Mee i g Readi g C ehe i

O er ie
Prac ice

P e Ac i i
Read e e ce f eg ( ea dea)a d e de a :
1 It is almost impossible to rite of the Arts in A stralia itho t mentioning the
b ilding that first p t the co ntr firml on the orld c lt ral map - the S dne
Opera Ho se. Completed in 1973 after 14 ears of m ch heated disc ssion and
at a cost of almost 60 million, it is not onl the most ell-kno n A stralian
b ilding in the orld b t perhaps the most famo s design of an modern
b ilding an here.

Its distincti e and highl original shape has been likened to e er thing from
the sails of a sailing ship to broken eggshells, b t fe o ld arg e ith the
claim that the Opera Ho se is a major contrib tion to orld architect re. Set
10 amidst the gracef l splendo r of S dne Harbo r, presiding like a q een o er
the b stle and brashness of a modern cit stri ing to forge a financial
rep tation in a to gh commercial orld, it is a reminder to all A stralians of
their deep and abiding lo e of all things c lt ral.

The Opera Ho se as designed not b an A stralian b t b a celebrated

1 Danish architect, Jorn Ut on, hose design on an international competition in
the late 1950s. Ho e er, it as not ,in fact, completed to his original
specifications. Plans for m ch of the intended interior design of the b ilding
ha e onl recentl been disco ered. Sadl , the State Go ernment of the da
interfered ith Ut on's plans beca se of concerns abo t the escalating cost,
20 tho gh this as hardl s rprising - the b ilding as originall e pected to cost
onl 5.5 million. Ut on left the co ntr before completing the project and in a
fit of anger o ed ne er to ret rn. The project as e ent all paid for b a
State-r n lotter .

The si e of the interior of the b ilding as scaled do n appreciabl b a team

2 of architects hose job it as to finish constr ction ithin a restricted b dget.
Rehearsal rooms and other facilities for the ario s theatres ithin the
comple ere either made considerabl smaller or c t o t altogether, and
some artists ha e complained bitterl abo t them e er since. B t despite the
contro ers that s rro nded its birth, the Opera Ho se has risen 25 abo e the
30 pett sq abbling and is no rightf ll hailed as a modern architect ral
masterpiece. The Q een officiall opened the b ilding in 1975 and since then,
ithin its c r ed and t isted alls, a diences of all nationalities ha e been
q ick to acclaim the man orld-class performances of stars from the
A stralian opera, ballet and theatre.

age 10
WORD DEFINITIONS:
Find the single words in paragraphs 1 and 2 which mean the following:
pleasing, attractive . characteristic
angr (to) advance steadil
e cited activit tr ing hard
permanent, lasting rashness

Ne t, find the words in paragraphs 3 and 4 which mean the following:

meant considerabl
meddled with (to) promise
made smaller unimportant
limited (to) applaud loudl
known as mone plan

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 The S e P a d fD e

The p ramids are the most famous monuments of ancient Eg pt and still hold
enormous interest for people in the present da . These grand, impressive tributes to
the memor of the Eg ptian kings have become linked with the countr even though
other cultures, such as the Chinese and Ma an, also built p ramids. The evolution of
A the p ramid form has been written and argued about for centuries. However, there is
no question that, as far as Eg pt is concerned, it began with one monument to one
king designed b one brilliant architect: the Step P ramid of Djoser at Saqqara.

Djoser was the first king of the Third D nast of Eg pt and the first to build in stone.
Prior to Djoser s reign, tombs were rectangular monuments made of dried cla brick,
B which covered underground passages where the deceased person was buried. For
reasons which remain unclear, Djoser s main official, whose name was Imhotep,
conceived of building a taller, more impressive tomb for his king b stacking stone
slabs on top of one another, progressivel making them smaller, to form the shape
now known as the Step P ramid. Djoser is thought to have reigned for 19 ears, but
some historians and scholars attribute a much longer time for his rule, owing to the
number and si e of the monuments he built.

The Step P ramid has been thoroughl e amined and investigated over the last
centur , and it is now known that the building process went through man different
stages. Historian Marc Van de Mieroop comments on this, writing Much
e perimentation was involved, which is especiall clear in the construction of the
C p ramid in the center of the comple . It had several plans before it became the first
Step P ramid in histor , piling si levels on top of one another The weight of the
enormous mass was a challenge for the builders, who placed the stones at an inward
incline in order to prevent the monument breaking up.

