Lesson 2

Reading

1. Read the archaeology news items and answer the questions in your notebook.

1. Which of the three discoveries is the oldest? The ancient wall painting is the oldest.
2. Why do people think the temple in Virú was perhaps devoted to the water Gods? Because it was located near a river.
3. What was interesting about the mummies found in Alexandria? They had gold tongues in their mouths.
4. How did the police happen to come across the treasures? They went to the farmhouse to collect some old guns.
5. How did the Mayan treasures end up in Germany? Someone probably bought them while travelling in South America.

2. Look back at the texts and find the prepositions which go with these phrasal verbs. Then match them with their meanings.

1. come across a. find something by chance.
2. dig up b. remove something from the ground.
3. hand in d. give something to someone in authority.
4. pick up c. buy something cheaply.

4. Read these sentences from the news items. For each sentence say whether the writer is a) sure about what happened, b) sure that it’s not possible that it happened, or c) thinks it’s possible that it happened. Write S (sure), NP (not possible) or P (possible).

1. It must have been a temple built in honour of the water Gods. S
2. The Ancient Egyptians might have given the mummies gold tongues so they could speak to the god Osiris. P
3. He can’t have known their real value. NP
4. The original owner may have bought them while travelling in South America. P