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Печатается по решению кафедры лингвистики и иностранных языков

и

деканата исторического факультета

КГУ им. К.Э.Циолковского

СБОРНИК ТЕКСТОВ ПО СПЕЦИАЛЬНОСТИ

(АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК)

УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ ПО РАЗВИТИЮ НАВЫКОВ ЧТЕНИЯ И РЕФЕРИРОВАНИЯ ТЕКСТОВ ПО СПЕЦИАЛЬНОСТИ.

(ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ИСТОРИЧЕСКОГО ФАКУЛЬТЕА)

Данные учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов исторического факультета. Учебно-методическое пособие включает в себя оригинальные тексты по истории древних цивилизаций, истории Великобритании и США, а также истории славянских народов. К каждому тексту имеются фонетические, лексические, грамматические упражнения и упражнения, помогающие понять содержание текста и подготовиться к реферированию текстов по специальности. Работу над каждым текстом рекомендуется делить на два занятия. На первом занятии выполняются фонетические и лексические упражнения для усвоения лексики данного текста студентами. На следующем занятии выполняются грамматические упражнения и текстовые.

Составитель – Т.И. Шакирова, кандидат педагогических наук, доцент

Рецензенты - М.А. Казак, кандидат исторических наук, доцент.

Н.А. Ощепкова, кандидат филологических наук, доцент

Калуга, 2005

Text 1

THE EGYPTIAN SCRIBES.

In Ancient Egypt officials who could read and write were required for all posts in the highly centralized administration, and the first necessity of any man who wished to follow a professional career was that he should be properly educated in one of the school attached to a palace or a temple where books were copied and formal instruction given. Humble village scribes would doubtless teach their own children , and might also take a number of pupils from near relatives. The wealth of school exercises that has survived at Deir el Medina and elsewhere suggests that the scribes found time to take advanced pupils as well as follow their calling

In the reign of Rameses II, instruction began at the age of four and was completed 12 years later. In learning the classical utterance of the Middle Kingdom, which was used for some monumental and literary purposes down to Graeco-Roman Days, the pupil of a later day had to wrestle with a language which was already dead and which he understood very imperfectly as his copies of the classics reveal.

The pupil began by learning by heart the different hieroglyphs grouped into various categories, and from that he progressed to words in the literary language selected according to meaning. From this stage he went on to copy extracts from the classics, sometimes translating them into the vernacular language. Papyrus was too expensive for beginners to spoil and potsherds and flakes of limestone (ostraka) had to serve instead. The instruction in reading and writing comprised other subjects as well. The writing of the various hieroglyphs demanded an ability to draw with the pen. Geography, mathematics, foreign words, articles of trade, travelling equipment, religious feasts, parts of the body, and so forth, were learnt incidentically in copying stock-letters, poems on the king and his residences, and the various exchanges in a literary controversy between two learned scribes. Learning without tears may have been the ideal in some respects, although the Egyptians also had a belief in the efficacy of corporal punishment and the pupil was told that if he was idle he would be soundly thrashed. It is not surprising that under such treatment, and obsessed with the tedium of learning, the schoolboy should have thought of running away to become a soldier or charioteer or farmer; and the teacher repeatedly sought to make his pupil stick to their dull tasks by comparing the easy lot of the trained scribe with the miseries of other callings. The theme of his homilies usually was that the profession of the scribe leads to a comfortable, well-paid job; but some of the pleasure of learning for its own sake was given in the injunction to acquire this high calling of the scribe: ”Pleasant and fruitful are your pen and papyrus roll, and happy are you the livelong day”. There is evidence that some girls were taught to read and write, for profit as well as pleasure. A word for a female scribe exists by the time of the Middle Kingdom at least, and a more emphatic expression is to be found in Egyptian literature in the Late Period.

