Giáo trình tiếng anh chuyên ngành lịch sử

UNIT TWO: DONG SON BRONZE DRUMS Before you read I.. The Dong Son bronze drums exhibit the advanced techniques and the great skill in the lost-wax casting of large objects, the Co Loa dr

QUANG BINH UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ENGLISH FOR HISTORY

(Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Lịch sử)

For: Pedagogical University of History

(Internal Use)

Compiled by HOANG NGOC ANH

DONG HOI, 2016

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………1

UNIT ONE: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN FARMING AND TOOLS 2

UNIT TWO: DONG SON BRONZE DRUMS… 8

UNIT THREE: MEDIEVALTECHNOLOGY 17

UNIT FOUR: EUROPEAN FARMING DURING MIDDLE AGES TO 1800'S………26

UNIT FIVE: LE LOI AND THE LE DYNASTY 33

UNIT SIX: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM 42

UNIT SEVEN: I HAVE A DREAM 51

UNIT EIGHT: STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION 59

REFERENCES……… 66

INTRODUCTION

English for History is a book used for the students of History major The book aims

at providing students basic English knowledge for History through selected topics of three historical periods in the world and Vietnam: The Old Ages, The Middle Ages and The Modern Ages

The book consists of 8 units written in English These units are designed to be suitable for students at pre-intermediate level or above In total the book provides 45 periods of teaching It includes a collection of useful texts and mainly Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Grammar Exercises and Writing Besides, translation activities are also added to improve students’ English for professional purposes in the future The book is expected to enable students to use English through historical events when they practice language skills

UNIT ONE:

Ancient Egyptian Farming and Tools

Before you read

I Look at the pictures with the words under them and match these words with their

definitions

a a wall built across the river to hold back the water and form a lake behind it:

b waterway for boats or ships to travel along or for water to flow to an area where it is needed:

c a garden tool with a long handle that is used for turning the soil and for removing weeds:

d large natural or artificial lake as source of area’s water supply:

e a large tool which is used to turn the soil over and is pulled by a tractor or

an animal:

f a wall made of earth, etc used for preventing a river from flooding:

the government strictly regulated every drop of water

The very first Egyptian farmers waited for the natural overflow of the Nile

to water their crops However, as early as 5000 BCE they had begun to figure out ways to control the great river In doing this, they invented the world’s first irrigation systems They began by digging canals to direct the Nile flood water to distant fields (One of the first official positions in the Egyptian government was that of “Canal Digger”.) Later, they constructed reservoirs to contain and save the water for use during the dry season The first reservoir in Egypt, and the first in the world, was at Fayum, a low-lying area of the desert During flood season the Fayum became a lake The Egyptians built about 20 miles of dikes around Fayum When the gates in the dikes were opened, the water flowed through canals and irrigated the fields The tops of the dams were leveled and used as roads During the flood season the dams were broken so that the river could pour into the canals

The ancient farmers also invented a device for moving water from the canal

to the fields Some crops had to be watered continually and since the 16th century BCE, the Shaduf came into use This was a long pole balanced on a horizontal wooden beam At one end of the pole was a weight and on the other was a bucket The weight made it easier to raise less than three liters

of water for irrigation or drinking

Some historians believed that the Egyptians were also the first people to use

a plow Early tomb paintings showed a bow-shaped stick that was dragged along the ground Later, human beings were harnessed to the plow One wall painting showed four people pulling and one directing the tool By

2000 BCE, the oxen had taken over the heavy work The harness was first slipped over the animal’s horn; eventually a neck collar was invented that did not interfere with the animal’s breathing

Hoeing was another way of loosening the soil Because the handles of the hoes were very short (a feature of these tools even in southern countries), this was backbreaking work The sower walked ahead of the team, a two- handled woven basket tied around his neck, his hands free for sowing The plough covered the seeds with earth Driving hogs or sheep over the field might serve the same purpose

Harvest time was a time of intense labor People worked from sunrise to

sunset, taking occasional breaks for drinking and eating If they were working for somebody else, an overseer would see to it that they did not dawdle The payment for the harvest season’s work was generally the

45 amount of grain a worker could reap in one day

To harvest wheat, wooden flint sickles were used and the wheat was left on the ground Thus, the reapers did not have to bend over low Women followed them gathering the sheaves into baskets The local poor, mostly women and children, trying to pick up all the grain missed by the others and

50 begging the reapers for alms, followed these in their turn

People or donkeys were used to transport the grain to the threshing floor, but mostly it was carried by two men in a sack, fastened to a wooden frame and connected to five meter-long carrying poles The threshing floor was carefully cleaned and sheaves were raked into a thick carpet Men wielding

55 whips, treading the kernel out of the husks, drove cattle or sheep over the

floor Emmer, the first sort of wheat widely grown in Egypt, was more difficult to dehusk than the later wheat varieties The straw was swept away with brooms and the wheat winnowed by throwing it into the air with a wooden scoop and letting the wind carry off the lighter chaff The grain

60 silos were in walled enclosures, carefully plaster-coated on the inside and

whitewashed on the outside In order to store the grain, the worker had to climb stairs to a small window near the top of the cone, carrying baskets

Through a little door at the bottom the grain could be taken out

Scribes measured the harvest and recorded it on their tablets A surveyor

65 measured the field with a measuring rope in order to calculate the quantity

of grain owed as taxes Egyptian scribes were good at calculating area and subsequent taxes, even if their way was of calculating was somewhat cumbersome

