Ciudades antiguas y sus secretos

by Vocafy Verificado

Inglés (Estados Unidos) B2 12 preguntas History & culture

Explora ciudades extraordinarias, métodos ingeniosos de construcción y leyendas perdurables. Descubre lo que la arqueología puede revelar y lo que aún es incierto.

1. 1. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   ¿Por qué sobrevivieron muchas pinturas y objetos cotidianos?

   Pompeii, a Roman city in present-day Italy, was buried by volcanic material from Mount Vesuvius. Excavators later found wall paintings and everyday objects inside its buildings.

   • The rapid burial protected them from weather and later disturbance.
   • The city remained occupied, so residents maintained every building.
   • Roman artists replaced the paintings after the eruption.
   • The eruption turned paintings and household objects into solid stone.

   Piensa en lo que una cobertura repentina puede mantener alejado de los edificios.

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   • The rapid burial protected them from weather and later disturbance.

   El enterramiento repentino puede preservar espacios y pertenencias comunes, ofreciéndonos una visión de la vida cotidiana y no solo de los grandes monumentos.

2. 2. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   ¿Para qué fue diseñado este sistema?

   Some Roman bath buildings had raised floors with empty spaces underneath. A furnace sent hot air through these spaces and into passages within the walls.

   • Carry clean water into bathing pools.
   • Drain used water out of the building.
   • Heat the floors and rooms.
   • Cool the rooms during hot weather.

   Sigue el calor desde el horno.

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   • Heat the floors and rooms.

   Este sistema de calefacción bajo el piso se llama hipocausto. Los constructores romanos lo utilizaban en las termas y en algunas casas de personas adineradas.

3. 3. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   What was a major purpose of these structures?

   Petra, an ancient city in present-day Jordan, had rock-cut channels leading to large water storage tanks. Rainfall in the surrounding region was limited and seasonal.

   • To carry wastewater directly out of the city.
   • To keep a supply of water for dry periods.
   • To heat water before it entered public baths.

   Think about the months when little rain falls.

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   • To keep a supply of water for dry periods.

   Petra's impressive architecture depended on practical water management as well as skilled stone carving.

4. 4. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   ¿Por qué eran útiles estas terrazas?

   At Machu Picchu, an Inca settlement in present-day Peru, terraces create flat strips on steep slopes. Stone walls hold soil in place, while drainage allows extra rainwater to escape.

   • They created usable land while limiting soil loss.
   • They trapped water to keep the slopes permanently flooded.
   • They allowed buildings to stand safely on unsupported loose soil.

   Considera cómo afecta la lluvia al suelo en una pendiente.

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   • They created usable land while limiting soil loss.

   El drenaje era una parte esencial del diseño de las terrazas: el agua que se acumula detrás de un muro puede hacerlo menos estable.

5. 5. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   What do the imported ceramics show most clearly?

   Great Zimbabwe was a major stone-built city in southern Africa. Excavators have found locally made pottery alongside ceramics produced in Asia.

   • The city's merchants must have traveled directly to Asia.
   • Local pottery production ended before imported ceramics arrived.
   • Goods reached the city through long-distance trade networks.

   Objects can pass through several places before reaching a buyer.

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   • Goods reached the city through long-distance trade networks.

   Imported goods can reveal trade connections without proving that people traveled directly between the places where they were made and found.

6. 6. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   Which conclusion do these remains directly support?

   Near Egypt's pyramids at Giza, archaeologists have found a workers' settlement dating to the period of pyramid construction. It included bakeries and areas for preparing food.

   • Every worker had the same legal and social status.
   • Construction involved an organized workforce supplied with food.
   • The builders never needed food supplies from outside the settlement.
   • The settlement was built only after pyramid construction ended.

   Look at the facilities that would serve many people.

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   • Construction involved an organized workforce supplied with food.

   Housing and food facilities reveal how workers were supported; they do not, by themselves, establish whether every worker was free or enslaved.

7. 7. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   ¿Qué establece el descubrimiento arqueológico?