When the scribe had graduated from school he had his foot on the first rung of a career in the higher ranks of the army, the treasury, or the palace. He might become anything according to his talents, from the king’s private secretary to the village letter-writer and petty attorney. It would help, of course, if he could follow his father in his chosen occupation, but occasionally a man from humble circumstances was able to rise by merit to a position of authority.

Training as a scribe was also a necessary preliminary to a career in such professions as medicine, the priesthood, and art and architecture.

PHONETIC EXERCISES.

I. Pronounce the following words correctly paying attention to the way of pronunciation of stressed vowels.

/ei/ ancient, reign

/ai/ required, papyrus, acquire

/ou/ post

/i/ career, tears, charioteer

//\/ instruction, utterance

/ai/ scribe, survive, hieroglyph, idle

/au/ doubtless

/a:/ advanced, heart, demand

/):/ calling

/:/ purpose, serve

/E/ various, comparing

/æ/ category, vernacular

/)/ potsherd, ostraka, homilies, controversy

II. Pronounce the following words paying attention to the pronunciation of consonants and suffixes.

/∫/ ancient

/dζ/ suggest, age

/-/ reign, doubtless, wrestle, foreign

/t∫/ potsherd

/kw/ equipment, acquire, required

/k/ efficacy, architecture

/ζ/ pleasure, treasury

/th/ priesthood

III. Read the following proper names correctly.

Deir el Medina /’di l m’di;n/, Rameses /’ræmisis/ II, Middle Kingdom, Graeco-Roman /’grækou/, Egyptians.

VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR AND TEXT EXERCISES.

I. Analyze the structure of the following words, denote parts of speech and translate the words.

highly utterance higher

professional punishment priesthood

doubtless charioteer comfortable

II. Give Russian equivalents to the following words.

Officials, career, a palace, a temple, a scribe, reign, utterance, to wrestle, hieroglyphs, the literary language, extracts, the vernacular language, papyrus, potsherds, flakes of limestone, stock-letters, charioteer, evidence, profit, the treasury, the king’s private secretary, the village letter-writer, petty attorney, occupation, the merit, the priesthood.

III. Read the sentences, find predicates, choose their tense-voice forms and translate the sentences.

1. Officials were required for all posts in the highly centralized administration.

a) Past Indefinite Active b) Past Indefinite Passive c) Past Continuous

Active

2. The wealth of school exercises has survived at Deir el Medina.

a) Present Perfect Active b) Present Perfect Passive c) Present Indefinite

Passive

3. Papyrus was too expensive for beginners to spoil.

a) Past Continuous Active b) Past Indefinite Passive c) Past Indefinite Active

4. A scribe had graduated from school.

a) Past Indefinite Active b) Past Perfect Active c) Past Perfect Passive

IV. Say: a) the place of the action b) the historical limits of the action.

V. Look through the given plan, make up a new plan with the help of these points in accordance with the content of the text.

1. The way of learning

2. The necessity and the existence of formal education in Ancient Egypt.

3. The opportunities for school-leavers

4. The beginning of education.

6. Choose the sentence which gives the main idea of the text.

1. There was some kind of education in the reign of Rameses II.

2. Archeologists found some evidences of the existence of education in Ancient Egypt.

3. Well-educated officials were required in that society and archeologists could identify the way of their learning.

4. The way of learning was very difficult and many pupils should have thought of running away.

6. Answer the following questions.

1. Where did a person have to be educated if he wished to follow a professional career?

2. How many stages of learning can we find in the text?

3. What subjects were learned incidentically together with writing ?

4. Was the learning easy?

5. What was easier to be a scribe or to be a farmer?

6. What for were the girls taught to read and write?

7. What jobs could the scribe get after the graduation from the school?

6. Render the text.

Text 2

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Part I.

In recent years archeological excavations have been carried on at Mohenjo-Daro in the Larkana district, Sind and at Harappa in the Montgomery district of the Punjab. These and smaller trial excavations at various other sites have proved beyond doubt that some four or five thousand years ago a highly civilized state flourished in these regions. The antiquity of civilization in India is thus carried back nearly to the same period which witnessed the growth of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. The valley of the Indus thus takes its rank with the valleys of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates as having contributed to the most ancient phase of human civilization of which we are yet aware.

