LESSONS 1 & 2: BRITAINS POMPEI - EXERCISES

READING & WRITING

The text describes exciting finds at a recent archaeological dig in the UK.
The site has been dubbed Britains Pompei.
1. Before reading the text, formulate questions about the site from these
prompts.
- When/find?
- Where/find?
- When/build?
- Who/build?
- Why/Britains Pompei?
- How/destroy?
2. Scan the text to answer your questions.
3. Read the text intensively. Highlight information on the following topics:
- the various finds discovered at the site
- Bronze Age Mans knowledge and skills
- Bronze Age Mans diet
- the condition and state of preservation of the finds
- the excitement of the archaeologists
4. Use the highlighted information to make notes on the topics above.
5. Cover the text. Use your notes and what you recall from your reading of
the text to answer the following questions.
1. Why are archaeologists describing the excavation as "the dig of a
lifetime"?
2. What do the finds tell us about everyday life in the Bronze Age
community?
3. Why are archaeologists drawing comparisons between the site at Must
farm and Pompei?
4. What will be the final outcome of the excavation?
6. Compare your answers with a partner. Did you leave out any essential
information? Were your answers detailed enough?

WORKING ON THE TEXT: LANGUAGE ENRICHMENT

SPEAKING PRACTICE
Using adverbs of degree to enrich your conversation
In pairs talk to each other about:
a truly incredible or amazing place that you have visited. Explain why it
made such an impression on you
a thrillingly different place that you would like to visit if you had the
opportunity. Explain why you would like to go there
a situation in which you could hardly wait to escape from
a time when you felt pretty let down by someone or something
Working together, underline the adverb that works best in each context:
1. a simply / fairly marvellous experience
2. a particularly / peculiarly interesting exhibition
3. a completely / thoroughly disappointing visit
4. a remarkably / hardly well-informed tour guide
5. an outstandingly / a strongly successful event
GRAMMAR PRACTICE
Verbs + prepositions
The text contains a number of commonly used verb + prepositions. First
try and translate the following into English and then check your answers.
Paragraph C: yield up
Paragraph E: sit on
Paragraph E: stick out
Paragraph F: tip into
Paragraph G: sink into
Paragraph L: look at
Using phrasal verbs correctly turn + preposition
this archaeological dig has turned out to be completely,
thrillingly different.

Complete each of the sentences below with the correct preposition.

Discuss the meaning of each of the phrasal verbs with your partner. How
would you translate them into Italian?
1. Many people are turned ____________ by the hordes of visitors in Venice.
2. How could you turn ________________ such a fantastic job offer?
3. We turned ______________ at the airport in plenty of time to catch our
plane.
4. Milan Expo 2015 turned ________________ to be a successful event in
spite of its critics.
5. The cruise holiday turned ________________ a nightmare when
passengers contracted the Norovirus.
6. If Italy invested more in its tourism resources, the economy could easily
be turned __________________.
7. Id now like to turn ______________ the issue of dramatic weather events
and their impact on tourism.
8. He decided to turn _______________ a new leaf and adopt a more positive
approach to dealing with problems at work.
BEYOND THE TEXT: LANGUAGE ENRICHMENT
Describing CAUSE and EFFECT
Conjunctions, prepositions and adverbs are frequently used to link
ideas together and give coherence to academic discussions. The
paragraph below describes what happened when Pompei and
Herculaneum were first excavated.
1. Complete the sentences that follow with an appropriate word from the
table to describe the negative impacts on the sites and why they
happened.
Conjunctions
because, as, since

Prepositions
because, of, due to

Adverbs
therefore,
consequently, as a
result

Many of the first excavators on the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum were
treasure hunters who were focused on discovering and then selling or
displaying the artefacts they found. They did not treat the sites with care
nor document their discoveries or excavate systematically.
The sites were poorly managed and preserved, ____________________ great
numbers of artefacts were taken from their original positions.
_________________ the poor management and preservation of the sites,
great numbers of artefacts were taken from their original positions.

_________________ the sites were poorly managed and preserved, great

numbers of artefacts were taken from the original positions.
2. These verbs are useful for describing CAUSE and EFFECT: trigger,
account for, spring/stem from, give rise to, generate
Insert them into these sentences.
On the morning of 24 August, AD 79, the sighting of a column of smoke
______________ a response more of curiosity than alarm.
The
extremely
high
temperatures,
between
200-300
C,
_____________________ by the eruption, ___________________ the fact that
most people died instantly.
The uncovering of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the eighteenth century
______________ increased interest in the ancient world and laid the
foundations of modern archaeology.
Many of Pompeiis problems
management and poor funding.

today

_________________

inadequate

Useful collocations: to have a powerful /negligible influence, to

have a long-lasting / short-lived effect, to have a deep / minimal
impact
SPEAKING PRACTICE: IMPACTS OF EVENTS ON THE TRAVEL
INDUSTRY
Use some of the language useful for talking about CAUSE and EFFECT to
describe the short-term and long-term effects of different events on the
travel industry.
WRITING AN ACADEMIC ESSAY: THE ROLE OF HISTORIC SITES
Structure
INTRODUCTION
An effective introduction is one that begins with a general statement
about the subject, then narrows down to the specific thesis statement.
General statement about the subject
Specific thesis statement
Make the introduction interesting.
You can add interest to the introduction by:
giving unusual or colourful details
beginning with a relevant quotation
beginning with a question (which can be answered in the essay's
conclusion)
BODY
Add two ideas of your own for each paragraph:
Para 1 Education

Para 2 Tourism

CONCLUSION
Summarize the main points and give your opinion
CHECKLIST
1. What is the purpose of the essay?
explain, describe, analyse, evaluate
2. Is the topic clearly introduced?
3. Have you given examples and explanations to support your main
points?
4. Have you used some of the useful expressions below?
5. Have you linked your ideas coherently, using some of the words from
the table below?
6. Does your conclusion summarize the main points and is your opinion
clearly expressed?
Useful expressions
Presenting ideas Giving
examples
It is generally
accepted that
One of the main
arguments in
favour of
There is (little /
some /
overwhelming)
evidence that
There is no doubt
that

Linking words
Contrast
in spite of
whereas
however

For
instance
A good
example of
this is
Indeed
In actual
fact

Extra
Information
furthermore
in addition to
this

Conceding
an argument
It is
(undoubtedly)
true that
It could be
argued that
While it may
be true that

Emphasi
s
in fact
indeed

Turning
to an
opposin
g view
Having
said that

Result
so
therefore
thus

Concludin
g
In the final
analysis
Taking
everything
into
considerati
on

Sequencin
g
first/firstly

on the other
hand
while
although
nevertheless
despite
yet

what is more

FURTHER ACTIVITY
Write five paragraphs describing the site at Pompei, from the point of view
of:
- the various finds discovered at the site
- the knowledge and skills of the people of Pompei
- their diet
- the condition and state of preservation of the finds
- why people are still excited about visiting Pompei today