IV. Read and translate the text:

Ancient Land Surveying

Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of recorded history. In ancient Egypt, when the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, boundaries were re-established

through the application of simple geometry. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. 2700 BC, affirm the Egyptians' command of surveying. The Great Pyramid is the largest and finest of three large pyramids on the Giza plateau near modern-day Cairo, Egypt. It is the only surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The 755 foot base of the Great Pyramid (2900 B.C.) is only a few inches out of square and only a couple of arc-minutes from being oriented in the cardinal directions.

Egyptians were among the earliest Land Surveyors. Nearly 3,000 years before Christ, the fertile land along the Nile was divided into quadrangles by the King, and distributed among the people. The people were then taxed for their land. When the great river flooded, the size of the parcels of land changed. The King then sent out his Land Surveyors, who would measure the boundaries and the taxes would be adjusted accordingly. The measuring device used by these surveyors was a knotted rope, which had been stretched and soaked with bees wax.

Under the Romans, land surveyors were established as a profession, and they established the basic measurements under which the empire was divided, such as a tax register of conquered lands (300 AD).

In England, The Domesday Book by William the Conqueror (1086) covered all England contained names of the land owners, area, land quality, and specific information of the area's content and habitants. The Domesday Book was the Cadastral book of William the Conqueror.

Continental Europe's Cadastre was created in 1808 founded by Napoleon I (Bonaparte), "A good cadastre will be my greatest achievement in my civil law", Napoleon I contained numbers of the parcels of land (or just land), land usage, names etc., and value of the land 100 million parcels of land, triangle survey, measurable survey, map scale: 1:2500 and 1:1250 spread fast around Europe, but faced problems especially in Mediterranean countries, Balkan, and Eastern Europe due to cadastre upkeep costs and troubles.

VI. Match a paragraph 1-5 with a summary below:

- Napoleon’s I achievement in civil law;

- ancient measuring techniques in land surveying;

- establishing land surveyor’s profession;

- the Great Pyramid as a sample of surveying;

- surveying work of William the Conqueror;

VII. Fill in the blanks:

1. Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of … .

2. In ancient Egypt, when the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, … of simple geometry.

3. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, affirm … .

4. The base of the Great Pyramid is only a few inches out of square and only a couple of arc-minutes from being oriented … .

5. … were among the earliest Land Surveyors.

6. … was divided into quadrangles, distributed among the people and taxed.

7. The measuring device used by ancient surveyors was a … .

8. … land surveyors were established as a profession

9. In England, … contained names of the land owners, area, land quality, and specific information.

10. Continental Europe's Cadastre was created in 1808 founded by … .