DWhen finall completed, the Step P ramid rose 62 meters high and was the tallest
structure of its time. The comple in which it was built was the si e of a cit in ancient
Eg pt and included a temple, court ards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests. It
D covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded b a wall 10.5 meters high. The
wall had 13 false doors cut into it with onl one true entrance cut into the south-east
corner; the entire wall was then ringed b a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters
wide. The false doors and the trench were incorporated into the comple to
discourage unwanted visitors. If someone wished to enter, he or she would have
needed to know in advance how to find the location of the true opening in the wall.
Djoser was so proud of his accomplishment that he broke the tradition of having onl
his own name on the monument and had Imhotep s name carved on it as well.

The burial chamber of the tomb, where the king s bod was laid to rest, was dug
beneath the base of the p ramid, surrounded b a vast ma e of long tunnels that had
rooms off them to discourage robbers. One of the most m sterious discoveries found
inside the p ramid was a large number of stone vessels. Over 40,000 of these vessels,
of various forms and shapes, were discovered in storerooms off the p ramid s
underground passages.

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 The are inscribed with the names of rulers from the First and Second D nasties of Eg pt
and made from different kinds of stone. There is no agreement among scholars and
archaeologists on wh the vessels were placed in the tomb of Djoser or what the were
supposed to represent. The archaeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, who e cavated most of
the p ramid and comple , believes the were originall stored and then give a proper
burial b Djoser in his p ramid to honor his predecessors. There are other historians,
however, who claim the vessels were dumped into the shafts as et another attempt to
prevent grave robbers from getting to the king s burial chamber.

Unfortunatel , all of the precautions and intricate design of the underground network did
not prevent ancient robbers from finding a wa in. Djoser s grave goods, and even his
bod , were stolen at some point in the past and all archaeologists found were a small
number of his valuables overlooked b the thieves. There was enough left throughout
the p ramid and its comple , however, to astonish and ama e the archaeologists who
e cavated it.

Eg ptologist Miroslav Verner writes, Few monuments hold a place in human histor as
significant as that of the Step P ramid in Saqqara It can be said without e aggeration
that this p ramid comple constitutes a milestone in the evolution of monumental stone
architecture in Eg pt and in the world as a whole. The Step P ramid was a revolutionar
advance in architecture and became the archet pe which all the other great p ramid
builders of Eg pt would follow.

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

T S P a D

The comple that includes the Step P ramid and its surroundings is considered to be as big as
an Eg ptian 21 .. of the past. The area outside the p ramid included accommodation that
was occupied b 22 .., along with man other buildings and features.

A wall ran around the outside of the comple and a number of false entrances were built into
this. In addition, a long 23 .. encircled the wall. As a result, an visitors who had not been
invited were cleverl prevented from entering the p ramid grounds unless the knew the 24
.. of the real entrance.

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO of the following points does the writer make about King Djoser?

A Initiall he had to be persuaded to build in stone rather than cla .

B There is disagreement concerning the length of his reign.
C He failed to appreciate Imhotep s part in the design of the Step P ramid.
D A few of his possessions were still in his tomb when archaeologists found it.
E He criticised the design and construction of other p ramids in Eg pt.

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Mee g Read gC ehe
5 O er ie
Practice

P e Ac
C c a ab a a a NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
ac ac a a a a .
The selection of indicators and parameters for a programme of water qualit assessment
and anal sis is likel to be countr - (and possibl region-) specific and ma also be
specific to certain sources of water. Furthermore, the range of anal sis and frequenc of
testing will be constrained b the resources available for water qualit sampling and
anal sis and, whilst it ma be desirable that a great number of indicators and parameters
are anal sed frequentl , budget constraints ma restrict the frequenc of sampling and
testing, or the number of indicators/parameters to be anal sed. In general, however, there
are some basic rules that should guide the development of water qualit assessment
programmes.

The first step in deciding whether a particular indicator/parameter should be included in

the assessment programme is to make a judgment on the following critical questions:
Is the contaminant or substance known to be present or absent in the waters of the
countr ?
If known to be present or if no information is available, then the indicator/parameter
should be included. If it is known to be absent, then it should be e cluded.
If known to be present, at what concentration does the contaminant e ist and does the
concentration approach or reach levels which are of public health concern?
What is the e tent (temporal and spatial) of the presence of the contaminants?
Are there an current or planned activities in catchment areas that ma cause the
contaminant to be present in water or levels to increase?

S b a c a 1. _______ a a ab

Y ca b N
2. ______

4. __________
ac 3.__________

a 5. ____________

ac a 6. _____ c a a

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