Completion of the harvest was a time for thanking the snake goddess

70 Ranuta Sheaves of wheat, fowls, cucumbers and watermelons, loaves of

bread and fruits were offered to her Pharaoh himself thanked the fertility god Min with a sheaf of wheat in front of great crowds during the festivities

in the first month of Shemu, the season of harvest Local gods all over Egypt were not forgotten At Asyut, the first of the wheat gathered was

75 sacrificed to the local god, Wapwait

It appears likely that most of Egypt’s adult population spent some time farming Although there were full time farmers, during and immediately following inundation most men were drafted through corvée (forced labor

by the government as taxation) to increase the personnel available for

80 dredging irrigation canals, surveying land boundaries, and preparing the

ground for planting Avoidance of corvée carried stiff penalties for the individual and sometimes his family Noblemen and scribes, the literate upper class, were the only people consistently excluded from the corvée

Most noblemen were automatically involved in the agricultural system,

85 however, because they owned farms and supervised royal or temple

agricultural land

Charles Lugor Leju From: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/dailylife/farming_tools.htm

After you read

III Comprehending the reading Mark the following statements T(true) or F(false)

based on what you read from the material Correct the false statements to make them true

1 Egyptian farmers invented the world’s first irrigation systems

2 Fayum was a low-lying area in the desert

3 Despite the flood season, the Fayum had no water

4 The dams were built during the flood season to prevent water from pouring into the canals

5 People had to work very hard during harvest time

6 They didn’t have time to eat on their working day

7 Only men did harvest work while women and children stayed at home

to do the housework

8 Emmer was not easily found in Egypt

9 Egyptians were good at calculating area because their way of calculating was very simple

10 Egyptians thanked the gods with a part of the crops they harvested

IV Matching words to their definitions Match each of the numbered words taken

from the reading to its definition or explanation in the second column In some cases, you may wish to find the word in the reading and use its context to help you

a the literate upper class

b tread the kernel out of the husks

f the first sort of wheat

g very hard working

h a way of loosening the soil

i supplying land and crops with water

j punishments

V Recognizing meaning categories One way to learn a lot of vocabulary quickly

is to learn several words with the same or similar meanings at the same time Another possibility is to learn words in meaning categories A category is a class

or group of items in a system of classification It is a kind or type of thing,

person, idea, and so on For example, the items mango, banana, orange are

member of the category fruits Put the following words taken from the reading

into the right categories You may need a dictionary to help you

reservoir dam reaper baskets dikes rake store hoes water pick up Irrigation systems Farming tools Harvesting

VI Vocabulary Consolidation

backbreaking occasional cumbersome stiff

continually somewhat consistently automatically

irrigation systems low-lying area flood season come into use bow-shaped stick two-handled woven baskets

from sunrise to sunset

in their turn all over Egypt full time farmers

Grammar Focus

Infinitives of Purpose

a Look at the following sentences taken from the reading

The very first Egyptian farmers waited for the natural overflow of the Nile to

water their crops

People or donkeys were used to transport the grain to the threshing floor

b Which of the following do the underlined parts of the sentences express?

a cause b purpose c necessity What is the structure of the underlined parts?

c In order to is also used to show purpose

Ex: The Egyptians built irrigation systems in order to water their crops

d The negative purpose is expressed with the phrase in order not to + V

Ex: The dams were broken in order not to prevent the river from pouring water

into the canals

(Incorrect: The dams were broken not to prevent the river from pouring water

into the canals.)

e Find more infinitive phrases of purpose in the reading

f Match each of the numbers on the left to the letters on the right to form

complete and logical sentences

1 The villagers always get up early

2 People no longer use buffalos

3 Fertilizers are used a lot

4 Many kinds of crops were offered to the gods

5 We need to buy insecticides

6 Farmers need to attend agricultural workshops

7 We shouldn’t use chemicals in food

a to kill the grasshoppers on our field

b to work on the fields

c in order to thank them

g Work with a partner Think of two purposes why people do each of the following

People study English to find a good job.

UNIT TWO:

DONG SON BRONZE DRUMS Before you read

I Getting the meaning of words from context Choose the word or phrase closest

to the meaning of the word in bold

1 Many drums were discovered in Viet Nam from the high land region of the

north to the plains of the south

a high areas of land that is not as high as a mountain

b large areas of flat land

c very high hills

3 It is still uncertain whether the bronze drums were made for religious

ceremonies, to rally men for war, or for another secular role

a gather

b choose

c arrest

d kill

4 The Co Loa drum would have required the use of up to 10 large casting

crucibles at one time

a severe tests

b metal containers used for cooking food

c large boxes for transporting goods

d pots in which metals are melted

5 Most scholar agree the Dong Son drums display an artistic level reaching

perfection that few cultures of the time could rival

a overwhelm

b overcome

c compare with

d b & c are right

6 The Hung kings chose a heron as the totem of Van Lang

a picture

b trait

c special symbol

d leader

7 Social events were well depicted on the drums through images of dancers,

musicians and musical instruments

a shown in a painting or drawing

b shown to be true or to exist

II Read the following material quickly Then read the explanation and do the

exercises after the reading

DONG SON BRONZE DRUMS

1

5

Many bronze drums of the Dong Son period have been reported in South and

Southwest China, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia In Viet Nam, approximately 140 drums were discovered in many locations throughout Viet Nam from the high land region of the north to the plains of the south and as far

as to the Phu Quoc island

Scholars have traditionally traced its bronze-casting technology to northern

China This theory was based on the assumption that bronze casting in eastern Asia originated in northern China; however, this idea has been discredited by archaeological discoveries in north-eastern Thailand in the 1970's In the

