Unit 5 Into the Unknown Understanding ideas（ppt课件）-2023新外研版（2019）《高中英语》选择性必修第四册.zip

Unit 5Unit 5Unit 5Unit 5Into the unknownInto the unknownThe Mysteries of THE MAYATo read and learn about the splendid achievements of the Maya civilization.To grasp the structure and context of the text.To arouse the interest in exploring mysterious cultures.Watch the video about the Maya and share what you know about the mysterious culture.The Maya is a Mesoamerican(中美洲中美洲)civilisation,famous for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas,as well as for its art,architecture,and maths and astronomical systems.Originally established during the Pre-Classic period(2000 BCE to 250 AD),many Maya cities reached their highest state of development until the arrival of the Spanish.The Maya civilisation expanded throughout the present-day southern Mexican states and the northern Central American region,including the present-day nations of Guatemala,Belize,and Western Honduras.Look at the pictures and answer the questions.Do further research if necessary.Ancient GreeceAncient BabylonAncient Egypt1.What do you know about these ancient civilisations?Ancient Greeks lived over 3,000 years ago.Their civilisations followed a Dark Age in Greece,which is thought to have ended in 800 BCE.For the most part,Ancient Greece was divided into several small city-states,each with their own laws,customs,and rulers.However,in the 300s BCE,these small city-states were forced to unite under one ruler:Alexander the Great.He was the founder of the Ancient Greek Empire,which stretched into Europe,Egypt,and South-West Asia.Ancient Babylon is one of the most powerful and important cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ancient civilisation of Babylon is regarded as the earliest cradle of civilisation by historians.It was the capital city of 10 Mesopotamian dynasties and was conquered by a host of invaders who were probably drawn to this splendid city for its fertile land,rich culture,inventive people and architectural marvels like the Hanging Gardens.The ancient Babylonian Civilisation is also considered as the cradle where literature,science and writing flourished.Ancient Egypt for almost 30 centuries from its unification around 3100 BCE to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE was the preeminent civilisation in the Mediterranean world.From the great pyramids of the Old Kingdom through the military conquests of the New Kingdom,Egypts majesty has long entranced archaeologists and historians and created a vibrant field of study all its own:Egyptology.2.What might be the reasons behind their collapse?Ancient Greeks Reasons for decline of Ancient Greece:In the second half of the 5th century BC,signs of weakening of the Greek society appeared,due to the slave exploit,the pasteurization of the small producers etc.One of the main reasons for the fall of ancient Greece was the lack of unity.Ancient BabylonThe fall of Babylon is a historical event that occurred in 539 BCE.This event saw the conquest of Babylon by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great and marked the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.The fall of Babylon is reported by a number of ancient sources,including the Cyrus Cylinder,the Greek historian Herodotus,as well as a number of books in the Old Testament.Ancient EgyptThis period of extended economic and political unrest and devastating climate changes,ended with Egypt losing sovereignty over most of its territory and becoming a province within the vast Persian Empire.With hundreds of thousands of its people dead,the Egyptian public was increasingly hostile towards with both their political and their religious leaders.3.What other ancient civilisations do you know of?Share what you know with the class.Aegean civilisationsAncient RomeIndus civilisationAegean civilisations,the Stone and Bronze Age civilisations that arose and flourished in the area of the Aegean Sea in the periods,respectively,about 70003000 BCE and about 30001000 BCE.The first high civilisation on European soil,with stately palaces,fine craftsmanship,and writing,developed on the island of Crete.Later,the peoples of the mainland adapted the Cretan civilisation to form their own,much as the Romans adapted the civilisation of later Greece.Ancient Rome,grew from a small town on central Italys Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe,Britain,much of western Asia,northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands.Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages(Italian,French,Spanish,Portuguese and Romanian)derived from Latin,the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.Indus civilization,the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent.The nuclear dates of the civilisation appear to be about 25001700 BCE,though the southern sites may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium BCE.The civilisation was first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro(Mohenjodaro),near the Indus River in the Sindh(Sind)region.Both sites are in present-day Pakistan,in Punjab and Sindh provinces,respectively.Read the passage and find out the possible reasons for the disappearance of Maya civilisation.The way that the Maya people changed the landscape around them may have been one of the reasons behind the disappearance of their civilisation.Turning wetlands into fields for growing grains,digging huge canal systems and cutting down more trees for construction reduced their ability to cope with natural disasters.When those natural disasters,such as droughts,stuck,the Maya would have faced food shortages,conflicts and,eventually,the downfall of their cities.Read the passage again and match the main idea of each paragraph.Para 2Para 3Para 4Para 5Para 6Para 1b.The rise and fall of Maya civilisation leaves us reflecting on ourselves.c.An introduction of Ancient Maya civilisation.d.People are very interested in Ancient Maya civilisation.e.Ancient Maya civilisation began to decline mysteriously.f.Human causes reduced peoples ability to deal with natural disaster.a.Natural causes contributes to the disappearance of Maya civilisation.Choose the topic sentences and write them on the lines to complete the passage.b.But the greatest mystery of all is what caused the Maya to abandon most of their great cities.c.Although his theory has been dismissed by scholars,it shows how powerful the secrets of Ancient Maya civilisation are among people.a.Maya civilisation has been surrounded by mystery since its rediscovery in the 19th century.d.Research also suggests that those natural disasters may have led to the decline of the