Task 3

   

In this task, you'll hear a passage about the history of painting pictures.

Fill in the following chart.

Time	Descriptions
About 30,000 years ago	Who painted the pictures? _____________________________________ What was painted? _____________________________________ Where were the paintings found? _____________________________________ Why did people paint the pictures? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About 5,000 years ago	Who began to use pictures as a kind of writing? ____________________________________________________ What did the simple pictures and signs represent? ___________________________________________________ How did the Egyptians record information or tell stories? ___________________________________________________
By 1000 B.C.	Who developed a simpler system of writing? ___________________________________________________ Why was this system simpler? ______________________________________________________________________ Who copied the Greek system and developed an alphabet that is used all over the world? ________________________________
At present	What are some of the pictures we still use today? ___________________________________________________

Task 6

  

This passage is about the decline of the Mayan civilization.

A. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the tape.

1) The Mayan Classical Period was from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D. [    ]

2) People began to move to the market center around 300 A.D. [    ]

3) The central area was important culturally. [    ]

4) Tikal was a market center in the north. [    ]

5) After leaving the central area, some Mayas moved to the north. [    ]

6) Uxmal was a large ceremonial center in the central area. [    ]

B. Fill in the blanks with what you hear on the tape.

1) During the Mayan Classical Period, the large ceremonial centers in the central area were used 

    only for __________________, and as ________________.

2) The increase in population in the market centers caused many problems for farmers: they had 

    to ___________________________ on their land. In addition, the centers became _____________________ 

    because of overcrowding, and _______________ was one of the greatest problems.

3) Historians aren't sure why the centers collapsed, but some theories have pointed to ______________ 

    and _________________ as possible explanations.