Listen&Learn: The Egyptian pyramids

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about Egypt’s massive ancient tombs.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• attraction: something that makes people want to visit a location
• tomb: a structure where a dead person is buried
• customary: normal, traditional
• mummify: to preserve a dead body by wrapping it up
• possessions: things that a person owns
• rob: to steal something from a place

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The Egyptian pyramids are some of the most structures in the world. Although they are popular tourist attractions today, the pyramids were originally built as tombs for ancient Egyptian . At the time, it was customary to mummify dead rulers and bury them with their possessions. However, many pyramids have been robbed throughout , and most are empty today. The first known pyramid was built around 2600 B.C, for a king named Djoser. The largest and most Egyptian pyramids – the Great Pyramids of Giza – were built between 2500 and 2400 B.C, and there is still a lot of mystery surrounding their construction. It would have been very difficult to build such massive structures without modern . Historians believe that at least 20,000 workers were needed to complete the Great Pyramids.

Comprehension questions

1. The pyramids were originally built as

temples for the ancient Egyptian gods

tombs for ancient Egyptian kings

defence structures for the ancient Egyptian military

Correct! Wrong!

The pyramids were originally built as tombs for ancient Egyptian kings.

2. Most of the pyramids are empty because

they were robbed

they were never used

the bodies decomposed

Correct! Wrong!

Most of the pyramids are empty because they were robbed.

3. Historians believe that

20,000 workers were needed to build the Great Pyramids of Giza

It took 20,000 years to build all of the Egyptian pyramids

20,000 dollars worth of gold was stolen from the pyramids

Correct! Wrong!

Historians believe that 20,000 workers were needed to build the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Discussion/essay questions

1. Why do you think it was so important to ancient Egyptians to honour their dead rulers? How is this different from the ways people acknowledge death today?

Transcript

The Egyptian pyramids are some of the most fascinating structures in the world. Although they are popular tourist attractions today, the pyramids were originally built as tombs for ancient Egyptian kings. At the time, it was customary to mummify dead rulers and bury them with their possessions. However, many pyramids have been robbed throughout history, and most are empty today. The first known pyramid was built around 2600 B.C, for a king named Djoser. The largest and most famous Egyptian pyramids – the Great Pyramids of Giza – were built between 2500 and 2400 B.C, and there is still a lot of mystery surrounding their construction. It would have been very difficult to build such massive structures without modern technology. Historians believe that at least 20,000 workers were needed to complete the Great Pyramids.

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Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

© EnglishClub.com

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32 comments

• Johnny Alejandro Dorado Dorado says:
  

  Thank you

• Mariuxi Evelyn Cedeño Reyes says:
  

  Because it was part of their customs and they had concepts of death such as saying that it was just an interruption and that they could have eternal life over all in the rulers since they believed them to be more important.

• Arelis Freire says:
  

  Interesting to know about historians and pyramids

• Steven Martinez Mejia says:
  

  Good

• Leslye Dayanna Vera Vera says:
  

  class

• DARWIN WLADIMIR TANDALLA LOZANO says:
  

  NIVEL “J”

• José Luis Barroso German says:
  

  Very Good
  Thanks You

• SANDOYA QUILA KEISY GINA says:
  

  an excellent job

• Evelyn Fernanda Quinto Castro says:
  

  Finish

• ANYELO JAVIER DEL ROSARIO VILLEGAS. says:
  

  ACTIVITY

• Suarez Montes Yelky Mikaela says:
  

  thank you

• Wilson Sebastián cedeño says:
  

  Finish

• Marco vera says:
  

  thank you

• Gabriela Lisbeth Villamar Flor says:
  

  tenkiu

• Jennite delgado vasquez says:
  

  Ancient Rome was a constantly evolving civilization that spanned over a thousand years. This great empire flourished through innovation and the incorporation of the diverse cultures they conquered, such as the adoption of Latin and gladiatorial combat.

• Nadia Yulissa Tuarez Ubilla says:
  

  Nadia Yulissa Tuarez Ubilla

• Isabel Cali says:
  

  The Mayan culture was a Masoamerican civilization that developed in Guatemala,Belize, Mexico, and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador, covering more than 300, 000 km2.
  The Mayan peoples developed multiple independent states, organized around urban centers with imposing buildings, pyramidal temples, astromical observations and great palaces.

• María Moran says:
  

  The Egyptian pyramids are very beautiful, the place is great to visit and get some good postcards.

• Joel Martinez Mero says:
  

  hi

• CARLA ROMINA ALCIVAR MONTECE says:
  

  I Finished

• Firas says:
  

  Thank you so much for this great information.

• rosy says:
  

  well I know these becuase of Mr hambuger talking about tombs and other thing are intersting thank yuo

• Fiorella Alvario says:
  

  Very good

• Zarina Mullaboyeva says:
  

  First of all I’m going to tell thanks to Jaksyn Peacock
  Because it was very useful for me

• Enaya says:
  

  Good
  Keep it up

• yusra says:
  

  nah

• Ana Gonzalez says:
  

  one of the ways to learn English is by reading to build a good vocavary, these exercises are really good because we learn new things while we study, thanks for these exercises.

• Nisha says:
  

  Thank you for this amazing exercise and comprehension.
  It is really easy to understand, full of unknown facts and interest.

• Kabita mondal says:
  

  Thank you

• Poulami Ghosh says:
  

  I’ve completed the exam.

• Gehad Hoor says:
  

  As a teacher of English, I do believe that mastering the listening skill is crucial for acquiring any language, whether mother or foreign. It is incredible to speak unless you have ample time of listening. The more you listen, the better speaker you become. It is as important as reading. In other words, the more you read, the better speaker and writer you become.
  Schools should pay much attention to these two critical and effective skills for learning a language. Most Arab schools ignore these two skills and concentrate on grammar and the result, after 0 years of learning English, 90% of the students are still in ZERO level.

• Pushpa Pathirana says:
  

  this is interesting topic and easy to understand the learning way of vedio.Thanks