CHAPTER ONE
THE DAWN OF HISTORY
Time
Immemorial (Who shall decide when scientists
disagree?)
Fortunately for students the first couple of million years
of history are always explained in the
twinkling of an eye: somehow (the
Lord knows how) somebody (the Lord
knows who) appeared at some time (the
Lord knows when) somewhere (the Lord
knows where). That “creature” is supposed to have been more similar to what
nowadays we know as “a monkey” than what we call “a man”. This apeman
(half-man, half-monkey) used to live in caves, dressed in animal skins, and
hunting was his daily bread and butter.
Then one day, out of the blue, he
stood up... and learnt to walk. Another day, he invented fire (the best thing since sliced bread)...
and learnt to cook. On another occasion, he invented the wheel... and learnt to
travel. And at any other moment in this time
out of mind he invented something similar to an axe...and learnt to murder.
An accurate and succinct account of events indeed, but very
useful for students since they do not have to learn all the things that have
happened in the world from Time Immemorial (can you imagine having
to learn millions and millions of things that have happened for millions and
millions of years? Undoubtedly, that would make you go off your nut). Thus, at a
single stroke, a long period of time passes before your eyes...and that’s the long and the short of the matter.
All these facts are pure conjecture: the history of the
early ages is merely based upon doubtful information and archaeological
remains, which are not many, by the way.
It is somehow “an invented story” since there are no records which can give chapter and verse for it exactly,
and the dates of appearance of man on earth are still the apple of discord among historians (and will keep on being so
perhaps to the end of time).
The
melting pot (It takes all sorts to make
a world)
One thing we can be sure of is that the birth of a nation is
not something which happens all of a
sudden. On the contrary, it takes a lot of time and involves a combination
of different people from many different places and cultures who happen to
gather around a specific area at different moments in time and who get there in
search of a land flowing with milk and
honey. This means that the concept of a proper Briton, as well as the
concept of a proper Dane, a proper Spaniard or a proper Vietnamese, does not
exist, and that a nation is but the result of adding and mixing a good number
of ingredients in a pot and cooking them for centuries on a low heat.
Going
adrift
Before the English Channel existed, that is to say, in those
times when we could not properly call the British Isles “British Isles” and the
map of the world was pretty different from the one we can see nowadays in our
atlases, the territory which we refer to with such an appellation was stuck to
the rest of Europe . Then around 200,000 years
ago, Ireland and Great Britain (at that time, of course, they still had no
names) set sail westwards and said
goodbye to the Continental people, who remained dumb as statues while waving their hands and saying “so
long!”. The big mass of land wandered the seas for some thousand years
and reached its present position. (Heaven
knows where these islands will be in a couple of millenniums’ time!)
N.B. Those who don’t believe that Southern England
and Western France were once joined are kindly requested to go and visit the
White Cliffs of Dover (Kent) and their counterpart in Boulogne
Within a
stone’s throw (A sight for sore eyes )
The inhabitants of the British Isles
may have always wished to be isolated but their proximity to the Continent has
always made it a bit difficult. Once boats, rafts and other similar means of
transport started to be used, the Continental people’s yearning for discovery
brought about continuous voyages to the nearby islands. After all, as people
know, travel broadens your mind...
The result of those excursions proved to be satisfactory. The new land did not
seem to leave a great deal to be desired,
as we can conclude from the fact that most of those casual visitors stayed all
their lives. It seemed as if the island had cast its spell on them.
Any Briton of today who wished to have his family tree drawn
would find out that his family would trace its origins to someone who used to
live in Northern Spain, Western France, Belgium ,
Holland , Norway
or Sweden
First
come, first served (An early bird called Brut)
Legends and mythology play a major role when talking about
the history of any country. Stories which have passed from generation to
generation by word of mouth and
which have no fundamental basis constitute one of the main pillars in the
reconstruction of history..., the other pillars being veracity of facts, common
sense and knowledge of human nature. This combination can sometimes make “the
whole building” tremble, since legends do not always get on well with historical accuracy. To a large extent,
therefore, the outline of the ancient history of a country such as Britain is a-cat-and-dog fight between legend and
truthfulness: on the one hand, the
origin of a country is often based upon cock-and-bull
stories which, in spite of being hard to believe, make sense but have no
historical foundation; on the other hand,
there are no records which can prove anything, so why should we believe the
stories we are told? Are historians pulling
our legs?
One of these cock-and-bull stories is the one which was
recounted by the first British historian, Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100-1155)
in his chronicle Historia regum
Britanniae, which unfortunately has little historical value. According to
him, the name Britain London Britain
A more believable story is that the name Britain Britain
Every why
has a wherefore (What on earth is this?)