10 words of one scholar, "bronze casting began in Southeast Asia and was later borrowed by the Chinese, not vice versa as the Chinese scholars have always claimed" Such interpretation is supported by the work of modern Vietnamese archaeologists They have found that the earliest bronze drums of Dong Son are closely related in basic structural features and in decorative design to the

15 pottery of the Phung Nguyen culture

It is still uncertain whether the bronze drums were made for religious ceremonies, to rally men for war, or for another secular role Most of the bronze drums were made in Viet Nam and South China but they were traded

to the south and west such as Java and Bali islands, and were valued by people

20 with very different cultures The Dong Son bronze drums exhibit the advanced techniques and the great skill in the lost-wax casting of large objects, the Co Loa drum would have required the smelting of between 1 and 7 tons of copper ore and the use of up to 10 large castings crucibles at one time

Most scholars agree the Dong Son drums display

25 an artistic level reaching perfection that few

cultures of the time could rival The Dong Son drums, especially the early ones, were decorated with very rich and well composed images of objects, humans and animals These images

30 together provided a lively description of the

Dong Son society, its people, their daily chores

as well as their spiritual life and ceremonial activities

The decorative images on the tympanum follow a common pattern: at the

35 center is a star encircled by concentric panels of human or animal scenes interspersed with bands of geometric motifs Birds, deer, buffaloes and hornbills were depicted Historians have identified the connection between

Van Lang and the word vlang (or blang), a large bird in the Austro-Asiatic

Viet language Furthermore, the Hung kings also chose a heron, an aquatic

40 bird, as the totem of Van Lang

The Dong Son society was an agricultural one based on the wet rice cultivation The images on the Dong Son drums vividly described the activities associated with rice production such as people carrying plows, buffaloes and oxen working the fields and farmers milling rice with hand

45 pestles

Water rituals were well depicted on the face and body of the drums Scenes of boat race are believed to represent village festivals to celebrate the supreme role of water in agriculture Images of Dong Son warriors and their weapons are found carved on many drums Many types of weapon were represented:

50 cross-bow, javelin, hatchet, spear, dagger and body shield These images confirm the historical setting of the Dong Son time as its people was in

constant fighting for survival against the people from the north

Social events were well depicted on the drums through images of dancers, musicians and musical instruments There were bronze drums, bells, castanets,

55 the senhs (rattlers made of bamboo cylinders taped to the arm or leg to make sound when dancing) and the khens (instruments with 4 to 6 long pipes attached to a resonance box) On the Ngoc Lu and Hoang Ha drums are images of Dong Son people sitting in line on the floor beating the bronze drums with drumsticks Dancers in ceremonial garments process in a counter

60 clockwise direction, each dancer holding an instrument or a weapon with one hand while the other hand forms some sort of rhythmic gesture

Minh Bui – http://www.viettouch.com/pre-hist/dongson_drums.html

After you read

III Comprehending the reading Mark the following statements T(true), F(false)

or NI(no information) based on what you read from the material Correct the false statements to make them true

1 Archaeologists have found the bronze drums only in the highland region

of Viet Nam

2 Many bronze drums were discovered in Thailand in the 1970’s

3 Except in Viet Nam, the bronze drums were not valued in other countries

4 There were lots of images of objects, humans and animals on the Dong Son drums

5 The images on the Dong Son drums reveal the Dong Son society to the archaeologists

6 A heron lives near water

7 In the Dong Son society, farmers used machines to mill rice

8 Van Lang was the name of Viet Nam during the periods of Hung kings

9 People in the Dong Son society used the hatchet to cut down trees

10 The bronze drum was the only musical instrument in the Dong Son society

IV Separating Facts from Opinions It’s important for readers to recognize the

difference between facts and opinions However, the distinction between fact and opinion often is not clear Events taken to be common knowledge, statements supported by scientific evidence, or statements about something that can be verified (checked out) are generally taken to be facts Beliefs expressed by only one person are usually considered opinions which might be disagreed by other people

Which of the following statements from the reading do you think are facts and which are opinions? Write F in front of the facts and O in front of the opinions Line numbers are given so you can examine the contexts

1 Approximately 140 drums were discovered in many locations in Viet Nam (line 3)

2 Bronze casting in eastern Asia originated in northern China (line 7)

3 The earliest bronze drums of Dong Son are closely related in basic structural features and in decorative designs to the pottery of the Phung Nguyen culture (line 13)

4 The bronze drums were made for religious ceremonies (line 16)

5 The drums display an artistic level reaching perfection that few cultures

of the time could rival (line 24)

6 Birds, deer, buffaloes and hornbills were depicted (line 36)

7 The Dong Son society was an agricultural one based on the wet rice cultivation (line 41)

8 Scenes of boat race represent village festivals to celebrate the supreme role of water in agriculture (line 47)

9 Images of Dong Son warriors and their weapons are found carved on many

drums (line 48)

10 On the Ngoc Lu and Hoang Ha drums are images of Dong Son people sitting in line on the floor beating the bronze drums with drumsticks (line 57)

V Words in Contexts Write the missing words in the blanks Choose from the

following words which are taken from the reading passage “ Dong Son Bronze Drums”

1 Christmas is no longer a sole holiday

2 Small companies have to struggle for in today’s economy

3 Our school is going to welcome a famous who is lecturing about Dong Son culture

4 The international conference aims to bring together people from different

5 The bald eagle could be considered the

United States

of the people of the

6 The tea of several East Asian cultures is very well known

7 She plays the in a band

8 Banh chung is

holidays

made by many Vietnamese families on Tet

9 There is a statue in bronze in the garden

10 Besides cow breeding, rice

region

is developing very well in this

She loves eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping

GER GER GER GER C) ADJECTIVES: He is tall, dark, and handsome

ADJ ADJ ADJ

My friend is intelligent, creative, and eloquent

D) INFINITIVES:

