebuilt;

8....the cities were protected from the spring flood damages.

 

Ex. 4. List the items in Ex.3 in the order in which they come in the text.

IV. VOCABULARY SKILLS

Ex. 5. Give Russian equivalents of the following word combinations and reproduce the sentences in which they are used in the text:

to be the carbon copies of each other

to be exactly of the same dimension

to run on a grid pattern

to bisect the city

to enjoy ample resources

to come (be) equipped with

ready access to water

to identify as citadels

taxes in the form of grain

to make smth. Watertight

to perform religious rites

the worship to deities

 

Ex. 6. Give English equivalents of the following word combinations and reproduce the sentences in which they are used in the text:

пролегать через город

достигать расцвета

(не)обожженные кирпичи

хранить имущество

быть (не)известным кому-либо

высотой в пять этажей

окружать город

дошедшие до нас произведения искусства

осадочные слои

искусственные насыпи

основное ритуальное действие

омовение

 

Ex. 7. Paraphrase the italicized parts:

1. Despite the distances Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa resemble each other very much.

2. The main avenue of the city had a corridor that divided it.

3. Homes had indoor plumbing, the first in the world.

4. Both cities flourished about 2300 ВС.

5. Surrounding a courtyard were rooms for the family to meet with friends, sleep and keep personal things.

6. Some houses had their own wells that made water available.

7. The baths served the city priests to cleanse themselves before certain rituals.

8. The cities were built on the hand made hills of earth and rubble to prevent it from spring flood damages.

 

Ex..8. Arrange the pairs of synonyms:

rites, to perform, to be located, pattern, one another, admission, sanctuary, rituals, access, to carry on, model, citizens, citadel, to be situated, inhabitants, plumbing, sewer, each other.

 

Ex.9. Arrange the pairs of antonyms:

to protect, prosperity, unfired, regularity, watertight, hardened ina kiln, decline, disorder, to attack, contemporary, permeable to water, ancient.

 

Ex.10 Complete the sentences:

1. The building material was...

2. The major streets ran straight through...

3. Surrounding the courtyard were rooms...

4. Whoever were, political leaders...

5. Some houses had their own wells that...

6. When these cities were excavated, it appears that...

7. City administrators collected taxes in the form...

8. Builders used asphalt between...

9. The city priests cleansed themselves before...

10. These statues are the only...

11. Interpreters of the cities remain surmise that...

V. SPEAKING SKILLS

Ex. 11. Ask your groupmates to tell you:

 

1. what two large cities stand out of all the sites of the Indus Valley;

2. whether the cities resembled each other;

3. what material the buildings were made of;

4. what pattern was used to set the cities;

5. how Mohenjo-Daro was protected;

6. whether the political leaders enjoyed ample resources to put their projects into realty;

7. in what way the buildings were decorated;

8. what kinds of dwelling houses were found in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa;

9. who collected taxes and in what form;

10. what part bathing played in the life of the Indus Valley people;

11. why the worship to the Harappan deities took place outdoors;

12. why the citadels were built on artificial mounds;

13. what the Indus Valley civilization is famous for.

 

Ex. 12. Develop the ideas of Ex. 3.

 

Ex. 13. Make up a plan of the text, provide each point of the plan with necessary words and word combinations. Compare and discuss your plans in the classroom.

 

Ex. 14. Retell the text according to your plan using the following package phrases:

1. This text — is devoted to...

— deals with...

— contains the description of...

 

2. The first (second, third) paragraph — introduces the idea of...

— draws the readers' attention to...

— is concerned with...

 

3. The author — refers to those who...

— comments on...

— points out that...

 

4. The text — ends up with...

— suggests a plan...

—appeals to the reader to do smth...