Prehistoric remains have often lent a hand to historians so that they can decipher the way of life
in those remote ages. By means of
studying ancient paintings or architectural structures, they have been able to
reconstruct those dark days in history. But as it has been mentioned
previously, these remains have often
lent a hand to historians, or at least they have not always been clear enough for historians to determine why and
what they were made for. Such is the case of Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain in
Wiltshire, the most significant megalithic monument in Britain
This mysterious construction has given rise to a couple of theories that try to explain the purpose
for which it was built:
The aligment of the
axis of the stones with the sun on Midsummer’s Day has made experts think that Stonehenge was conceived as a sort of observatory, that
is, a place from which to watch the movement of the planets and to study the
stars. Those prehistoric men, of course, did not know much about celestial
bodies, which perhaps they considered to be gods, but we can accept that they
could probably feel attracted by the motion of those “bright dots” in the sky.
A second theory points out that this kind of stone circle
was just a sort of temple for the Druids to celebrate their ceremonies. The
Druids were the spiritual leaders in those past times. They practised human
sacrifices, were the greatest authorities not only in religion but also in law,
and knew about astronomy and natural philosophy. It is known that they
organized meetings at certain times of the year, so Stonehenge
could be one of those temples designed for them to gather. Even today that
meeting is held there. A special ceremony takes place on the 21st of
June, the summer solstice, to commemorate the ancient mystic rites which
occurred at Stonehenge . “Modern druids” meet
there and greet the coming of the summer... Some things never change.
The most shocking fact about Stonehenge is the way that
these stones were transported and put one on top of another, taking it for granted that in those
times works were done with one’s bare
hands and that the use of any kind of tools was little and the knowledge of
engineering was scarce. Archaeologists have discovered that these stones were
brought from South West Wales (not exactly just
around the corner). Then how could these huge heavy stones be transported
and lifted? Probably they were floated on rafts across the Bristol
Channel and then pulled on sledges with rollers underneath to
Salisbury Plain..., slowly but surely.
And how long did it take to do it?...God
only knows!. One thing is sure: one day these men rolled their sleeves up and set
the ball rolling...And they kept it
rolling for centuries, since it is estimated that this incredible feat of
engineering was begun around 2000 or 1800 BC and was completed definitely c.
1400 BC. Perseverance gets results in the end.
The important point is that, however Stonehenge
was built, it was no doubt a herculean
task which required both great effort and a good deal of time. And as
effort and time in a work of art are normally proportional to its grandeur,
then the greatness of Stonehenge is beyond measure and beyond question.
The
dawn of history (Exercises)
1.- In the twinkling of an eye
“Twinkle” is a verb. It means “to shine with an unsteady
light”. In this phrase it has been converted into a noun (as it is preceded by
the definite article and followed by the preposition of) by adding –ing to the
base of the verb. Paraphrase the following sentences so that the meaning does
not change and always use an -ing
form as a noun.
1.1.- The library has been rebuilt recently.
___________________ has been recently completed.
1.2.- Something was written on the other side of the paper.
There
____________________ on the other side of the paper.
1.3.- It took me a long time to fill the car tank.
_____________________________
took me a long time.
1.4.- You read English quite well but you often write it
incorrectly.
________________ in English is satisfactory but _______________ is often
incorrect.
1.5.- It was hard for him to design the plans.
_________________________ was hard for him.
2.-
The Lord knows how/what/when/where/who...
We can complete this phrase; for example, “The Lord knows when the first man appeared
on earth”. The Lord knows is the main clause and when.....earth is a dependent wh-interrogative clause. As the
latter is not a direct question but depends from the former, the general rules
for interrogations don’t apply here. A typical mistake in this kind of
sentences is to use do/does/did or to
reverse the order between subject and object. That must NOT be done in these
cases.
Now do as in the example:
What time is the train leaving? (I don’t know)
I don’t know what time the train is leaving
2.1.- Where does he live?
(I wonder)
______________________________
2.2.- Is he English or Scottish? (I am not sure)
____________________________________
2.3.- How much did you pay for this watch? (I don’t know)
______________________________________________
2.4.- When does the program start? (I want to know)
_________________________________________
2.5.- Who lives in this flat? (We want to know)
______________________________________
2.6.- When did she learn to drive? (I wonder)
___________________________________
2.7.- Why did she leave without saying goodbye? (I can’t understand)
_________________________________________________________
3.-
Out of the blue
Besides this, there are many other idioms in which the word blue appears. Below you will find some
more of them. Complete them with the words in the box.
3.1.- If you
_______ the blues, it means that you
are sad.
3.2.- A synonym of the previous idiom is to _______ blue.
3.3.- To blue one’s
_______ means “to waste it”.
3.4.- A blue
_______ is a censor.
3.5.- A blue
_______ is an obscene one.
3.6.- Blue _______
is used to refer to someone of aristocratic origin.
