Hidden away in the tropical forest near the port city of Da Nang and the very popular World Heritage town of Hoi An is the Champa civilization’s sacred valley of My Son, or “Beautiful Mountain”. I joined the full day package tour from Hoi An, which was quite very convenient as it included all transportation, ticket fee, lunch and guide. I arrived in My Son around 10 o’clock. After walking for a while, I found the complex of tourist facilities, and one of them is the performance hall. Our guide insisted us keeping going into the forest. Within few minutes, I started to see the complex of ancient Hindu temples made from brick.

At first, the dilapidated state of the complex was quite shocking, and almost nothing was left to see. I decided to discover the site by myself, and I started to be impressed by the amazing quality of brick carving details. The image of Hinduism guardians and angels are truly beautiful and reminded me about Angkor in Cambodia. For me, My Son is the great evidence of how Southern Indian art expanded to Southeast Asia since ancient Cham people came from Java where Indian art flourished, and later expand to modem day Viet Nam and later Cambodia and Thailand. The construction method of My Son is also very unique: Cham people built a whole block of bricks then burned them to make the whole brick block very solid and strong, then chiseled into the temple. I walked around the complex many times to enjoy its intricate motifs until the guide informed that there are more complex to see.

I went to see another complex, this one is located on the hill and recently partial rebuilt by a group of Italian archaeologists, and they are planning to rebuild more, which is a very good news for My Son preservation. The rebuilt complex is very lovely and illustrates the original layout very well even though the new brick really contrasts with the old ones. After that, the guide took me back to the bus and back to Hoi An, it was exactly 3 hours inside My Son. Despite the bad state of preservation, I really enjoyed my visit to My Son, the place has exceeded my expectation and even small complex can clearly show its value as a bridge of cultural exchange between India - Java and mainland Southeast Asia.

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. Why was the writer’s tour from Hoi An to My Son very convenient?
2. What was his first impression of My Son? Why?
3. What first made him change his opinion about My Son?
4. Which feature does he find unique about My Son?

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why is the writer optimistic about the preservation of My Son in the near future?

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why did he enjoy his visit to My Son?

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Task 2. Match the underlined words in the text with the definitions.

1. sacred

________

A. a person that protects something

2. dilapidated

________

B. a connection between two different things

3. guardian

________

C. a person who studies ancient civilizations, based on objects or part of buildings that are found in the ground

4. chiseled

________

D. having a special religious meaning

5. archeologist

________

E. cut or carved to shape wood or stone

6. bridge

________

F. old and in very bad condition

V. Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

150 Bài tập Tiếng Anh 11 Unit 6 (Global success): Preserving our heritage có lời giải (ảnh 1)

Stonehenge, in the south of England, is an ancient stone circle that was built thousands of years ago at around the same time as the pyramids in Egypt. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1 ________________ and it is visited by up to 2 ________________ people every year. Come on a guided tour and see this incredible place!

Reviews

‘Our guide told us that the stones around the edge of Stonehenge are called sarsens and the largest ones weighs more than 40 tons and is 3 ________________ feet high. They think the sarsens came from quarries 25 miles away. However, the smaller ones, which are called bluestones and are in the middle of the circle, were from the Presell Hills in Wales. I asked the guide if that was far away and he said it was about 4 ________________ miles away! I can’t imagine how the stones were transported to Stonehenge because they didn’t have any vehicles or machinery.’ Nick 14

‘The guide told us about the remains of a large prehistoric village that was discovered by archeologists last year. It’s less than 5 ________________ miles from Stonehenge and they think it’s where the builders lived when they were constructing the stone circle. He said that they’d found lots of animal bones and pieces of broken pottery. I asked her if they’d had parties there and she thought that was exactly what had happened.’ Cara, 14


‘Stonehenge was a place where the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, was celebrated. The guide told us that people still come today to celebrate it. they meet very early in the morning and watch the sun rise over the stones. He said it was the most beautiful thing in the world. He asked me if I’d ever seen it. I haven’t, but I’d really like to see it next June 6 ________________.’ Jane, 15

Task 1. Complete the text with the numbers below.

24

200

1986

20th

a million

two

Task 2. Read the text, and mark the sentences true (T) or false (F).

