The passage discusses the early civilizations that developed in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes how the Sumerians were the first civilization to develop there around 3500 BC, building towns, cities, and developing early forms of writing and metalworking. True civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the development of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians. Cuneiform became the dominant writing system in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years and provided historians with information about ancient Mesopotamian cultures from surviving tablets.
The passage discusses the early civilizations that developed in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes how the Sumerians were the first civilization to develop there around 3500 BC, building towns, cities, and developing early forms of writing and metalworking. True civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the development of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians. Cuneiform became the dominant writing system in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years and provided historians with information about ancient Mesopotamian cultures from surviving tablets.
The passage discusses the early civilizations that developed in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes how the Sumerians were the first civilization to develop there around 3500 BC, building towns, cities, and developing early forms of writing and metalworking. True civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the development of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians. Cuneiform became the dominant writing system in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years and provided historians with information about ancient Mesopotamian cultures from surviving tablets.
The passage discusses the early civilizations that developed in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It describes how the Sumerians were the first civilization to develop there around 3500 BC, building towns, cities, and developing early forms of writing and metalworking. True civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the development of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians. Cuneiform became the dominant writing system in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years and provided historians with information about ancient Mesopotamian cultures from surviving tablets.
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3 AS
Ancient Civilizations Test 3 The name Mesopotamia (meaning "the land between the rivers") refers to the geographic region which lies near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and not to any particular civilization. In fact, many civilizations developed, collapsed, and were replaced in this fertile region. The land of Mesopotamia is made fertile by the irregular and often violent flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Given the combination of fertile soil and the need for organized human labor, perhaps it is not surprising that the first civilization developed in Mesopotamia. By 3500 BC, the Sumerians had built towns and cities, and an early form of pictographic writing was used, metal working had begun, and temples were built on a monumental scale. Generally speaking, however, true civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the development of cuneiform writing. After its development, cuneiform became the dominant system of writing in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years. Even after Sumerian Language became dead as a spoken language, many other Near Eastern cultures continued to write using cuneiform. As a result of its extensive use of several centuries, many cuneiform tablets have survived. These provide historians with information about the culture of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.
A) COMPREHENSION:
1) Is the text: a) descriptive b) narrative? c) argumentative? d) prescriptive?
2) Choose the most appropriate title for the reading passage:
a) The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia. b) Pictographic writing in Sumer c) Civilization in Mesopotamia
3) Are the following statements true or false?
a) The name Mesopotamia refers to an ancient civilization. . b) The land of Mesopotamia is made fertile by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. c) The Sumerians invented a new form of writing. d) The cuneiform writing lasted a few years only.
4) In which paragraph is it mentioned that
a) Two factors contributed to a modern civilization in Mesopotamia? b) Floods were beneficial to the development of the Sumerian agriculture? c) Writing helps specialists to study the Sumerian civilization? 5) Answer the following questions according to the text, a) Is the Sumerian the only civilization that developed in Mesopotamia? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… b) Mention two signs of development the Sumerian civilization brought. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… c) How are tablets useful to historians? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 6) What or whom do the underlined words refer to in the text? a) this fertile region :............................................................. b) These : …………………
B) TEXT EXPLOITATION 1) Find in the text the words whose definitions follow a) fell (§1) ………………………………..…. b) prospered (§1) ……………
2) Find in the text the words whose opposites follow
a) sterile (§1) =/= ……………………………. b) modern (§3) =/=……………
3) Ask questions on the underlined words:
a) The Sumerians had built towns and cities.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………. b) Cuneiform became the dominant system of writing in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years. …………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Combine the following sentences using the right connector. (though, when ) a) The Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia. They built towns and cities.
………………………………………………………………………………………………… b) Sumerian became dead as a spoken language. Many other Near Eastern cultures continued to use this language. ...........………………………………………………………………………………......
5) Fill in the table with the missing word category:
Nouns Verb Adjective …………………… ……………………… Dominant Culture …… Human ////////////////////////////////// ……………………….. 6) Underline the silent letters a) s h o u l d b) t h o u g h c) k n o w l e d g e d) l i s t e n
7) Reorder the following sentences to make a coherent paragraph.
a) Consequently, many civilizations could write their history. ( ) b) The letters were written on clay tablets ( ) c) It was the Sumerians who first used a writing system. ( ) d) because paper had not been invented yet. ( )
PART TWO: WRITING: Choose one of the following topics.
Write a composition of 100 words on one of the following topics.
Topic 2: Do you think that the study of ancient civilizations is so important? Justify. Topic 3: Write a short summary of the text.