   Excavations in northwestern Turkey revealed an ancient settlement widely identified as Troy. Homer's Iliad describes a war there and includes gods taking part in the fighting.

   • The poem provides an exact eyewitness account of the war.
   • Gods physically intervened in battles at the site.
   • A real settlement existed at the site associated with Troy.
   • Every excavated wall was built for the war described in the poem.

   Distingue entre la existencia de un lugar y los detalles de una historia.

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   • A real settlement existed at the site associated with Troy.

   Un lugar histórico puede inspirar una historia sin confirmar sus personajes, acontecimientos o elementos sobrenaturales.

8. 8. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   ¿Qué pueden hacer los investigadores con certeza con estos signos?

   Ancient Indus cities in present-day Pakistan and northwestern India produced seals bearing short groups of signs. There is no widely accepted decipherment of these signs.

   • Compare their shapes and look for recurring patterns.
   • Give a reliable translation of every inscription.
   • Identify the spoken language with certainty.

   ¿Qué puedes observar sin conocer el significado?

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   • Compare their shapes and look for recurring patterns.

   Los patrones se pueden estudiar incluso cuando los significados siguen siendo desconocidos. Los investigadores pueden comparar qué signos aparecen juntos y con qué frecuencia ocurren.

9. 9. Elige la respuesta correcta.

   Which conclusion is justified?

   Plato, a philosopher in ancient Greece, described Atlantis in his writings. No site has been securely identified as Atlantis through archaeological evidence.

   • Archaeology has proved that no such city ever existed.
   • Atlantis has not been confirmed as a real city by archaeology.
   • Plato's description establishes the city's exact location.

   Not finding evidence does not settle the question either way.

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   • Atlantis has not been confirmed as a real city by archaeology.

   Lack of confirmation is not the same as proof that something never existed. A claim still needs reliable evidence before it is treated as fact.

10. 10. Elige la respuesta correcta.

    Which conclusion best fits this evidence?

    At Angkor in present-day Cambodia, researchers study reservoirs, sediment, tree-ring records, and written accounts. Together, these indicate severe droughts and intense rainfall that put pressure on the city's large water system during its decline.

    • The climate evidence identifies one cause that explains every change.
    • Having reservoirs made the city independent of rainfall.
    • Environmental pressures may have contributed to a complex decline.

    A contributing factor is not necessarily a complete explanation.

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    • Environmental pressures may have contributed to a complex decline.

    Environmental stress was likely one part of a broader change, and urban decline does not always mean total abandonment: Angkor Wat remained in use even as much of the wider urban area declined.

11. 11. Elige la respuesta correcta.

    ¿Qué revela de manera más directa la datación de la viga?

    Radiocarbon dating measures the age of once-living material. A wooden beam in an ancient city's temple may have been reused from an older building.

    • When the beam was installed in this temple.
    • When builders carved the beam into its present shape.
    • When people stopped using the temple.
    • The age of the wood, not necessarily the temple's construction date.

    La madera puede haber existido antes que este edificio.

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    • The age of the wood, not necessarily the temple's construction date.

    La antigüedad de un objeto y la fecha de su uso pueden ser distintas. La madera reutilizada puede hacer que un edificio parezca más antiguo si las pruebas se interpretan sin cuidado.

12. 12. Elige la respuesta correcta.

    Which conclusion about the two accounts is most reasonable?

    Imagine researchers find two accounts of the same battle in an ancient city. A king's inscription calls it a "complete victory," while a soldier's letter reports heavy losses.

    • Heavy losses prove that the king lost the battle.
    • A victory could involve heavy losses, and each source may emphasize a different point.
    • A claim of victory proves that the army suffered no serious losses.
    • The difference between the accounts makes both records useless.

    Winning does not always mean escaping harm.

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    • A victory could involve heavy losses, and each source may emphasize a different point.

    Royal inscriptions often promote a ruler's reputation, while personal letters may focus on immediate experience. Different perspectives need not be completely contradictory.