They wanted to paint the living room, to lay a new carpet, and to buy a new

To face adversity, to solve problems, and to overcome difficulties all give

one a sense of satisfaction

Tom always works hard, carefully, and quickly

ADV ADV ADV She sang beautifully, sweetly, and charmingly

E) PAST TENSE:

The Romans conquered, colonied, and governed much of the world

PAST PAST PAST The maid took my bags to my room, opened the door, and put them at the

foot of the bed

F) PAST PERFECT TENSE:

He had finished the game, (had) taken a shower, and (had) eaten lunch by the PAST PERF PAST PERF PAST PERF

time I got to his house

* Note: The auxiliary HAD may be omitted in the second and third verb phrases

II Structures which are joined by AND, BUT, AS, OR, and THAN must have

the same grammatical form

A) AND:

He enjoyed the music of Spain and the sculpture of France

She is young, intelligent and charming

Taking a bus can be as costly as taking a plane

* Examples from the reading passage:

1 Our ancestors had overcome the natural hardship with their courage, wisdom,

N N + and creativeness to invent the technology of refining metal

and + N

1 The copper drum was the best achievement symbol in our old country’s

economic cultural and social activities

N PHRASE + and + N PHRASE

2 They are being researched and analyzed to find out the factors about the

PP + and + PP economic, cultural and social activities, especially the Dong Son culture then

ADJ + ADJ + and + ADJ

PRACTICE

1 Can you find any sentences with the parallel structures in the reading text?

What are they?

2 Underline some parallel structures in the reading selection below

The Ancient People

Accompanying the archaeologists, through, the cultural foundation of the ancient

people from the dawn of the stone age to the dawn of the iron age, we know that the stages of Phung Nguyen-Dong Dau-Go Mun- Dong Son, the relics prove that: the period of King Hung Vuong, 4000 years ago, is the reality, and the Hung Kings were the first one who built the country of Van Lang, opening a new civilization for our people From 100,000 to 2 million years ago, people stood straight like us now Especially, they knew how to use fire Perhaps, they found it from the forest fires and tried to keep it for warm, cooking, threatening wild animals Finding fire had marked an important pace in the process of improving from gibbon into human No other kinds of animals who know how to use fire besides monkeys Due to the growth of human life, collective labor became more and more complex requiring diversified gestures in relationship Until gestures couldn’t express their thoughts, language is born Language proved the fact that they are human was true Scientists called them Neanderthal Besides language, they knew how to bury the dead Finally, the modern intelligent people, who were entirely similar to us, appeared 30,000 years ago Our Vietnam not only was

in that common advance, but it’s also believed to be one of the original places

where human appeared The first oldest place, Do mountain, was discovered in Vietnam, 9 km from Thieu Khanh village, Thieu Hoa, Thanh Hoa town This is

an old, big mountain with the height of 150 meters, rather cliffy There is a lot of bazan rock locating on the right hand of the Chu river and a narrow row of land

On the cliff, 20-30 meters from the mountain foot, there are a lot thick layers of rock Scientists have discovered many other places all over the country implying the ancient people’s appearance The daily activities of the ancient people were hunting, plucking and collecting The hunting was for men They even hunted the wild big animals such as elephants, bears, tigers, etc To go hunting such those big animals such those big animals, they had to gather into groups for their rudimentary pointed weapons made of wood and stone Therefore, it was too difficult for them and the animals they hunted were not enough to earn their living The Stone Age lasted a very long time over most of the countries in the world, and so did it in Vietnam Then they changed from hunting, plucking and collecting into cultivating and rearing before producing the pottery, discovering metal and refining metal

UNIT THREE:

MEDIEVAL TECHNOLOGY Before you read

I Pre-questions Answer the following questions with the people in your group

1 Who invented PAPER, MAGNETS and COMPASS?

2 When and where were they invented?

3 How were they invented?

4 Which of the following words do you think will appear in the reading text you are going to learn? Circle the words you have chosen

Read

II Now read the reading passage quickly to check your prediction Locate the

words you have found by telling which passage they belong to

By the third century AD paper-making and usage had spread beyond China Using paper for toilet purposes was recorded in China in the sixth century,

AD It was made from rice straw and was cheap and soft Tradition holds that paper came into the Islamic countries when the Arabs conquered Samarkand

in 753 AD By the year 793 AD there was a paper factory in Baghdad and by

1000 AD paper was in general use throughout the Islamic world, not only for books but for wrapping material and napkins as well By 950 AD water power was used in the fiber pounding process in Baghdad

Paper entered Europe through Islamic Spain and Sicily in the tenth century The first written reference to it seems to be in the pseudonymous Theophilus Presbyter's "The Art of the Painter" (first half of the twelfth century) where

he recommends "Byzantine parchment", most likely meaning paper However, paper came slowly to Christian Europe and it was not until the 13th century that its use became at all widespread and production begun Typically the west almost immediately began to use water power to process the pulp

to settling tanks with mesh screens at the bottom The fibers settled into a mat which eventually was taken out, the water removed by squeezing, and the sheets hung to dry In the third step the sheets were rubbed smooth with a stone and then sized by soaking in a vat of gelatin and alum and again dried

As the primary use for paper in Europe was for writing, this last step was necessary to enable the surface to take and hold ink

