Text 3: The history of Flax
Task 1. Look at the pictures below. What is the difference between them? Read the text about the history of linen and finish the sentences after the text.
Egyptian Linen 1st Dynasty Modern Linen - Recently Woven
Linen is the oldest textiles fibres. It had been cultivated in Egypt 5000 years ago, and for centuries it was the only textiles fibre in that land. The cultivation of the flax and the spinning and weaving of the linen were illustrated on the walls of Egyptian palaces, temples and tombs. For many hundreds of years Egypt was the greatest linen-production country in the world.
In later years the use of linen spread to Greece and to Rome, where it was used not only for women’s clothing and handkerchiefs, but also for ship sails. The every country in Europe began to cultivate flax. And linen was the most generally used textile until the second part of the eighteenth century, when a number of inventions made cotton fabrics cheap.
Now flax ranks only forth, because cotton, wool and chemical fibres are used by larger amounts.
A. Linen is …
B. …5000 years ago.
C. The cultivation of the flax …
D. For many hundreds of years Egypt was …
E. In later years the use of linen spread to …
F. …, when a number of inventions made cotton fabrics cheap.
G. Now flax …
Task 2. Using the link http://www.ulsterlinen.com/2.htm read the information given at this site and choose the correct answer.
1. Linen is, therefore, the … vegetable fabric to be woven.
a) latest; b) earliest; c) best; d) worst.
2. The description of the Tabernacle, which formed the central point of worship for the tribes of Israel, tells us that the … were of fine linen.
a) pillows; b) blankets; c) curtains; d) dresses.
3. WHEN the tomb of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Rameses II., who died 1258 B.C, - 3,000 years ago - was discovered in 1881, the linen … were in a state of perfect preservation.
a) clothes; b) sacks; c) flowers; d) wrappings.
4. The linen on the mummy of "Kaboolie is in a like state of ….
a) perfection; b) degradation; c) preservation; d) deterioration.
5. Linen is also important from the … point of view.
a) business; b) hygienic; c) diplomatic; d) trade.
6. In olden days, in almost every country, each family grew flax and … the linen for its own use.
a) woven; b) weave; c) wove; d) weaved.
7. The earliest records of an established linen industry are 4,000 years old, and come to us from ….
a) Egypt; b) Italy; c) France; d) Rome.
8. Amongst the products of the … was flax, out of the fiber of which linen was made.
a) water; b) ocean; c) market; d) soil.
9. The Phoenicians, who, with their merchant fleet, opened up new channels of commerce to the peoples of the …
a) Mediterranean; b) Andes; c) Black Sea; d) Pacific Ocean.
10. Although the linen industry was already established in Ulster, Louis Crommelin found scope for improvement in …, and his efforts were so successful that he was appointed by the Government to develop the industry over a much wider range.
a) knitting; b) weaving; c) knotting; d) sewing.
Task 3. Open the brackets using Past Continuous Tense.
1) He (work) at the textile mill at 7 p.m. yesterday. 2) …they (announce) the results of fibre tests yesterday at 5 p.m.? 3) They (not discuss) an important problem the whole evening. 4) When the tailor entered the room, the maiden (to spin). 5) While I (to be sew), they (to dye) those fabrics. 6) What …you (to do) when the chef came back? 7) The spinning frame (not to work) at 3 p.m. last Sunday. 8) They (to water) cotton plants in the field from 5 a.m. till 9 a.m. 9) Why …these workers (to sell) the man-made products at the store?
Task 4. Tell your groupmates as much information as possible about the history of linen.