8: CULTURE | Tiếng Anh 9 (Friends Plus) | UNIT 8: SCARY - Lớp 9 - Giáo Dục Việt Nam

1 Look at the photos. Which period of history do you think these constructions and objects are from? Read the article and check your ideas.

2 🔊3.08 Check the meaning of the words in the box and complete the article. Then listen and check.

3 Read the article again. Answer the questions.

1 What is Mainland?

2 When and how was the ancient village of Skara Brae uncovered?

3 How many houses were found?

4 What did the houses look like inside?

5 What two possible reasons does the author give for the people of Skara Brae leaving their village?

The lost village of Skara Brae

Winter in the northern isles of Scotland is a stormy season. Every year, heavy rain and strong winds hit the coast of the Orkney Islands. In the winter of 1850, there was a very ¹............... storm on Mainland, the largest of the Orkneys. It caused terrible damage to the island, but it also revealed an amazing archaeological treasure. When the storm cleared, the outline of an ancient village was ²............... Since then, the site has been excavated and explored by archaeologists and they have made some remarkable discoveries.

SCOTLAND

The ancient village of Skara Brae was built more than 5,000 years ago and was probably ³............... between around 3200 BC and 2200 BC. That makes it older than the Great Pyramid at Giza. It's easy to see why this period of history is called the Stone Age - the houses of Skara Brae and everything in them are made from stone.

The village is so well preserved that it has changed little in 5,000 years. The eight stone houses are connected by low ⁴............... with stone doors. They all have a similar layout: one main room with a central fireplace and stone beds on both sides.

4 YOUR CULTURE Work in pairs. Think of an important archaeological site in Việt Nam. Ask and answer the questions.

1 What period of history is it from?

2 What was discovered there?

3 What does it tell us about the people who lived in Việt Nam at that time? What does it tell us about their way of life?

5 USE IT! Work in pairs. Speculate about the use of the following objects in the community of Skara Brae. Use the photos and the text to help you.

Opposite the entrance is a large stone dresser, a kind of cupboard. It sounds basic to today's visitor, but in the Stone Age these were warm and comfortable houses.

The archaeologists' investigations have given us lots of information about the people who lived at Skara Brae and what life was like for them. They were farmers who kept sheep and cattle. They also ate fish, and ⁵............... deer. Every part of the animal was used, including the bones. The archaeologists found jewellery, hair pins, needles, bowls and cups, all ⁶............... from animal bones and stone. They also found stone pots that contained red colouring material and some mysterious carved stone balls.

Around 2200 BC, Skara Brae was ⁷............... and slowly covered by the earth and sands. We don't know why these people left their small community. It is possible that farming became more difficult because of changes to the environment. We also know that, as the Bronze Age ⁸............... , society began to change and small farming communities broke up. Skara Brae was left to the winds.