Magnets

The history of magnetism in Western Europe, as distinct from that of the compass, is fairly confused One modern book on medieval technology states that "both European and Chinese antiquity were aware of the ability of the lodestone (a variety of magnetite) to attract and repel iron ", but no source for this is given Indeed, the statement itself as it stands is incorrect as a lodestone will only attract (and not repel) unmagnetized iron Nevertheless, the statement is not implausible

The first actual mention of magnets (again as opposed to the compass) seems

to be a reference to them in the Roman d'Enéas, composed between 1155 and

1160, in which it is written that the walls of Dido's Carthage were studded with magnets so that an armed man, approaching too closely, would be pulled to the wall and held tightly From the text it is clear that this attractive property of magnets was well-known to its readers, since no explanation of this property is offered On the other hand, the story occurs during a recitation of the wonders of Carthage; clearly the reader or auditor of the

Enéas is being invited to marvel

The next written work in the West mentioning magnetism (as opposed to

discussing the compass) seems to have been the De universeo creaturarum

written by William of Auvergne in 1231- 1236 when he was Bishop of Paris

He explained the motion of the celestial spheres by analogy to magnetic induction, the ability of a magnet to magnetize a piece of iron

Jean Gimpel notes that Petrus Peregrinus (Peter of Maricourt), who was considered by Roger Bacon to be the foremost experimentalist of his day, in

1269 wrote Epistolae de Magnete (Letters on the Magnet) to a Picard

countryman, Suggerius of Foncaucourt In this, Peter explained the "laws" by which magnets repel and attract each other and how to identify the poles of a compass Gimpel notes that Peter's work was so complete that no further studies on the properties of magnets were done until the monumental work of William Gilbert in 1600 (in which he included extracts from the work of Peter of Maricourt)

The compass was known in Europe in the late 12th century, so that it is essentially certain that the properties of magnets were known to some in Western Europe by that time This agrees with the literary evidence given above And it is clear that the properties of magnets had been decently

65 explored a century later More than this cannot be said

Compass

The compass was a Chinese invention There seems to be a reference to a south-pointing spoon in a manuscript of the Han dynasty written in 83 AD Another reference of the same period states that the jade collectors of Cheng

70 carried a "south pointer" with them so that they would not lose their way

Magnetized needles used as direction pointers are attested to in the 8th century AD in China, and between 850 and 1050 they seem to have become common as navigational devices on ships The White dates such use a bit later, citing dates of 1089-1093 and 1116 for mention of magnetized needles

75 being used for geomancy and 1119 and 1122 for use as a mariner's compass

Knowledge of the compass as a directional device came to Western Europe probably sometime in the 12th century It is essentially certain that it was knowledge of the Chinese compass that was transmitted to Western Europe The assumed path is by the overland Silk Road and not by sea on the

80 "standard" trading route from China to India to Arab and Egyptian ports

This assumption is made because the Arabs seem to have learned of the compass from the Europeans

The first mention of the directional compass (as opposed to magnets

themselves) occurs in Alexander Neckam's De naturis rerum (On the Natures

85 of Things), probably written in Paris in 1190 It is noted that Neckham's book

was widely read by the end of the century, and that by about 1218 Jacques de Vitry considered the compass as a necessity for maritime navigation By

1225 it was in use in Iceland

It is reasonable to assume that the actual date of the introduction of the

90 compass to Europe predates Neckham's note of it by a number of years That

explains the seemingly "rapid" adoption of it as noted by contemporary writers

The first Moslem mention of the compass occurs in a Persian story of 1232-

1233 The first Arabic mention occurs in 1242 The White notes that the

95 Arabic word for compass is al-konbas, a further indication of transmission

from the west

After you read

From: http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Timeline.html

III Getting Meaning by Using Punctuation Clues: Parentheses ( ) and Commas,

The context of reading material sometimes contains clues to the meanings of vocabulary items This means short definitions, similar words, explanations of the items, or examples of their meanings might come between certain kinds of

punctuation marks like quotation marks “” or parentheses ( ) They can also appear after a comma (,) or a dash (-) In this reading passage, we can find some

meanings of vocabulary items by basing on parentheses ( ) or commas (,)

Look at the following examples in the reading text:

1 The first written reference to it seems to be in the pseudonymous Theophilus Presbyter's "The Art of the Painter" (first half of the twelfth century) where he recommends "Byzantine parchment", most likely meaning paper

- We know the time when "The Art of the Painter" was published by basing on

the phrase in the parentheses (first half of the twelfth century)

- We know the meaning of "Byzantine parchment" by basing on the phrase after

the comma “most likely meaning paper”

2 Jean Gimpel notes that Petrus Peregrinus (Peter of Maricourt), who was considered by Roger Bacon to be the foremost experimentalist of his day, in 1269 wrote Epistolae de Magnete (Letters on the Magnet) to a Picard countryman, Suggerius of Foncaucourt

Form the sentence above, we can identify some meanings as follows:

- Who is Petrus Peregrinus? - He is Peter of Maricourt

(Peter of Maricourt is between two parentheses)

- How was he considered by Roger Bacon? - He was considered by Roger Bacon

to be the foremost experimentalist of his day

(“He was considered by Roger Bacon to be the foremost experimentalist of his

day” is between two commas.)

