SHORT READING PASSAGES 2

Stonehenge is an ancient monument situated about ten miles north of Salisbury in England. It was built about 4500 years ago, but by whom and for what purpose remains a mystery. The builders must have known of geometry. They may have been influenced by the Mycenaeans, whose architecture was similar. Some of the stones must have been brought from West Wales, over 135 miles away. These stones weigh more than fifty tons. They may have been brought on rafts and rollers. Experts say that it must have taken 1500 men more than five years to transport them. Stonehenge was probably built in three stages. First, settlers from continental Europe built a temple for sun worship. Later the "Beaker" people added the stone circles. Finally, people of the Wessex Culture transformed Stonehenge into an observatory. They could calculate the exact time of Midsummer and Midwinter and of equinoxes

We understand from the passage that the construction of the Stonehenge ----

• began 135 miles away from Salisbury

• is thought to have taken place in more than one stage

• was first documented by the Mycenaeans

• is not a mystery that needs to be solved

• was completed in less than five years

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Stonehenge is an ancient monument situated about ten miles north of Salisbury in England. It was built about 4500 years ago, but by whom and for what purpose remains a mystery. The builders must have known of geometry. They may have been influenced by the Mycenaeans, whose architecture was similar. Some of the stones must have been brought from West Wales, over 135 miles away. These stones weigh more than fifty tons. They may have been brought on rafts and rollers. Experts say that it must have taken 1500 men more than five years to transport them. Stonehenge was probably built in three stages. First, settlers from continental Europe built a temple for sun worship. Later the "Beaker" people added the stone circles. Finally, people of the Wessex Culture transformed Stonehenge into an observatory. They could calculate the exact time of Midsummer and Midwinter and of equinoxes

It is pointed out in the reading that the Stonehenge ----.

• was built by the Mycenaeans, who were very advanced in geometry

• probably has religious origins, possibly for worship of the sun

• had no astrological purposes

• was erected thousands of years ago in West Wales

• is still used to calculate the changes of the seasons

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Stonehenge is an ancient monument situated about ten miles north of Salisbury in England. It was built about 4500 years ago, but by whom and for what purpose remains a mystery. The builders must have known of geometry. They may have been influenced by the Mycenaeans, whose architecture was similar. Some of the stones must have been brought from West Wales, over 135 miles away. These stones weigh more than fifty tons. They may have been brought on rafts and rollers. Experts say that it must have taken 1500 men more than five years to transport them. Stonehenge was probably built in three stages. First, settlers from continental Europe built a temple for sun worship. Later the "Beaker" people added the stone circles. Finally, people of the Wessex Culture transformed Stonehenge into an observatory. They could calculate the exact time of Midsummer and Midwinter and of equinoxes.

According to the passage, there is no certainty about ----.

• where the Stonehenge was built

• what kind of stones were used in the construction of the Stonehenge

• how to calculate the exact time of Midsummer and Midwinter and of equinoxes

• how the stones used in the construction of the Stonehenge were transported

• whether some of the stones are in position to reflect the movements of the sun and the moon

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Aristotle, who lived from 384 BC to 322 BC, taught that the heart contained the intelligence. Except for a few guesses like this, he observed carefully. He described the habits and the bodily structure (anatomy) of many animals, birds and fish. Another Greek, Galen, who lived in the second century AD, performed biological experiments. Both careful observation of living things and experiments are used today in the study of biology. Galen observed and described the internal anatomy of the human body.-He described many parts that he saw in the body. But he was not always careful. He sometimes described what he expected to see and did not look carefully to see what was really there. For centuries after Galen, people studied anatomy from his books instead of trusting their own observations.

It's obvious that Aristotle ----.

• thinks that it is the brain which contains the intelligence

• died in his sixties

• observed only birds and fish

• is both a great philosopher and a biologist

• described both the habits and the structure of animals better than anyone else

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Aristotle, who lived from 384 BC to 322 BC, taught that the heart contained the intelligence. Except for a few guesses like this, he observed carefully. He described the habits and the bodily structure (anatomy) of many animals, birds and fish. Another Greek, Galen, who lived in the second century AD, performed biological experiments. Both careful observation of living things and experiments are used today in the study of biology. Galen observed and described the internal anatomy of the human body.-He described many parts that he saw in the body. But he was not always careful. He sometimes described what he expected to see and did not look carefully to see what was really there. For centuries after Galen, people studied anatomy from his books instead of trusting their own observations.

