英语阅读新视野第2课

The Sphinx 狮身人面像Before You Read 阅前思考Answer the following questions.1. What do you know about the monument in the picture?2. Do you know any other Egyptian monuments?3. What are some famous monuments in your country?Target Vocabulary 目标词汇Match each word with the best meaning.1. archaeologist a. to make something look like it did when it was new2. cane b. easy to see3. crawl c. a stick made of wood or metal used to help a person walk4. monument d. to move slowly and close to the ground5. restore e. a person, animal, or thing made from wood, stone, or metal6. riddle f. to show great respect for7. statue g. a question that requires cleverness to answer8. strangle h. to kill someone by squeezing their neck so they can’t breathe9. visible i. a sculpture or building built in memory of a person or historical event10. worship j. a person who studies historical people and cultures by looking at oldthingsReading Passage 阅读文章For any tourist visiting Egypt, there are two things that everyone must see. The first is the 137-meter-high Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of all the pyramids in Egypt. The second is the Great Sphinx of Giza, a sculpture with the body of a lion and the head of a man, which stands 20 meters tall and 73 meters long.The origin of the Great Sphinx of Giza goes back 5, 000 years. Although many sphinx sculptures have been found over the years, researchers believe that the Great Sphinx which guards the pyramids in Giza was actually the first one to be made (around 2600-2500 B. C.). The head of the Sphinx represents Khafre, the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt at that time.About two thousand years later, around 570 B. C., sand havd covered all but the head of the Great Sphinx. The people living in the area had forgotten the history of the statue, so they imagined that the head represented the sun god Ra and began worshiping it. The son of Pharaoh Amenhotep Ⅱ heard the head speak to him in a dream. The Sphinx’s head made him promise to clear the sand from the statue’s body. The son, Thutmose, kept his word and did what he was told in the dream. He also built walls around the statue to prevent the sand from covering it again. After all of the sand was cleared away, Thutmose made a large stone tablet that told the story of his dream. He placed this tablet between the town front feet of the Sphinx, where it stands to this day.For hundreds of years, the Sphinx attracted people both as a religious monument and as a work of art. But eventually, the desert sand once again covered the Sphinx, leaving only the head visible. It was not until the 1800s that archaeologists began clearing the sand from the statue and began researching the long history of the Sphinx. At last, in the 1920s, all of the sand was finally clearedaway and restoration work, which continues to this day, was begun.The name “sphinx”comes from an ancient Greek word, meaning “strangler.”According to Greek legend, the Sphinx was a demon with the body of a winged lion, and the head of a woman. She sat beside a road, and asked all people who passed her a riddle: “Which animal in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and on three in the evening?” She strangled anyone who couldn’t make sense of the question. The riddle was finally solved by the Greek king, Oedipus. The answer was man, who crawls on hands and knees as a body, then walks on two feet as an adult, and finally walks with a cane in old age. The Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died.Circle the letter of the best answer.1. What is this passage mainly about?a. how the Great Sphinx is being restored c. the history of the Egyptian Pharaohsb. the history of the Great Sphinx d. the monuments of Egypt2. Which statement about the Great Sphinx is true?a. It is the only sphinx in the world. c. It was built by the ancient Greeks.b. It is the largest monument in Egypt. d. It has been covered by sand at least twice.3. The Great Sphinx was built as a monument to who?a. Khafreb. Amenhotep Ⅱc. Rad. Oedipus4. What sentence about the Great Sphinx is NOT true?a. It is not longer covered by sand. c. It is still being restored.b. People today believe that it represents the sun god Ra.d. You can still see a tablet in front of it.5. According to legend, how did the Sphinx die?a. Oedipus killed her. c. She killed herself.b. She died of old age. d. She was strangled.Idioms 习语Find each idiom in the story.1. To this day—until and including todayShe left her country when she was sixteen and to this day has never been back.The mystery of Jim Thomson’s disappearance is unsolved to this day.2. keep one’s word—do what you say you will doYou can really trust Junichi. He always keeps his word.I didn’t think she’d remember her promise, but she kept her word.3. make sense(of)—able to understood; succeed in understandingCan you help me with this question? I can’t make sense of it.No one could understand why he killed himself. It just didn’t make sense.A. Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best the sentence.1. Before babies can walk, they learn to .a. strangleb. worshipc. crawld. restore2. Which of these would be most useful in helping an elderly person walk?a. a statueb. a canec. a riddled. an archaeologist3. To celebrate the town’s anniversary, they funded a of the founder.a. statueb. speciesc. pyramidd. table4. To be thought of as honest, you should always .a. make senseb. make a go of itc. clear awayd. keep your word5. My grandfather had a bicycle accident in 1973 and hasn’t been on a bike again.a. as the name suggestsb. in the long runc. to this dayd. these days6. “Why did the chicken cross the road?” is a very old .a. riddleb. monumentc. restorationd. demon7. That old house will need to be before people can live in it again.a. ruledb. restoredc. fundedd. worshiped8. Road signs are usually painted in bright colors to make them more .a. artificialb. visiblec. potentiald. deadlyB. Complete the passage with items from the box. One item is extra.The Sphinx is a very famous (1) in Egypt that almost every tourist there goes to see. According to (2) , the Great Sphinx of Giza was probably the first sphinx make. Over thousands of years, sand covered the Sphinx until only the head was (3) .People forgot that the head represented a Pharaoh, and they began to (4) the Sphinx as Ra, the sun god. In fact, the name “sphinx”is not Egyptian, but from the Greek word meaning “strangler.”According to legend, they Sphinx (5) and killed anyone who could not (6) of her riddle.What Do You Think 你怎么想？1. Are there any monuments or building in your country that should be (or have been) restored?2. What riddles do you know?Part 1: Complete the sentences 完成句子Decide which words are best for the spaces. Circle the letter of your choice.1. Ancient Egyptians a sun god.a. strangledb. fundedc. crawledd. worshiped2. My little brother loves and other word games.a. benefitsb. riddles c species d. statues3. The military men quietly close to the ground so they would not be visible.a. fundedb. strangledc. crawledd. ruled4. Could you help me? I can’t of these directions.a. make senseb. keep my wordc. show respectd. stand a chance5. Ever since his accident, Tom’s grandfather has walked with a wooden .a. monumentb. canec. statued. pyramidPart 2: Read an answer 阅读并答题Read the news report and decide if the statement is true, false, or unknown. Circle you answer.Cairo, May 25, 1998 After ten years of hard work by archaeologists, most of the restoration work on the Sphinx has been completed. A big celebration was held today to mark the achievement. Important people from many nations attended, in addition to thousands of Egyptians. For Egyptians, the Sphinx is more than a monument; it is a visible symbol of their culture. They also hope that the multimillion dollar project will bring tourists to benefit the economy.In an interview with this newspaper, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the archaeologist running the project, said, that the restoration continues to this day. Dr. Hawass said that the Sphinx had been repaired before, but concrete, which has hurt the natural limestone material from which the monument is made. In addition, the air pollution in the environment has caused other problems.Dr. Hawass said that because it is located in the desert, sand had covered the Sphinx many times, and he said it stands chance being covered by sand again. Hawass also said that although the damage to the head of the Sphinx happened a long time ago, the restoration did not attempt to fix the nose so Hawass said the restoration team had kept their word to leave the face as it was.1. true false unknown Restoration work started in 1988.2. true false unknown Not all of the work on the monument has been finished.3. true false unknown The workers on the restoration came from many countries.4. true false unknown Limestone is a material made by humans in factories.5. true false unknown Archaeologists promised to fix the head of the Sphinx.。