- What does it mean by Epistolae de Magnete? - Epistolae de Magnete means

“Letters on the Magnet” (This phrase is between two parentheses)

Now read the reading passage again and answer the following questions

1 What do “rags” mean in our lesson?

2 What does it mean by “lodestone”?

3 What does it mean by” attract”?

4 When was the Roman d'Enéas composed?

5 What does it mean by “magnetic induction”?

6 What does it mean by “al-konbas”?

7 What does it mean by the title“De naturis rerum” of Neckham's book?

IV Word Finding

Find the words in the first reading passage PAPER that mean …

1 to cover a larger and larger area

2 a soft substance that is made by crushing wood, fabric or other material and

then used to make paper

3 stems of wheat or other grain plants that have been cut and dried

Find the words in the second reading passage MAGNETS that mean …

4 a quality or characteristic that some thing has

5 decorated with small raised pieces of metal

6 otherwise

Find the words in the third reading passage COMPASS that mean …

7 a very old book or document that was written by hand before printing was

invented

8 to prove or show that something is true

9 across the land; by land, not by sea or by air

10 the movement of ships or aircraft

V Comprehension Check Multiple - choice Questions

PASSAGE 1: PAPER

1 According to the passage,

a Water-suspended vegetable fibers were used to heat a screen

b A screen was used to dry water-suspended vegetable fibers

c Heat was used to dry water-suspended vegetable fibers felted onto a screen

d A screen was used to felt water-suspended vegetable fibers by using heat

2 In the sixth century …

a water power was used in the fiber pounding process

b in China paper for toilet purpose was made from rice straw and it was cheap and soft

c paper was generally used beyond China

d paper was used to produced books and napkins

3 According to the passage,

a the west knew how to use water power to produce paper in the 13th century

b the production of paper became widespread in Spain and Sicily before the

13th century

c the use of paper became widespread in Christian Europe in the 13th century

d paper still was not produced in Europe in the late 13th century

4 The third step of the production of paper was necessary because …

a it made it easy for people to dry paper

b it made the surface of paper become smooth

c ink could be removed from the surface of paper

d it made it possible for the surface of paper to take and hold ink

PASSAGE 2: MAGNETS

5 According to the passage, ………

a the statement that both European and Chinese antiquity were aware of the ability of the lodestone to attract and repel iron is not correct

b no information on the history of magnetism in Western Europe is provided

c the lodestone will not only attract unmagnetized iron but also repel it

d the European and Chinese of ancient past knew how to use the lodestone

6 It is inferred from what is written in the Roman d'Enéas that ………

a the property of magnets was well-known to the readers

b the walls of Dido’s Carthage studded with magnets would pull and hold tightly an armed man to the wall if he moved too near to it

c the explanation of the property of magnets in the walls of Dido’s Carthage is not given

d the readers or auditors of the Roman d'Enéas are offered a visit to the walls

of Dido’s Carthage

7 By the late 12th century ………

a some people in Western Europe agreed that the properties of magnets had been explored

b the compass had been explored in Western Europe

c some people in Western Europe certainly knew the properties of magnets

d Western European people began to explore the properties of magnets

PASSAGE 3: COMPASS

8 Magnetized needles ….…

a were used as a mariner’s compass in the 8th century AD

b were used for geomancy between 1119 and 1122

c are proved to have been a Chinese invention in the 8th century AD

d seemingly became common as navigational devices on ships between 850 and 1050

9 Which of the following sentences is true?

a The Overland Silk Road is the assumed path from China to Western Europe

b The knowledge of the compass came to Western Europe from the Arab and Egyptian ports

c The knowledge of the Chinese compass was certainly transmitted to Western Europe in the 12th century

d Seemingly, the Arabs learned of the compass from the Chinese

10 Which of the following sentences is not true?

a The compass was considered as necessity for maritime navigation by Jacques de Vitry by 1218

b The compass was used in Iceland by 1225

c The directional compass was first mentioned in Neckham’s book, probably written in Paris in 1190

d Neckham’s book was written by 1218

VI Follow-up Questions

The Wheelbarrow

Choose the most suitable words from the following list of words in the box to fill in each numbered blank in the reading passage below Remember that the there are more words than necessary

Wheelbarrows first ……….(1) in Europe during the Middle Ages The earliest evidence for them is pictorial, appearing first in a drawing by Matthew

Paris in his Life of SS Alban and

Amphibalus dating to the

……….(2) half of the 13th century (The wheelbarrow is somewhat hidden at the bottom right of the figure.) The wheelbarrow supplemented the stretcher as a carrying device, but did not supplant it, as can also be seen in the drawing

While new to Europe, the ……….(3) seems to have been known in China at least as early as 230 AD, if not earlier, when it is described in Chinese

……….(4) specifications The Chinese wheelbarrow had a single wheel under the center of a boxy ……….(5), unlike the medieval wheelbarrow where the……….(6) was often far forward

A later illumination ……….(7) between 1448 and 1465 shows that the stretcher remained in use along ……….(8) the wheelbarrow, though the efficiency of the latter in manpower can be ……….(9) seen The illustration shows Bertha, wife of Girard de Roussillon, giving orders during the

……….(10) of the Madeleine at Vézelay in the 9th century

From: http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Timeline.html

VI Vocabulary Consolidation

Fiber bark mulberry straw process Sicily

conquer pound shred soak rot squeeze

water- suspended Islamic pseudonymous Christian widespread

typically decently

prior to pulp-laden liquid

on the other hand

pulp screen gelatin alum magnet magnetism antiquity property recitation auditor analogy manuscript jade geomancy mariner indication

stud marvel attest transmit assume predate

mesh unmagnetized implausible celestial monumental navigational maritime contemporary

Grammar Focus

NOUN CLAUSES BEGINNING WITH THAT

I INTRODUCTION

* A noun is used as a subject or an object of a verb

* A noun clause is also used as a subject or an object of a verb In other words, a noun clause is used in the same ways as a noun Compare:

oun clause)

* The following words are used to introduce noun clauses:

(1) (question words:) who, whom, what, which, whose, when, where, why, how (2) whether, if

(3) that

In this lesson, we will focus on noun clauses beginning with “THAT”

Examples:

- I think that he is a good doctor

- We know that the world is round

- We told him that we had met his father

(noun) His story

(noun clause)What he said

was interesting I heard his story (noun)

what he said (n

- The children say that they will go to school next week

II USES

When a noun clause beginning with THAT, it can have the following functions:

1 Subject of a verb

That she doesn’t understand spoken English is obvious

That the world is round is a fact

OR: It is obvious that she doesn’t understand spoken English

It is a fact that the world is round

(That she doesn’t understand spoken English is obvious

= It’s obvious that she doesn’t understand spoken English.)

