اللغة الإنجليزية فصل ثاني

Unit 10

Lesson 1

Student’s Book pages 78-79

Ancient civilisations

 

 

Before you begin

1 Look at the photographs of Petra. Do you know who lived there in the past? What do you think life was like back then? Discuss with a partner.

Petra

The Nabatean Empire

 

 

The key words

The word / phrase	The meaning	The part of speech
commercial	related to business and the buying or selling of goods and services	Adjective
illiterate	not having learnt to read or write	Adjective
migrate	to travel from one part of the world to another	Verb
trade	to buy and sell goods and services, etc.	Verb
inscriptions	a piece of writing carved into a stone, rock, etc.	Noun
Aramaic	a language which is an ancestor of Arabic, spoken by people in some countries in the Middle East and Ethiopia	Noun

 

While reading

 

Who were the Nabateans

In Petra, Jordan, there lie the remains of a majestic city carved out of the desert rock. This city was the main area inhabited by the Nabateans, who migrated gradually from Arabia. Originally, they were a nomadic people who chose to settle in various places, such as southern Jordan, the Naqab Desert and northern Arabia.

There is little known about the lifestyle of the Nabateans, except that they were important traders in the ancient world. They might have traded goods such as spices, gold and animals with civilisations such as China, India and Rome because of their convenient position at a commercial crossroads in the world.

Many Roman writers wrote about what the Nabatean culture must have been like, but no one knows for sure. However, they agree that the language of the Nabateans could have been a mixture of Arabic and Aramaic. These Roman writers also say that the Nabateans were ruled by a royal family, and that, unlike many cultures in the ancient world, the Nabatean society might not have used any slaves. In addition to that, the Nabateans must have been expert engineers because they managed to build complicated water conservation systems in the desert terrain.

Despite archaeologists’ best efforts, there is a limit to what they can tell us about these fascinating people who lived in Jordan such a long time ago. Although it is still difficult to know much, they can’t have been illiterate because there are some inscriptions that remain. However, sadly for us, most of the things the Nabateans made and owned have been too easily destroyed by time or lost in the desert.

 The text talks about:

- Where the Nabateans chose to live after emigrating from Arabia.

- The Nabateans were excellent engineers.

- The Nabatean culture was different from other ancient cultures.

- The Nabateans were nomads before they chose to settle in Petra.

 

After reading

The Nabatean culture was different from other ancient cultures. Explain that justifying your answer.

The Nabateans were ruled by a royal family, and that, unlike many cultures in the ancient world, the Nabatean society might not have used any slaves. In addition to that, the Nabateans must have been expert engineers because they managed to build complicated water conservation systems in the desert terrain. Also, they can’t have been illiterate because there are some inscriptions that remain.