3.7.- Once in a blue
_______ means “rarely”
3.8.- A blue-_______
worker is a factory worker, as opposed to a white-collar one.
collar blood film moon
|
have money pencil feel
|
4.-
To go off one’s nut
This expression means “to become crazy, to go out of one’s
mind”. The word nut can be
substituted by three other words which appear in the box that follows. Try your
luck: which words are they?
head roof
hat onion rocker hair
|
5.- The apple of discord
This is not the only idiom in which a fruit appears. There
are some more below in the box. Write them in the blank spaces.
5.1.- If you have another
bite at the __________, you have another chance to do something.
5.2.- If someone is
__________, that person is crazy.
5.3.- The expression to
play ___________ is used to refer to a person who is in the company of
two people who are in love; those two
people want to be alone together and that third
person is unwelcomed.
5.4.- If you say
that something is worthless, although you really want it but you cannot have
it,
you can refer to it as sour __________.
5.5.- In colloquial
language, a __________ is someone who
is made to appear foolish.
gooseberry bananas lemon
grapes cherry
|
6.-
Dumb as statues (or as dumb as a statue)
There are many other idioms of comparison. Some of them
refer to physical defects. Match the beginnings of those idioms (on the left)
and their endings (on the right).
as blind as... ... a fish
as deaf as... ... sin
as dumb (=stupid)
as..... a bat
as fat as... ... a post
as plump as... ... a partridge
as ugly as... ... a pig
7.-
Travel broadens your mind
The verb broaden
is derived from the adjective broad.
The suffix –en is used with other
roots in order to make new verbs. Complete the following table.
Adjective Noun Verb
broad breadth broaden
wide
long
deepen
height
8.-
Within a stone’s throw / Just around the corner
Both expressions have the same
meaning. Something which is within a stone’s throw or just around the corner is
very near. Of the following expressions, only one does NOT mean “very near”.
Which one?
close at hand before your eyes at arm’s length
|
within arm’s reach within sight
|
9.-
As clear as the nose on your face
This is another idiom of comparison. The word clear can be substituted by another
adjective and we can get a second version of the same idiom. Which of these
four adjectives can be used?
plain easy obvious bright
|
10.-
What on earth is this?
On earth is an
expression that is used for emphasis in wh-questions. It suggests that there is
no easy answer to the question someone is asking (how on earth are you going to do it?; who on earth is that man?; what
on earth are you trying to tell me?...)
There is another
similar expression, but it is a bit ruder. It consists of the wh-word plus an
article plus a noun. The meaning of that noun is “the place where the souls of
evil people go after they have died”. Can you guess what expression we are
referring to?
What/How/When/Where/Who... _______ ________ ...................?
11.-
An early bird
This is only the first part of a well-known proverb which
means that only a person who acts promptly gets his object. Choose the right
words in order to complete it.
The early bird flies at sunshine
sings the
worm
catches fast
eats in
the sky
runs loudly
sleeps in
the morning
12.-
Synonyms
“This stone circle has amazed, surprised, astonished, astounded, shocked, stunned and startled...”. All these verbs have more or less the same meaning.
They belong to the same semantic field: surprise. Below you have five more
verbs which belong to this field. And there is another group of five verbs
which should not be in the list. Use a dictionary if necessary and cross them
out. (What semantic field do those “odd words out” belong to?)
take aback dumbfound glimpse
stare
|
glance stagger stupefy
|
behold gape
|
KEY TO THE EXERCISES
Chapter
1: The Dawn of History
1
1.1.- the rebuilding of the
library; 1.2.- there was some
writing; 1.3.- the filling of the car
tank; 1.4.- your reading; your writing;
1.5.- the designing of the plans
2
2.1.- I wonder where he
lives; 2.2.- I am not sure if he is
English or Scottish; 2.3.- I don’t know
how much you paid for this watch; 2.4.-
I want to know when the program starts;
2.5.- We want to know who lives in this flat; 2.6.- I wonder when she learnt to drive; 2.7.- I can’t understand why she left without
saying goodbye
3
3.1.- have; 3.2.- feel;
3.3.- money; 3.4.- pencil; 3.5.- film;
3.6.- blood; 3.7.- moon; 3.8.- collar
4 head, onion,
rocker
5
5.1.- cherry; 5.2.- bananas; 5.3.- gooseberry; 5.4.- grapes;
5.5.- lemon
6 as blind as a
bat; as deaf as a post; as dumb as a fish; as fat as a pig; as plump as a partridge; as ugly as sin
7 broad, breadth,
broaden; wide, width, widen; long, length, lengthen; deep, depth, deepen; high, height, heighten
8 at arm’s length
9 plain
10
what/how/when/where/who...the devil...?
11 the early bird
catches the worm
12 take aback,
dumbfound, stagger, stupefy.
The other verbs are connected
with “sight”.
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