2 Direct object of a verb

Bob said that he was pleased to welcome us

* Examples from the reading passage:

- One modern book on medieval technology states that "both European

and Chinese antiquity were aware of the ability of the lodestone to attract and repel iron ", but no source for this is given

- Another reference of the same period states that the jade collectors of

Cheng carried a "south pointer" with them so that they would not lose their way

3 THAT is used with a certain number of adjectives of emotion and feeling:

certain, sorry, confident, glad, sure…

I’m certain that I posted the letter

She is very glad that you are able to come

John is quite confident that he will pass the examination

I’m sorry that I can’t come to your party tomorrow

Mary was sure that her husband would come back soon

* Examples from the reading passage:

The compass was known in Europe in the late 12th century, so that it is

essentially certain that the properties of magnets were known to some in

PRACTICE

Read the text “Medieval Technology” again, pick up at least 5 sentences containing

NOUN CLAUSES with THAT

UNIT FOUR:

EUROPEAN FARMING DURING MIDDLE AGES TO 1800'S

Before you read

I Pre - Questions In your group, discuss the following questions

1 How did the European farmers live in the Middle Ages?

2 How did they work in the field?

3 What kinds of crops did they produce? How did they harvest their crops?

4 Could they possess their own lands and their own houses? Why (not)?

II True (T) / False (F) Statements Before reading the reading passage, read the

following sentences carefully and decide whether they are true or false Then read the text to check your answers Remember to correct the false statements

independent economic units which consumed most of the food that was raised

ox or marry if they were not given permissions from the lord of the manor

food that they raised

the time of crop growing

fields

grow the turnip crop on the land

farmed the land and this new system encouraged them to experiment with the new types of farming techniques and fertilizers

Ages was improved by adding turnips and clover to the crops

year

breeding to produce the best cattle and livestock

Read

III Read the following passage to check what you have done in Before you read

and do the exercises after the reading

EUROPEAN FARMING DURING MIDDLE AGES TO 1800'S

During the middle ages the main economic units were the villages and/or

manors These were self-contained economic units which ate most of the food that was raised They sold the surplus food only in good years There were basically two levels of people in this society; the peasant and the lord or priest

First were the peasants or serfs who raised the food "Serfs were peasant farmers who were neither full freemen nor slaves They could not leave the village, sell an ox, or marry without the lord of the manor's permissions."

The second level of society was the lords and priests The lords required taxes from the serfs in both food and labor from each family The church required 10% of everything the serf produced The largest building in the village was normally the church This higher level lived off the labors of the peasant class

Each serf would have to pay to work a strip of land The strip was defined by the acre The acre was the amount one could plow in one days’ work As well, the serf would have a set number of days they would be required to work

on the lords land The system was called the open field system In this system, temporary hedges would be set up to keep cattle out of the fields The strips were only regarded as owned by the serf during the time of crop growing After the crop was harvested the land would revert to common land for cattle grazing This system was a disincentive to developing the land or conserving the soil

During the middle ages, they used a three or four crop rotation in their fields The rotation might be wheat the first year, barley the next, and the third year the land would lay fallow with nothing growing in it The village or manor also had lands, which were known as the commons, where all the serfs or peasants could graze their animals

New System of Farming 1800's

Under the Medieval system, land was communal and split into strips given out each year to different serfs Under the new system, known as the enclosure system, the farms were now divided up into small compact farms The commons of the old system were also divided up under the new system Now, instead of communal farming, the land was farmed by individuals This encouraged these individuals to experiment with new types of farming techniques and fertilizers The farmers now could profit from better farm production year after year

During the eighteen hundreds, there was also improvement to the crop

rotation system used during the Middle Ages "Lord Charles 'Turnip' Townshend (1674-1738) was famous for adding turnips and clover (grown for

40 cattle feed) to the crops In this way, over four years the crop rotation for one field might be: year one wheat; year two turnips; year three barley or oats; year four clover." This system eliminated the need for the soil to lay empty or fallow for a year The turnip crop that uses different nutrients and clover helps

to preserve the soil properties In addition to this, rich manure from the cattle

45 made for a very effective food production system With these additional crops, farmers could now keep their cattle through the winter, thus providing meat all year around

In addition to improvement in crop production, there was also improvement in live- stock During the middle ages, the cattle were grazed in common areas

50 which limited the possibility for any selective breeding In the 1700's we found a British farmer named John (Robert) Bakewell, along with others of his time, became very active in breeding Many of the more popular breeds used in livestock today date back to this time Bakewell and the others bred cattle, pig and other live stock for specific characteristics such as size or milk

55 production Farmers today still use selective breeding to produce the best livestock for their specific purpose