A Greek scientist, Galen ----.

• became more successful than Aristotle

• studied the exterior parts of the body

• sometimes depended more on his ideas than observation

• lived in Greece during his whole life-time

• adapted the works of Aristotle

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Aristotle, who lived from 384 BC to 322 BC, taught that the heart contained the intelligence. Except for a few guesses like this, he observed carefully. He described the habits and the bodily structure (anatomy) of many animals, birds and fish. Another Greek, Galen, who lived in the second century AD, performed biological experiments. Both careful observation of living things and experiments are used today in the study of biology. Galen observed and described the internal anatomy of the human body.-He described many parts that he saw in the body. But he was not always careful. He sometimes described what he expected to see and did not look carefully to see what was really there. For centuries after Galen, people studied anatomy from his books instead of trusting their own observations.

It can be inferred from the passage that ----.

• there is a strong link between Galen and Aristotle in terms of friendship

• Galen studied the external part of the body while Aristotle studied the internal part

• the studies of Aristotle couldn't satisfy the expectations of people

• Galen and Aristotle have been influential in the following centuries

• people never trusted the knowledge of Galen

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Homer was a Greek epic poet. Both the date and the place of his birth and death are not known precisely, but recent research suggests a date between 1050 and 800 BC. It has even been claimed that no such man as Homer existed and that The Iliad and The Odyssey are collections of traditional ballads and not the work of one man. In any event they were known all over the Greek-speaking world before the sixth century BC. The Iliad is an epic poem dealing with the siege of Troy by the Greeks. The Odyssey describes the wandering of Odysseus, a Greek seafarer, on his way back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

We can infer from the passage that ----.

• it's not definite when and where Homer was born

• Homer only deals with poetry

• recent research shows the impossibility of finding Homer's birth date

• some suggest that he was born in 800 BC

• Homer's birth place is known but his date of birth is still unknown

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Homer was a Greek epic poet. Both the date and the place of his birth and death are not known precisely, but recent research suggests a date between 1050 and 800 BC. It has even been claimed that no such man as Homer existed and that The Iliad and The Odyssey are collections of traditional ballads and not the work of one man. In any event they were known all over the Greek-speaking world before the sixth century BC. The Iliad is an epic poem dealing with the siege of Troy by the Greeks. The Odyssey describes the wandering of Odysseus, a Greek seafarer, on his way back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

The Odyssey ----.

• belongs to another poet rather than Homer

• explains the voyage of a sailor

• has no connection with the Iliad

• doesn't have a specific protagonist

• is an anonymous work of the Greek nation

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Homer was a Greek epic poet. Both the date and the place of his birth and death are not known precisely, but recent research suggests a date between 1050 and 800 BC. It has even been claimed that no such man as Homer existed and that The Iliad and The Odyssey are collections of traditional ballads and not the work of one man. In any event they were known all over the Greek-speaking world before the sixth century BC. The Iliad is an epic poem dealing with the siege of Troy by the Greeks. The Odyssey describes the wandering of Odysseus, a Greek seafarer, on his way back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

The works of Homer ----.

• have no potential readers

• deal with the siege of Troy by the Greeks

• have been thought to have different writers

• are collections of traditional ballads

• have affected the 6th century people in terms of life style

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Early man know about the natural fire of lightning and volcanoes long before he began to use fire himself. He didn't know what fire was, but he had seen the damage it could cause. Fire was powerful and dangerous, and so he was frightened. Greek legend tells how Prometheus stole fire from God Zeus, and brought it to Earth for man to use. Zeus was very angry. He ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock. Every day an eagle pecked out his liver, and every night his liver grew again. So Prometheus suffered a terrible punishment for his deed. The name "Prometheus" means "the fore thinker". One Greek philosopher wrote that all arts, all skills, men owe to the fore-thinker. By this he meant that civilisation is founded on fire and using fire. When man eventually learned how to use fire, he guarded it carefully. Some ancient peoples worshipped fire as a goddess. Even when man learned to make fire whenever he liked, often kept sacred fires burning.

It's obvious from the passage that Prometheus ----.

• doesn't mean a person who thinks beforehand

• was able to protect himself from the eagle

• intended to bring fire from the sky for human

• ordered the gods to be chained to a rock

• was worshiped as a god by ancient people

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