1. The pyramids in Egypt are older than Stonehenge. __________

2. Stonehenge was built by UNESCO. __________

3. Different types of stones were used by the builders. __________

4. Some of the stones were carried a great distance. __________

5. Experts have known about the village near Stonehenge for years. __________

6. They believe that the builders who lived there used to have parties. __________

7. Celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge is an old tradition. __________

8. Jane went to Stonehenge last June.

VI. Read the article about the Moai, and do the tasks that follow.

150 Bài tập Tiếng Anh 11 Unit 6 (Global success): Preserving our heritage có lời giải (ảnh 1)

THE MYSTERIOUS MOAI

1 ___________________________________________

The Moai are beautiful stone statues that you can see on the Chilean island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), in the Pacific Ocean. There are 887 statues, and we know that the first ones were made about 1,00 years ago. However, we don’t know very much about the people who made them, or the reasons why they made them. The stones are a beautiful mystery.

2 ___________________________________________

The Moai are statues of men with very large heads, and smaller bodies and arms. Only one has legs and feet.

3 ___________________________________________

We know that people used hand tools to make the stones because archeologists have found examples of many old tools all over the island. They believed it must have taken about a year to make each statue, with five or six people working on each one.

4 ___________________________________________

This is a more difficult question! Some of the statues are huge, and people can’t have carried them using just their hands. The largest stones are nearly ten metres long, and weigh about 18,000 kilograms. Professor Carla Lopez says, ‘The people must have had some way of moving these stones. Some archeologists think they might have pulled the stones across the island using ropes. But the stones were so heavy, it must have taken between180 and 250 men to pull each one.’

5 ___________________________________________

We don’t know. Most people believe that the statues represent people who had died. However, according to Professor Lopez, ‘We can’t explain why the ancient islanders put so much work into creating these statues, and why so many of the statues are looking away from the ocean. Perhaps the artists believed they were looking towards the villages on the island, to protect them.

6 ___________________________________________

Today Easter Island is a World Heritage site. Thousands of visitors come to study and admire the statues every year. Most people just take photos, but there have been some problems. In 2008, a tourist tried to take a piece of a statue’s ear home as a souvenir. He had to pay $17,000, and he couldn’t go back to the island for three years.

Task 1. Complete the headings with the questions below.

A. How did people make the Moai?

B. How did people move the Moai?

C. What about the Moai today?

D. What are the Moai?

E. What do the Moai look like?

F. Why did people make the Moai?

Task 2. Read the article again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. There are 887 statues. __________

2. There aren’t any statues of women. __________

3. The tools that people used to make the statues have all disappeared. __________

4. It took one man a year to make each statue. __________

5. Some experts believe that people carried the statues by hand. __________

6. Most of the statues look out towards the sea. __________

7. The island is a popular tourist destination. __________

Task 3. Answer the questions.

1. How do archeologists know what the ancient islanders used to make the statues?

__________________________________________________________________________________


2. Why is it possible that people carried the stones?

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. What might the statues protect, according to one expert?

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. How did one man damage a statue?

__________________________________________________________________________________

VII. Read the text, and do the tasks that follow.

The Seven Wonders of the World?

If you read the online editions of newspapers and magazines, you’ll know that internet publications frequently compile top lists ‘The 10 funniest films this year’ or ‘The 20 best sports cars ever’ are just a couple of examples that can be found. However, list writing is not a modem phenomenon. The Ancient Greeks started the fashion with a list that has remained popular for centuries: the Seven Wonders of the World. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus, Artemis sanctuary, the Mausoleum of King Mausolos, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Pyramid of Giza were all proclaimed to be the best constructions in the world by Greek scholars. But what criteria did they use to decide what was a wonder and what wasn’t?

In the first place, the Greeks didn’t use the word ‘wonders’, but talked about ‘things to be seen’. As the seven monuments were all situated around the Mediterranean Sea, the list was a kind of guide for Greek tourists, possibly the world’s first tourists. Furthermore, it wasn’t impartial, as five of the wonders were built by the Greeks themselves and the list is really a celebration of Greek building techniques. Although the Greeks wouldn’t have known about them, other monuments such as the Great Wall of China or the Mayan Temples in Guatemala existed at the time, and would have been contenders for a place on the list. Not surprisingly then, a lot of other lists have been made throughout history as mankind has continued to create spectacular constructions all over the world.

The most recent example took place in 2007 when an organization called the New7Wonders Foundation set up an internet poll to compile a new list. However, the organizers started badly by not including the only ancient wonder still in existence, the 4500-year-old Great Pyramid. This omission immediately met with worldwide disapproval. It was considered a serious error to exclude a construction of such historical importance. The organizers quickly tried to correct their mistake by giving the pyramid special status. However, further controversy arose when it was discovered that multiple votes could be made by participants. Some countries quickly organized massive campaigns to get their monuments voted for. They sent thousands of text messages to their citizens encouraging them to take part in the poll as often as they wanted. When the results were finally announced at a spectacular ceremony in Lisbon, some observers felt that the event had been turned into a giant publicity stunt for tourism. But was it really so different from the idea behind the Ancient Greeks’ list?

