Unit 16: The wonders of the world - Reading

Exercise 1: Read the passage carefully, then choose the correct answer. The ruined temples of Angkor are perhaps one of the mast impressive Seven Wonders of the World. Located in modern day Cambodia near Lake TonIe Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Asia, Angkor was the seat of power for the Khmer Empire from the ninth to the fifteenth century. The ruins of Angkor are documented as same .of the mast impressive ones in the world, rivaling the pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Why this mighty civilization died out is a question that archeologists are now only beginning to ponder. The answer, it turns out, may be linked with the availability of fresh water. One possible explanation far the downfall of the Khmer Empire has to do with the inhabitants' irrigation system. The temple and palaces of Angkor were constructed around a series of artificial reservoirs and canals which were annually flooded to capacity by the Mekong River. Once filled, they were used to irrigate the surrounding rice patties and farmland during the course of the year. Farmers were completely dependent upon the water for their crucial rice crop. Without consistent irrigation, the farmers would have been unable to maintain functional crop production. Scientists speculate that toward the end of the Khmer Empire the hydraulic systems of the reservoirs and canals broke down. The construction of hundreds of sandstone temples and palaces required an enormous amount of physical labor. In addition, as the capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor contained upwards of one hundred thousand people who resided in and around Angkor. In order to feed so many people, the local farmers were driven to grow food quicker and more efficiently. After centuries of continual use, the irrigation system was pushed beyond its capacity. Soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and the loss of water led to decrease in the food supply. With less food available, the people of Angkor slowly began to migrate to other parts of Cambodia thus leaving the marvelous city of Angkor to be swallowed by the jungle. Therefore, it is speculated that the Khmer Empire may have fallen victim to its own decrepit infrastructure.

Exercise 2: Choose the word or phrase that best fits the blank space. The building of the pyramid in Ancient Egypt obviously (7) ______ a vast labour force, but the (8) ______ image of gangs of Egyptians being forced to work is probably incorrect. In fact it seems that though prisoners of war did some of the heavy work and the maintenance jobs, most of the (9) ______ labourers were farmers who worked during the flood periods when farming was (10) ______ anyway. The labourers were probably paid (11) _____ food - because money did not yet (12) _____ and organised in groups with (13) _____ names such as 'Hardworking Gang' or 'Strong Gang'. (14) ______ the traditional picture of thousands of slaves being struck with whips is unlikely to be "true, paintings do show supervisors carrying metre-long sticks which were not simply (15) ______ of office. One architect, Nekhebu, (16) ______ that he never hit a workman (17) ______ enough to knock him down. The Greek historian Herodotus gave traditional figures for the work force of one of the pyramids as 100;000 men replaced (18) ______ three months for a period of 20 years. It is impossible to prove or disprove these figures, but they had doubtless been (19) ______ overestimated. Housing that was found in the desert (20) ______ the west of one of the pyramids would have accommodated a (21) ______ work force of no more than 4000.