Unfortunately we have no written records about the Indus valley civilization comparable to those we possess on respect of the others. A number of seals have been discovered with a few letters engraved on each, but these still remain undeciphered. We are therefore totally ignorant of the political history of the Indus valley and are not in a position to form an adequate idea of its culture and civilization. We possess, at best, a vague and general idea of the subject which is entirely derived from a careful examination of the objects unearthed at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

Mohenjo-Daro – Mount of the Dead – is the local name of a high mount situated in the plains of Larkana in a narrow strip of land between the main bed of the Indus river and the western Nara canal. The surrounding region is wonderfully fertile and is called even today Nakhlistan, or the “Garden of Sind”. Here a city was built some five thousand years ago. This city was successively destroyed and rebuilt no less than seven times, the inundation of the Indus being perhaps the chief agency of destruction. The rebuilding did not always immediately follow the destruction, but sometimes the city remained in ruins for a considerable period before a new city rose upon them. Thus, after the foundation of the city, many centuries passed before it was finally abandoned.

The city is fairly big. The dwelling houses are many in number and vary in size from a small building with two rooms to a palatial structure having a frontage of 26 meters and a depth of 29,5 meters, with outer walls 1,25 meters thick. They are made of brick which are usually well burnt and of good quality. The big houses have two or more storeys and are furnished with paved floors and courtyards, doors, windows and narrow stairways. It is especially noteworthy that almost every house has wells, drains and bathrooms.

In addition to the numerous dwelling-houses, we find a few spacious buildings of elaborate structure and design. Some of these contain large pillared halls, one of them measuring 24 square meters. The exact nature and purpose of these buildings cannot be ascertained. They are thought to have been palaces, temples or municipal halls.

The most imposing structure in the city is the Great Bath. It consists of a large open quadrangle in the centre with galleries and rooms on all sides. In the centre of the quadrangle is a large swimming enclosure, 12 meters long, 7 meters wide and about 2,4 meters deep. It has a flight of steps at either end and is fed by a well situated in one of the adjoining rooms. The water is discharged by a huge drain with a corbelled roof more than 1,8 meters in height. The Great Bath is 55 meters long and 33 meters wide, and its outer walls are about 2,4 meters thick. The solidity of the construction is amply borne out by the fact that it has successfully withstood the ravages of five thousand years.

The streets of the city are wide and straight and are furnished with an elaborate drainage system together with soak-pits for sediment.

On the whole, the ruins leave no doubt that there was on this site a large, populous and flourishing town whose inhabitants freely enjoyed, to a degree unknown elsewhere in the ancient world, not only the sanitary conveniences but also the luxuries and comforts of a highly developed municipal life. We must also conclude that the art of building had reached a high degree of perfection.

Proper names:

Mohenjo-Daro - /mou’hendζou ‘da:rou/

Larkana - /la:’ka:n/

Sind - /sind/

Harappa - /h’ræp/

Montgomery - /mntg’/\mri/

Punjab –/’p/\ndζb/

Euphrates - /ju:’freiti:s/

Nakhlistan - /’na:klista:n/

PHONETIC EXERCISES.

1. Pronounce the following words paying attention to the rules of pronunciation of stressed vowels.

/ei/ excavation, ancient, engraved, remained, palatial, drainage

/ai/ trial, entirely

/u/ proved

/au/ doubt, mount, surrounded

/i/ antiquity, witnessed, ignorant, immediately, municipal, solidity, contributed

/æ/ valley, rank, abandoned, quadrangle, galleries

/ju:/ community

/e/ record

/E/ comparable, careful, bare, fairly, vary, stairway

//\/ discover, wonderfully, destruction, flourish, structure, frontage

/:/ unearthed, fertile /ai/, furnished, ascertained

/):/ quality, corbelled

/ou/ imposing, enclosure

/ai/ height, undeciphered

2. Pronounce the following words paying attention to the way of pronunciation of the consonants and the combinations of consonants.