Thanks to the internet, campaigns to categorize monuments, historical artefacts and places of natural beauty will continue. And although such activities are often seen as just entertainment, they do raise our awareness of the need to protect and preserve monuments. However, if people really want to do something to protect our heritage, they need to contact organizations such as UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). They take the job of looking after the world’s famous monuments very seriously.

Task 1. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. The list written by the Ancient Greeks were quickly forgotten. ___________

2. The Ancient Greeks used the list to recommend great places to visit. ___________

3. The Mayan Temples weren’t built in time to be included in the original Seven Wonders of the World.

___________

4. The monuments and buildings on the new list were announced in Portugal. ___________

5. The internet will encourage the making of more lists in the future. ___________

Task 2. Read the text again, then choose the best answers.

1. The making of top lists ___________.

A. started with the internet

B. has been popular for years

C. has only happened recently

D. is only done by Greek historians

2. The original Seven Wonders of the World ___________.

A. were in Greece

B. included constructions in China and Guatemala

C. had all been built by Greeks

D. were chosen by Greek experts

3. The Greeks wrote the original list ___________.

A. to express admiration for their own culture

B. as part of the world’s first tourist guide

C. as a guide for builders

D. as a response to lists in other countries

4. The New7Wonders Foundation annoyed people because they ___________.

A. only allow people to vote once

B. organized a publicity stunt in Lisbon

C. didn’t include the Great Pyramid in their list

D. sent text messages asking people to vote

5. The list made by the New7Wonders Foundation ___________.

A. was compiled by experts

B. showed the votes for the best ancient wonder

C. only showed the results of voting in Lisbon

D. recorded votes by people using modem technology

6. UNESCO is an example of an organization that ___________.

A. organizes internet campaigns to complete popularity lists

B. works to protect places of cultural interests

C. specializes in entertainment

D. builds interesting monuments

Task 3. Match the words in bold in the text with these definitions.

1. A study in which people are asked for their opinions about something ________________

2. People that compete with other people to try and win something ________________

3. Made known publicly ________________

4. Traditions, language, and customs that exist from the past and have historical importance for a country ________________

5. To divide people or things into groups ________________

6. A lot of discussion and disagreement about something ________________

7. A feeling that something is bad or wrong ________________

8. To collect information from different places and arrange it in a list, report, etc. ________________

9. Something that has not been included ________________

10. A place where people are protected from harm or danger ________________

11. Not supporting one person or group, but supporting both sides ________________

12. An action that is done to get attention ________________

E. Speaking

• Everyday English

I. Choose the correct response. Then practise the short exchanges in pairs.

1. A: Why don’t we visit Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex?

B: a/ Good. We can enjoy many monuments.

b/ Great. It’s ‘Ha Long Bay on Land’.

2. A: Why is the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty unique?

B: a/ Because the Citadel became empty a long time ago.

b/ Because it’s the only stone citadel in Southeast Asia.

3. A: Shall we give a presentation about Taj Mahal?

B: a/ Right. It’s a World Heritage Site.

b/ Not really. It’s a long distance from us.

4. A: Why do so many people want to explore Son Doong Cave?

B: a/ It belongs to a national park.

b/ It’s the largest grotto in the world.

5. A: Why is the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An very well-known?

B: a/ You can admire the original architecture.

b/ It requires repairing and restoration.

6. A: How about visiting the Thang Long Imperial Citadel when we stay there?

B: a/ Good. There are many souvenirs to buy.

b/ Yes. I’d like to see the stone dragons.

7. A: What’s the icon of Ha Long Bay?

B: a/ It’s Fighting Cock Island.

b/ It’s famous for thousands of rocks.

8. A: Let’s go to Hue Imperial Citadel.

B: a/ Great. We can see the royal tombs there.

b/ We can learn its history and traditions.

9. A: Have you ever visited Hoi An Ancient Town?

B: a/ Yes. We came to some ancient homes.

b/ Shall we go to My Son Sanctuary then?

10. A: Which is a natural wonder of the world between the USA and Canada?

B: a/ It’s Niagara Falls.

b/ You can enjoy many beautiful landscapes.