Spotlight 5 Listening Comprehension 0
тест (5 класс)

Exercise1  Listen to the text and choose True(T), False(F) or Not Stated(Ns) for each statement by filling the circle(         )

Exercise 2        Listen to the text and choose the correct answer (A/B/C/D) by filling the circle(         )

Exercise 3 Listen to the text and answer in full sentences.

Exercise 1 The Persian Empire is the name given to a series of dynasties centered in modern-day Iran that spanned several centuries—from the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D. The first Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 B.C., became one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Europe’s Balkan Peninsula in the West to India’s Indus Valley in the East. This Iron Age dynasty, sometimes called the Achaemenid Empire, was a global hub of culture, religion, science, art and technology for more than 200 years before it fell to the invading armies of Alexander the Great.

Exercise 2 Cyrus the Great. The Persian Empire started as a collection of semi-nomadic tribes who raised sheep, goats and cattle on the Iranian plateau. Cyrus the Great—the leader of one such tribe—began to defeat nearby kingdoms, including Media, Lydia and Babylon, joining them under one rule. He founded the first Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, in 550 B.C. The first Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great soon became the world’s first superpower. It united under one government three important sites of early human civilization in the ancient world:  Mesopotamia, Egypt’s Nile Valley and India’s Indus Valley. Cyrus the Great is immortalized in the Cyrus Cylinder, a clay cylinder inscribed in 539 BC with the story of how he conquered Babylon from King Nabonidus, bringing an end to the Neo-Babylonian empire. Darius the Great, the fourth king of the Achaemenid Empire, ruled over the Persian Empire when it was at its largest, stretching from The Caucasus and West Asia to what was then Macedonia (today’s Balkans), the Black Sea, Central Asia, and even into Africa including parts of Libya and Egypt. He unified the empire through introducing standard currency and weights and measures; making Aramaic the official language and building roads. The Behistun Inscription, a multilingual relief carved into Mount Behistun in Western Iran, extolls his virtues and was a critical key to deciphering cuneiform script. Its impact is compared that of the Rosetta Stone, the tablet that enabled scholars to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Exercise 3 Persian Culture The ancient Persians of the Achaemenid Empire created art in many forms, including metalwork, rock carvings, weaving and architecture. As the Persian Empire expanded to encompass other artistic centers of early civilization, a new style was formed with influences from these sources.Early Persian art included large, carved rock reliefs cut into cliffs, such as those found at Naqsh-e Rustam, an ancient cemetery filled with the tombs of Achaemenid kings. The elaborate rock murals depict equestrian scenes and battle victories.Ancient Persians were also known for their metalwork. In the 1870s, smugglers discovered gold and silver artifacts among ruins near the Oxus River in present-day Tajikistan.The artifacts included a small golden chariot, coins and bracelets decorated in a griffon motif. (The griffon is a mythical creature with the wings and head of an eagle and the body of a lion, and a symbol of the Persian capital of Persepolis.)

Master Exercise1  Listen to the text and choose True(T), False(F) or Not Stated(Ns) for each statement

Exercise 2        Listen to the text and choose the correct answer (A/B/C/D) by filling the circle(         )

Exercise 3 Listen to the text and answer in full sentences.