Common Tasks for Middle-Aged workers

January & February - work indoors repairing hunting nets, sharpening tools,

making utensils - on mild days work outdoors gather firewood, prune vines

60 and mend fences

March - work in the fields, plowing and cultivating

April - clean ditches, pruning trees, fixing sheds, hauling timber, and repairing

roofs

May - sheep cleaning and shearing, planting and field maintenance

July - harvest grains, bundle sheaves, weeding gardens August - threshing and winnowing of grains, grinding of grains into flower

September - fruits picked and dried or stored, grapes picked and pressed for

juice and wine

empty fields sown with winter wheat, repairing and cleaning equipment

November - firewood gathered, split, and stacked for themselves and the lord,

pigs and cows slaughtered and meat smoked, flex and hemp processed to

75 make thread and rope

December - trim trees, grape vines pruned, and hunting

From: http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/farm-city/middle-ages.htm

After you read

IV Vocabulary Match the word with the correct definition

b not needing or depending on other people

c a farmer who owns or rents a small piece of land

d more than is needed or used

e to cut or gather a crop

f an area of land in the country used for growing crops

g the top layer of the earth in which plants, trees, etc grow

h to get rid of something or somebody

i producing the result that is wanted or needed

j to separate something into parts

V Comprehension Check Read the passage again and answer the following

questions with your partner

1 How many classes of people were there in society in the middle ages?

2 What did peasants need to have if they wanted to get married or leave the

village?

3 What did the serfs or the peasants have to do for the lords?

4 What does it mean by “the open field system” in the medieval society?

5 What are some differences between the old system of farming and the new

systems of farming in 1800’s in the reading text?

6 What benefits did the new systems of farming in 1800’s bring to European

farmers in the Middle Ages?

VI Group Work Translate the third paragraph of the reading text into Vietnamese VII Follow - up Questions Work in pair Translate the following passage into

English

Xã hội Đông Sơn là một xã hội nông nghiệp dựa vào viêc trồng lúa nước Hình ảnh trên trống đồng Đông Sơn mô tả mồt cách sinh động các hoạt động liên kết với việc sản xuất lúa chẳng hạn như người dân mang cày, trâu và bò làm việc trên cánh đồng

who is driving a new car (clause) driving a new car (phrase)

VIII Vocabulary Consolidation

Manor peasant lord priest serf strip acre hedge disincentive rotation enclosure turnip clover barley oat nutrient manure breeding livestock

live-off revert graze rotate split profit eliminate breed

self-contained surplus temporary fallow compact communal selective

Grammar Focus

REDUCTION OF ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

An adjective clause can be reduced to a phrase Unlike a clause, a phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject and a verb

An adjective clause can often be reduced to an adjective phrase when the relative pronoun of the adjective clause is the subject of the clause You can reduce the

clause by either (1) omitting the verb “be” or (2) changing the form of the verb

to -ing

1 ACTIVE VOICE:

who goes out every night who is going out now who was going out at 10 o’clock last night who went out last night

who has been going out for two hours going out

She has published a lot of books

2 SUBJECT+ TO BE + NOUN

Her name, which is Lou An, contains easy sounds for the deaf to pronounce

Her name, Lou An, contains easy sounds for the deaf to pronounce

My teacher, who is John Snow, teaches English very well

My teacher, John Snow, teaches English very well

3 SUBJECT + TO BE + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE:

The books that are on the table belong to Tom

The books on the table belong to Tom

The man who is next to the window went to our house last night

The man next to the window went to our house last night

4 SUBJECT + TO BE + ADJECTIVE:

The man who is responsible said the underground water had a high salt content

The man responsible said the underground water had a high salt content

I would like to talk to all the people who are present at this meeting

I would like to talk to all the people present at this meeting

5 PASSIVE VOICE:

A verb that is used in the passive uses the -ed form or the past participle of the verb

- The woman that was invited to join the club will be absent tomorrow

invited to join the club

- That is the book which has been bought for a long time

bought for a long time

- I like the kind of car which is made in Japan

made in Japan

which contains many short stories for children

containing many short stories for children

* Examples from the reading passage:

1 During the eighteen hundreds, there was also improvement to the crop rotation

system (which was) used during the Middle Ages

2 Many of the more popular breeds (which are) used in livestock today date

back to this time

PRACTICE

A Identify the reduced adjective clauses in the following passage

Archipelagos finds of fossils and the remain of ancient people excavated in Bac Son Grotto in Lang Son province as well as artefacts believed to belong to the Stone Age and excavated at Nui Do (Do Mountain) in Thanh Hoa province have shown that human life has been established in Vietnam for hundreds of thousands

of years Thus, Vietnam is considered to be among the first to be habituated in the world

In the first thousand years before Christ (BC) three centres of early civilisation were gradually established in Vietnam, which closely connected with primitive governing states They included the Dong Son Civilisation; The Sa Huynh Civilisation and the Oc Eo Civilisation Based on these stages of civilisation a primitive from of governing state was founded by the ancient Viet people known

as the legendary Van Lang country governed by the Hung kings The Hung kings established their court in Phong Chau in the hilly northern province of Vinh Phu This was followed by the establishment of the Au Lac court which was reigned

by King An Duong Vuong in the third century BC It established its capital seat

at Co Loa in Ha Noi's suburban district of Dong Anh

B Change the adjective clauses to adjective phrases

1 Be sure to follow the instructions that are given a the top of the page

2 We have an apartment which overlooks the parks

3 I come from a city that is located in the southern part of the country

4 There is almost no end to the problems that face a head of state

5 Because Chinese colonization lasted for about 1000 years, knowledge of the early society is extremely important to the Vietnamese people of today who are interested in their heritage

6 Little women, which was a novel published in 1868, is my sister’s favorite