Comprehension check-up

Exercise 1. Agree or disagree with the following sentences.

1. The Greek architects preferred rounded forms such as arch, vault, and dome.

2. The Romans had a predilection for elaborately carved entablatures.

3. In Greece the column was the most important member.

4. Roman architecture developed a purely utilitarian theme.

5. The Romans derived little from domestic architecture of other civilizations.

6. The final phase of Roman art of building is called Early Christian architecture.

Exercise 2. Match English equivalents to the Ukrainian words from those given below:

Однаковий, схожий, ряди, шар, фабрики, закруглений, зниклий, контора, кабїнет, суттєвий, квартира, етап, відмінність, виробив, перш за усе.

Exercise 3. Find English equivalents in the above text to the following Ukrainian words:

Тектонічний, логічний, горизонталі, вертикалі, пластичний, арка, мають тенденцію, декоративний елемент, псевдопериптеральний, орнаментація, домус, інсула, віла, сгруповані, симетрично, атриум, атрий, перистильний, декрет (закон), традиційний, ферма, екстер’єр, портики, сонце, церква, християнський, візантійський, утилітарний, тема.

Exercise 4. Fill in the gaps with the proper words, they are given below:

1. Roman architecture is plastic, … Greek architecture is tectonic.

2. The Romans utilized rounded forms, … their buildings appear… … they had been constructed of monolithic concrete.

3. In Rome the column was used ornamentally, … the wall became the most essential member.

4. The concluding phase of Roman architecture is named Early Christian architecture, … it gave rise to Byzantine architecture.

6. The insula was often vaulted … with concrete construction.

Hence, thus, as if, as though, so that, in order that, throughout, while, whereas.

Exercise 5. Finish the following sentences with the phrases in the left:

1. The domus derived from the Greek and Hellenistic houses …	1. … and the Romans who worked it out became the only true precursors of the modern architect.
2. The villa was derived from the traditional farm-house …	2. … rooms were designed to catch the view.
3. Externally the villas were enlivened with porticos …	3. … it was usually inward-looking.
4. A purely utilitarian theme in the realm of architecture produced a lot of houses, apartment buildings, factories, roads, bridges...	4. … it was more casual and straggling in plan than the domus.

Exercise 6. Translate the following sentences, use the dictionary, pay attention to the translation of Absolute Participle Construction:

1. The site is walled, the highest walls being to the north.

2. The Corinthian capital has a high circular bell ornamented with acanthus leaves, the abacus having four concave sides.

3. The post and lintel construction being widely used in Egyptian architecture, the arcuated system received no attention.

4. The Greeks having developed three orders, the Romans adopted them and added two others.

5. Originally Greek domestic architecture, like Egyptian, used mud, stone being reserved for sacred and public buildings.

6. The Greeks were not the first to plan cities, the honour probably going to Harappan priests in India.

7. The insulae having been limited to 75 ft, Rome’s great public buildings were not dwarfed by them.

8. The domus was usually of one story only, the rooms being grouped around the atrium.

Exercise 7. Read and translate text B, using dictionary is not allowed. Does this information suit the one in text A? Read the sentences, which may be considered as additional information to text A.

Text B. Roman House.

The ancient Roman dwelling consisted of a quadrangular court(atrium) which was entered by the door of the house and which served as the common meeting place for the family. An opening(compluvium) to the sky provided light and served as a chimney and as an inlet for rain which fell into the impluvium, tank sunk in the floor beneath. The tablinum served as the master's office. In some homes a garden surrounded by side buildings and covered colonnades was added at the back of the house; it was called the peristylum and usually was entered through corridors (fauces) located near the tablinum. Great houses had a kind of entrance hall (vestibulum) raised above the street and approached by stairs. In the ordinary house, there was only an indication of one ( vestibulum); the door led directly into the ostium, which opened directly into the atrium. In later Roman houses, a second storey, became usual. At the dining room was generally in the upper storey, all the rooms in the upper storey were called coenacula. There were three-storey houses in Rome as early as the end of the republic.

Exercise 8. Make a dialogue or speak on one of the proposed themes:

1. Ancient Roman art of building.

2. Ancient Greek and Roman Architecture Compared.

3. Roman Domestic Architecture.

4. Ancient Greek and Roman Dwellings Compared.