Maya.e.Meanwhile,the rise and fall of this civilisation must also leave us thinking about our own past,present and future.f.Some research seems to indicate that the Maya people themselves may have played a part in their downfall.1-c2-a3-b4-f5-d6-eOrganise information from the passage and complete the file of Maya civilisation.MAYA CIVILISATIONTimearound 1800 BC to 1100 ADLocationFrom _ to _MexicoCentral AmericaPossible reasons for collapse1 human causes reduced the ability to deal with _huge expansion of the _natural disastersturning wetlands into fieldsdigging huge canal systemspopulation2 natural causes a series of _ between 700 AD and 1000 AD,each _droughtslasting for a couple of years 1.by 700 AD2.around 900 AD3.in the 19th century4.in the early 16th century5.between 700 AD and 1000 ADMatch the information with the time when the event happened.A.Maya civilisation was at its peak.B.Europeans arrived in Central America to claim its riches.C.There were far fewer tropical cyclones than usual.D.A“megadrought”happened in Mayas areas.E.Maya civilisation has been surrounded by mystery since its rediscovery.1.Through comparison,he found that the locations of.the positions of the stars.(In paragraph 1)_2.Based on this,he believed he had spotted an unknown Maya city buried deep in the jungle.(In paragraph 1)_Write down what the underlined pronouns refer to according to the text.15-year-old Canadian William Gadourythe locations of the 117 known Maya cities correspond to the positions of the stars.3.It contained more than 800 characters,with some signs.representing syllables.(In paragraph 2)_4.Was it a natural disaster?(In paragraph 4)_5.This is likely to have led to a series of droughts,each lasting for.(In paragraph 5)_a true writing systemthe reason for Maya civilizations collapse/fallThere were far fewer tropical cyclones than usualThe secrets of the Ancient Maya civilisation continue to fascinate people.The Mayas achievements are incredible and mysterious.The Maya built impressive complex palaces and 1._ without using wheels,metal tools,or even animal power.And the Maya calendar was accurate to within 30 2._ per year.Most importantly,a true writing system was an achievement unique in the Americas at that time.Choose the right item from the box and make the summary complete.Change the form if necessary.templesgeneration,expansion,field,temple,drought,secondsecondsAfter Maya civilisations peak,it declined within a couple of 3._.Some research seems to indicate that the possible reasons for its collapse are both human and natural.Turning wetlands into 4._,digging huge canal systems and the huge 5._ of population reduced the Mayas ability to deal with natural disasters.Besides,a series of 6._ contributed greatly to the collapse.generations generation,expansion,field,temple,drought,secondfieldsexpansion droughtsComplete the cultural comparison with information from the passage.Comparing the highly-sophisticated civilisations of the Maya and Ancient China reveals some surprising similarities.They both possessed a detailed understanding of _ and astronomy,which helped them maintain an accurate _,and a complex _ that used signs to represent sounds and meanings.mathematicscalendarwriting systemIt can therefore be difficult to explain why,despite their excellent construction skills,the Maya never learnt to use _,while the ancient Chinese did.Facts such as these add to the mystery surrounding Maya civilisation,driving people to find out why it _ while others,such as Ancient China,survived and thrived.wheels,metal tools or even animal powerdisappeared1.What is the authors purpose in starting the passage with the story about William Gadoury?The story about William Gadoury shows how the secrets of Ancient Maya civilisation have captured peoples imaginations.Think&ShareThink&Share2.What other things do you think could destroy a civilisation?Share an example with the class.Stephen Hawking thought 3 things could destroy humanity:AI,human aggression and alien life.Firstly,Hawking is fiercely wary of strong artificial intelligence(AI);Hawking strongly believes AI that exudes intelligence equal to or exceeding that of a human could destroy the human race and was one of many scientists who wrote an open letter warning of the risks(as well as the benefits)of AI.Hawking has also issued a stark warning about the potential cataclysmic effects of human aggression.Hawking believes our aggressive nature could result in catastrophic events that could end human civilisation,such as a major nuclear war that could end all civilisation and extinct the human race.Last but not least,Hawking has expressed concerns about alien life.Hawking believes that if intelligent alien life does indeed exist,it likely wont be friendly towards humans,and could aim at conquering and colonizing whatever planets they visit.3.What lessons can you learn from the collapse of Maya civilisation?How can this information help the development of todays society?Studying the collapse of the Mayan civilisation can be beneficial for a multitude of reasons.We can determine the ways in which the Mayans exacerbated deforestation along with the effects which it had.Analysis of past human activity and its effects on the environmental are critical to evaluating contemporary environmental debates and policies.It is extremely important to learn from the failures of past human societies and civilizations.Hopefully we will use the information we have learned from the past to solve the deforestation problems which are still extremely prevalent today.4.Which of the arguments in the passage did you find the most convincing?Give your reasons.The decline of the Mayan population was closely tied to rapid deforestation coupled with the soil erosion.The Mayans burned and chopped down their forests in order to clear land for agriculture and also to acquire wood for the elaborate construction of their cities(Stromberg).Deforestation in Central American still remains extremely problematic today.In Honduras,it is estimated that up to 85%of timber which is cut down is threat to biodiversity,leading birds,animals and plants to lose their natural habitats.The worlds forests are one big carbon sink,storing and locking away carbon dioxide avoiding its immediate release into the atmosphere.When a tree dies all of the carbon that has been stored away is released back into the atmosphere.If the tree is cut down prematurely,the process is accelerated.Currently global loss of forests is contributing 12-15%of total greenhouse gas emissions.Search more information about the Maya on the Internet and prepare your speech to share in class.Preview the next part:Using language.