/∫/ palatial, specially, spacious, luxury

/t∫/ structure

/ζ/ usually, measuring, enclosure

/g/ quadrangle, galleries

/dζ/ discharged, adjoining, huge, ravage, drainage

3. Read the following proper names correctly.

Indus, Mohenjo-Daro, Larkana, Sind, Harappa, Montgomery, Punjab, Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Nara, Nahklistan

Vocabulary, grammar and text exercises.

1. Analyze the structure of the following words. Define the parts of speech. Translate the words.

archeological excavation various

highly considerable frontage

2. Make up pairs of equivalents.

excavations древний

sites человеческий

community плодородный

antiquity раскопки

ancient руины

to witness цель

valley общество

human долина

records записи

seal участок

engraved разрушение

undeciphered древность

fertile свидетельствовать

destruction вырезанный

ruins печать

purpose нерасшифорванный

3. Make up pairs of synonyms.

Excavated, ancient, records, destroyed, mount, region, building, abandoned

Very old, unpopulated, ruined, unearthed, area, chronicle, peak, house.

4. Find in the text the words with negative prefixes and translate them.

5. Read the sentences, find modal verbs, say what tense they are used in and translate the sentences.

1. The exact nature and purpose of these buildings cannot be ascertained.

2. We must also conclude that the art of building had reached a high degree of perfection.

3. We may easily infer that they were used in actual life.

4. Agriculture must have played an important part in the life of the common people.

6. Read the second passage and the variant of its translation given here. Make all necessary changes in the translation.

К сожалению, мы не имеем письменных записей о цивилизации Индийской долины сравнимых с теми, которыми мы обладаем по отношению к другим. Ряд тюленей был открыт вместе с несколькими буквами, вырезанными на каждом, но они все еще остаются нерасшифрованными. Мы, следовательно, совершенно ничего не знаем о политической истории Индийской долины и не в том положении, чтобы сформулировать адекватную идею о культуре и цивилизации. Мы обладаем неясной и общей идеей о предмете, который целиком получен из тщательного экзамена объектов, раскопанных в Мохенджо-Даро и Хараппе.

7. Answer the following questions.

1. To what period does the author transfer the antiquity of the Indus civilization?

2. What was discovered during the excavations?

3. Where was the city unearthed?

4. What are two main types of buildings described in the text?

5. Can you describe the Great Bath?

6. What can you say about the conveniences in the city?

8. Render the text.

Text 3

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Part II.

The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro tell us a great deal about the people who lived in this luxurious city, and, as they afford us the first comprehensive view of the culture and civilization of India, we must note the essential features of the social, economic and religious condition.

Wheat was the principle article of food, but barley and palm-date were also familiar. They also used mutton, pork, fish and eggs.

Cotton fabrics were in common use, but wool was also used, evidently for warm textiles. Ornaments were worn by both men and women of all classes. Necklaces, fillets, armlets, finger-rings and bangles were worn by men and women; and girdles, nose-studs, ear-rings and anklets by women only. There was great variety in the shape and design of these ornaments, and some of them are of singular beauty. These ornaments were made of gold, silver, ivory, copper and both precious and semi-precious stones like jade, crystal, agate and lapis lazuli.

The earthenware vessels, of rich variety, were made with the potter’s wheel and were either plain or painted. In rare cases they were glazed. Vessels of copper, bronze, silver and porcelain were known, though very rarely used. It is important to bear in mind that not a scrap of iron has been found, and that metal was obviously unknown.

Among other articles of domestic use the following ones may be mentioned: spindles and spindle whorls made of baked earth, porcelain and shell; needles and combs, made of bone or ivory; axes, chisels, knives, sickles, fishhooks and razors made of copper and bronze; small cubical blocks of hard stone, probably used as weights.

