MACHU PICCHU PRE-READING QUESTIONS. 1. Have you ever heard of Machu Picchu? If so, what is it?

Transcription

1 Machu Picchu

2 MACHU PICCHU PRE-READING QUESTIONS 1. Have you ever heard of Machu Picchu? If so, what is it? 2. Do you know where the Inca people lived? 3. Where is the Andes Mountain range located? 4. Do you know what smallpox is? 5. Do you know what a World Heritage Site is?

3 Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built in the 1400s by the Inca Indians. It is found high in the Andes mountain range in central Peru, South America. Machu Picchu is 6,750 feet above sea level, set in a tropical forest between two mountains. The Urubamba River can be seen 3,000 feet below. The city likely served as a country estate for Inca nobles and as a religious retreat. It covered about 5 square miles and had 200 buildings. These included a palace, temples, storage buildings, and many smaller houses for servants. Fine craftsmen used local stone to build these structures, all of which were designed to fit into the landscape. Terraced gardens with irrigation channels were built on the city s steep slopes to grow potatoes and corn for the community. Stone stairways connected the different levels. Only nobles and priests, and their servants, would have known about Machu Picchu. By 1527, half of the Inca population had died of smallpox. In the next few years, many more people were killed in civil wars between rival groups. When the Spanish conquered Peru in 1532, the city was probably already abandoned and forgotten. The Incas had no written language and the Spanish never discovered Machu Picchu, so the city remained forgotten until That year, an American historian and his local guides happened upon the ruined city. A few years later, an article appeared in the National Geographic Society s magazine. Archeologists and tourists have been visiting it ever since. In 1983, the United Nations named Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site. Today, it is Peru s largest tourist attraction and is visited by 500,000 people each year. Some experts are concerned about the damage that so many visitors may be doing to the site.

4 COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F. If it is false, correct the information. 1. Machu Picchu was built in the 15 th century. 2. All of the Inca population knew about Machu Picchu. 3. All of the Inca people were killed by the Spanish conquerors. 4. The Incas wrote a lot about Machu Picchu. 5. Peru s largest tourist attraction may be in danger. B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences. 1. What is Machu Picchu? 2. Where is Machu Picchu located? 3. Why was Machu Picchu built? 4. Briefly describe Machu Picchu. 5. Why did the population of Machu Picchu disappear? 6. Why was Machu Picchu forgotten for several hundred years? 7. Why are some experts worried about the condition of Machu Picchu?

5 VOCABULARY REVIEW A. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following sentences. 1. Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built by the Inca Indians. a) story b) destroyed remains c) castle 2. The city likely served as a country estate for Inca nobles. a) people of high position b) farmers c) soldiers 3. The buildings included a palace, temples, storage buildings and many houses. a) buildings for worshiping a god b) castles c) hospitals 4. The structures were designed to fit into the landscape. a) gardens b) city c) the natural surrounding land 5. Many people were killed in civil wars between rival groups. a) Indian b) Spanish c) enemy 6. When the Spanish conquered Peru, the city was probably already forgotten. a) discovered b) defeated c) bought 7. In 1911, an American historian happened upon the ruined city. a) found by chance b) wrote about c) studied B. Match the words on the left with correct meaning on the right. 1. estate 2. retreat 3. terraced 4. irrigation 5. steep 6. slope 7. abandon 8. priest 9. palace 10. craftsman 11. guide 12. article a) a religious leader b) a piece of writing c) a large piece of property d) a large house of a noble person e) a person who shows you the way f) a quiet, restful place g) an area of rising ground or slanting land h) a watering system i) a person skilled at working with his hands j) go away from k) having a sharp or big slope or incline l) having a series of sloping levels

6 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Do you think it is important to preserve World Heritage Sites? Why or why not? 2. Many people today think of Machu Picchu as an example of amazing architectural design. Do you agree? 3. What do you think modern society can learn from the ruins of Machu Picchu? 4. What kind of civilization do you think the ancient Inca people had? 5. Have you ever visited a World Heritage Site? If so, describe it. Notes:

7 ANSWER KEY PRE-READING QUESTIONS 1-5 individual answers & 2. The Inca people were an aboriginal civilization who lived in western South America. They controlled most of this land until they were conquered by the Spanish in the 16 th century. 3. It is located in South America. 4. Smallpox is a very deadly, contagious disease caused by a virus. It was once one of the most feared diseases in the world, but there was a worldwide vaccination program to prevent smallpox and it is no longer a problem. 5. A World Heritage Site is a place chosen by the United Nations as a place with outstanding value to humanity. The United Nations tries to protect and preserve places of cultural heritage and natural importance. There are over 800 such sites around the world. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS A. True or False 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. T B. Written Answers 1. Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built by the Inca Indians in the 1400s. 2. It is located in a tropical forest high in the Andes Mountains in central Peru. 3. It was probably built as a country estate for Inca nobles and as a religious retreat. 4. Machu Picchu covered about five square miles and had about 200 beautifully-crafted buildings and terraced gardens with irrigation channels to water the community s crops. 5. Many people died of smallpox and many were killed in civil wars. 6. Machu Picchu was forgotten for hundreds of years because the Incas had no written language and the Spanish had never discovered it. 7. Some experts are worried that Machu Picchu may be damaged by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the site each year. VOCABULARY REVIEW A. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning 1. b 2. a 3. a 4. c 5. c 6. b 7. a B. Matching 1. c 2. f 3. l 4. h 5. k 6. g 7. j 8. a 9. d 10. i 11. e 12. b