Reading task. Unit I. The history of roads and highways

UNIT I. THE HISTORY OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS

Pre-reading tasks

Before you read the text, look at the words in the box and tick the ones you know. Consult the others in the dictionary.

2. Match the equivalents:

1. wheeled vehicle а) грузовой автомобиль

2. urban area b) происхождение

3. origin c) твердое основание

4. truck d) городская территория

5. clearing e) сельская местность

6. rural area f) колесное транспортное средство

7. solid base g) участок земли, очищенный от деревьев и кустарника

Reading task

3. Read the text carefully and do the tasks that follow:

Road is a strip of land that provides routes for travel by automobiles and other wheeled vehicles. Roads usually connect urban areas with each other and rural areas with urban areas.

Roads and highways are vital lifelines. Farmers use them to ship their products to markets. Trucks can carry manufactured products from one area to another. Good roads carry millions of automobiles that travel on business and for pleasure.

Roads are so old that we are not sure of the origin of the word “road”. Most experts think it came from the Middle English word “rode” meaning “a mounted journey”. This may have come from the Old English “rad”, from the word “ridan”, meaning “to ride”.

In England, hundreds of years ago, certain main roads were higher than the surrounding ground. This was because earth was thrown from the side ditches towards the center. Because they were higher they were called highways. These roads were under protection of the king’s men and were opened to all travelers.

The first roads in the world probably followed trails and paths made by animals. People followed these trails to hunt for animals. People also made their own trails and paths in searching for water, food and fuel. Explorers followed these trails as they investigated new lands.

Early roads were built in the Near East soon after the wheel was invented. This was about 3000 B.C. As trade developed between villages, towns and cities, other paths or trade routes were made. One such early system of roads was the Old Silk Trade Route which ran over 6, 000 miles (9, 700 kilometers), connecting China with Rome and Europe. Merchants used this ancient route to carry Chinese silk across Turkistan, India and Persia.

The Egyptians, Carthaginians and Etruscans all built roads. But the first really great road builders were the Romans. They knew how to lay a solid base and how to make a pavement of flat stones. The Romans knew that the road must slope slightly from the center toward both sides to drain off water. The Roman road builders knew also that there must be ditches along the sides of the road to carry water away. Roman roads were built mainly to get soldiers from one part of the Empire to another. These roads ran inA cobblestone Roman

almost straight lines and passed over hills road in Pompeii

instead of cutting around them. The Romans built more than 50, 000 miles (80, 000 kilometers) of roads in there Empire and some of them are still in use.

From the 500’s to the 1800’s most roads in Europe were merely clearings in the forests. Cobblestone paving was used in some urban areas. There was little reason to built good roads, because most of the travel was on the horseback. The cleared way was sometimes quite wide so that robbers hiding in the woods could not leap out suddenly upon unsuspecting travelers. Later, when more wheeled vehicles, such as wagons, came into use, the roads of Europe still remained in poor condition.

Comprehension check

4. Answer the following questions.

1. What does this text deal with?

2. What do roads and highways serve for?

3. Did people use the paths made by animals in ancient times?

4. What really accelerated the building of good roads?

5. What was the most famous trade route?

6. Why do we consider the Romans the great road builders?

7. What purpose were Roman roads built for?

8. Asphalt paving was used in some urban areas, wasn’t it?

Vocabulary practice

5. Fill in the correct word from the box:

Roadmaking originated in the period of early human settlements. People chose the most convenient and the shortest ________of approach to their ________and fishing grounds, making footpaths. The first artificially constructed tracks were made in mountainous and forested _______.

Road _________ was extensively developed during the Roman Empire. Their roads were ________. Materials used in the construction of Roman roads were gravel, _________and hewn (тесаный) stone. ________ helped roads to drain, even when roads were not elevated much.

6. Give the English equivalents to the Russian words:

1. Early roads were built in the Near East after the (изобретения) of the (колеса). 2. The Romans knew that the road (должна слегка наклоняться) from the centre towards both sides. 3. The centre of the highways was higher than (окружающая земля, чтобы отводить воду) from the surface. 4. The road pavement was made of (плоских камней) with (прочным основанием). 5. The Roman roads were (прямые) with (канавами вдоль сторон дороги).

Language focus

7. Match the words with their synonyms:

a) to ship, car, to manufacture, trip, main, to connect, path, towards

b) journey, to produce, vehicle, to carry, to, chief, way, to join

8. Match the words with their antonyms:

a) narrow, to build, curved, top, soft

b) to ruin, wide, solid, bottom, straight

9. Form the verbs from the following nouns and translate them:

Concrete (бетон) – to concrete (бетонировать)

slope, hunt, design, load, place, form, shape

10. Form the adverbs from the following adjectives and translate them:

Main (главный) – mainly (главным образом)

slight, complete, sudden, mere, recent, probable

Speak on:

a) the appearance of the first roads in the world;

b) the Roman road builders;

UNIT II. THE MASTER ROAD BUILDERS