Презентация на тему: Pages of history: linking past and present

Pages of history: linking past and present “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them”

Answer the questions.Do you like history?Where can we get information about historic events?What periods in the history of mankind do you find most interesting?What people played a special role in history?What events in history changed the face of the world?Do people always learn lessons of history?What history can teach us?

We live in the 21st century in a fast changing world, the world of new ideas and new technologies, but we shouldn’t forget that our present life has been prepared by everything that has happened on our planet so far. The long history of mankind is not a string of half-remembered events of the past. Our history is what we are now. It explains things to us about the future because history repeats itself. Every minute of our life is history in the making. Every person lives in the past, present and future.

Anthropologists formulated a theory of cultural evolution in which they divided human development into three stages: savagery, barbarism and civilization. Initially our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. They were grouped into tribes. These tribes usually included relatives and shared the same language and culture. They were governed by meetings of elders. Early people in prehistoric times are supposed to have been simple, severe, without any attention to comfort.

The first great idea which started man on the road to his great achievements was when a caveman picked up a heavy stone to help him. The use of fire was another step without which no development would have been possible. Another great move towards modern technology was the invention of the wheel. First man hunted animals for food, but gradually he learned to capture and tame some of them, so that he could keep his food nearby. Man also discovered how to plant crops.

The British archaeologist Gordon Childe worked out a theory explaining how a culture transforms into a civilization. He wrote that a civilization is characterized by the invention of writing, mathematics, long-distance trade, wheeled carts, irrigation technology and some other features. Modern scientists say that it has the following basic characteristics: political and religious structures and administration of the territories, a complex division of labour, with full-time artisans, soldiers, peasants and administrators.

“Civilization is an advanced stage of human development marked by a high level of art, religion, science and social and political organization.” Historians have differed greatly in deciding how many civilizations there were in the past. Nowadays scholars study not only civilizations of the Western World going back to Ancient Greece and Rome but also the civilizations of Islam, Byzantium, India, China, Japan and the African kingdoms.

The ancient Near East has been called the cradle of Western civilization. To its people we owe the invention of agriculture, the alphabet, the first cities. This region includes modern Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Iraq. Ancient Egypt deserves a special mention. It developed a unique culture that lasted 3 thousand years. The Greeks made radical experiments with political, artistic and philosophical ideas, all of which have had a lasting influence on Western civilization. One of the most fascinating things that the Greeks have left us is their legends.

Ancient Romans were great lawmakers and keen politicians. They were skillful warriors too, they took part in overseas wars, trying to expand their power, and conquered a number of neighbouring peoples. Unfortunately the history of mankind is not only a history of inventions and discoveries but also a history of wars and military conflicts. However we can benefit from the knowledge left to us by earlier generations, even if it is acquired through frightening and cruel experiences. The lifestyle which we enjoy today is a result of countless ideas and deeds of our forefathers.

Find some information about an event of great historic importance.a waran invention Think of how to present it to the class in the most interesting way. Give your presentation. Remember that it shouldn’t exceed 5-7 minutes.

There are some words that can come in handy.1. WARSbreak outbe launched or unleashed or starteddeclare war on invade one’s territoryattack one’s troopstry to destroy one’s towns and military forceslay siege to a citycapture soldiers and officers / take them prisonerfight battles on battlefieldstry to control the enemy’s territorybomb or shell the enemy’s territoryconduct hostilitiesdefend one’s territory and peoplerepel the enemy’s attackstry to set the prisoners freeretreat or counterattackstand alone against the enemy forces or fight together with one’s allieswin important victoriesface a defeatsuffer heavy casualties

go to warenrol in the army / join itfight on smb’s sideshow great courage and determination to winfall on the battlefieldget wounded, injured or killedbecome prisoners of war or hostagesbe listed as missing in actionbecome refugeesbe awarded with medals and orderscost the lives of many peopleprove to be ruinous and disastrousend in a victory or a defeat after heavy fightingbe often horrible and bloodyA well-organized army has:headquartersa commander-in-chiefgenerals, colonels, captains, lieutenants, soldiers (privates)military equipmentammunition (bombs, missiles, mines, tanks, aircraft carriers, guns, rifles and other weaponsmeans of carrying out modern warfare

2. INVENTIONS The opinions about the first invention of the … have been discussed and argued upon for generations. It is difficult to determine any one person as the first to create the … invention. There were numerous inventors that contributed to the invention of … Among these inventors were … There were two prominent contributors to early versions of … his intention was to… to aim to discover ( improve) … The first attempts at … were challenging. … not to make much progress before … to be a failure to work alone on one’s invention to discuss one’s ideas or collaborate with other inventors to achieve amazing results to succeed in … It occurred to him that… to extend the work of …

to explore to do research to analyze to systematize to classify to make experiments Subsequent experiments proved that… to suggest a new idea The ingenuity of the … invention was the research behind it. This research was extensive and thorough.to produce the first working prototype of a…be the first to demonstrate… to file a patent for …to defend one’s patent rightsto register a patentto apply for a patent for one’s inventionto publish one’s results