The children’s toys included, in addition to familiar articles, small wheeled carts and chairs, and we may easily infer that these were used in actual life. The discovery of dice-pieces shows the prevalence of that game.

The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull, the buffalo, sheep, elephant and camel were domesticated. There are some doubts about the goose. The carvings of dogs on children’s toys show that that animal was also familiar.

These include axes, spears, daggers, maces and slings, with comparatively fewer specimens of bows and arrows. The absence of swords is significant, shields, helmets or any other defensive armour is conspicuous by their absence. The weapons of war, all offensive in character, are usually made of copper and bronze, though a few stone implements have also been found.

More than five hundred seals have been discovered. These are made of terra cotta and small in size. Some contain fine representations of animal figures – both mythical and real – engraved on them. All of them contain a short record inscribed in a sort of pictorial writing which still remains undeciphered.

The representations of animals carved on these seals often exhibit a high degree of excellence. A few stone images found at Harappa recall the finish and excellence of Greek statues and show a high degree of development on the sculptor’s art.

The seals were most probably used in connection with trade. Indeed there is abundant evidence that the people traded not only with other parts of India but also with many countries of Asia. It is certain that they secured tin, copper and precious stones from beyond India.

Some aspects of the art and industry of the early Indus people have been dealt with above. Agriculture must have played an important part in the daily life of the common people, and among other things wheat, barley and cotton were cultivated at a large scale. Among the industrial classes, the potter, the weaver, the carpenter, the mason, the blacksmith, the goldsmith, the jeweler, the ivory-worker and the stone-cutter were the most important.

A great advance on technical knowledge is indicated by the potter’s wheel, kiln-burnt brick and the casting and alloy of metals. A high aesthetic sense is indicated by the beautiful designs of ornaments, the superb relief figures of seals and the execution of fine stone statues.

The objects found at Mohenjo-Daro also teach us something about the religious faiths and beliefs of the people. The cult of the Divine Mother seems to have been widely prevalent, and many figurines of this Mother-Goddess have come to light. This cult may not be exactly the same as the Sakti worship of later days, but the fundamental ideas appear to be the same – the belief in a female energy as the source of all creation.

Along with this, there was also a male-god who has been identifies as the prototype of the God Siva. On one particular seal, he seems to be represented as seated in the Yoga posture, surrounded by animals. He has three visible faces, and two horns on two sides of a tall head-dress. The identification of the male-god with Siva is further strengthened by the discovery of stone pieces which look exactly like the form in which Siva is almost universally worshipped today.

It is obvious, therefore, that modern Hinduism was indebted to a great extend to the Indus valley culture. We must therefore hold that there is an organic relationship between the ancient culture of the Indus valley and the Hinduism of to-day.

PHONETIC EXERCISES

1. Pronounce the following words paying attention to the way of pronunciation of the stressed vowels.

//\/ culture, mutton, humped, buffalo, cult

/):/ afford, pork, ornament, porcelain /slin/, sword /-/, pictorial

/e/ comprehensive, essential, necklace, precious, vessel, skeleton, weapon, undebted /-/

/ai/ item, design /n/, ivory, knife /-/

/i:/ wheat /w/

/a:/ barley, palm /-/, armlet, armour

/i:/ fillet, crystal, spindle, chisel, sickle, implements, images

/:/ girdle, earthenware

/æ/ ‘agate, lapis, ‘lazuli /’læzu’lai/

/)/ potter, obviously, corollary

/ei/ glazed, razor, weight /-/, faith, jade

/ai/ iron

/Е/ bear

/ou/ comb /-/, bone, bow, abode

/u/ bull

/i/ spear

/ju:/ luxurious /gz/

2. Read the following proper names correctly

Mohenjo-Daro, Greek, Harappa, India, Asia, Divine Mother, Mother Goddess, Sakti, Siva, Yoga, Indus.