Famous Places

Machu Picchu

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

Machu Picchu 1. Have you ever heard of Machu Picchu? If so, what is
it?
2. Do you know where the Inca people lived?
Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built in the 1400s by the
Inca Indians. It is found high in the Andes mountain range in central 3. Where is the Andes Mountain range located?
Peru, South America. 4. Do you know what smallpox is?
5. Do you know what a World Heritage Site is?
Machu Picchu is 6,750 feet above sea level, set in a tropical forest
between two mountains. The Urubamba River can be seen 3,000
feet below.

The city likely served as a country estate for Inca nobles and as a
religious retreat. It covered about 5 square miles and had 200
buildings. These included a palace, temples, storage buildings, and
many smaller houses for servants. Fine craftsmen used local stone
to build these structures, all of which were designed to fit into the
landscape. Terraced gardens with irrigation channels were built on
the city’s steep slopes to grow potatoes and corn for the community.
Stone stairways connected the different levels.

Only nobles and priests, and their servants, would have known
about Machu Picchu. By 1527, half of the Inca population had died
of smallpox. In the next few years, many more people were killed in
civil wars between rival groups. When the Spanish conquered Peru
in 1532, the city was probably already abandoned and forgotten.
COMPREHENSION ✍
The Incas had no written language and the Spanish never discovered
Machu Picchu, so the city remained forgotten until 1911. That year, A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
an American historian and his local guides happened upon the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
ruined city. A few years later, an article appeared in the National
Geographic Society’s magazine. Archeologists and tourists have 1. Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century.
been visiting it ever since.
2. All of the Inca population knew about Machu Picchu.
In 1983, the United Nations named Machu Picchu a World Heritage
3. All of the Inca people were killed by the Spanish
Site. Today, it is Peru’s largest tourist attraction and is visited by
conquerors.
500,000 people each year. Some experts are concerned about the
damage that so many visitors may be doing to the site. 4. The Incas wrote a lot about Machu Picchu.

5. Peru’s largest tourist attraction may be in danger.

1
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 Famous Places
Machu Picchu

B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.

1. What is Machu Picchu?

2. Where is Machu Picchu located?
3. Why was Machu Picchu built?
4. Briefly describe Machu Picchu.
5. Why did the population of Machu Picchu disappear?
6. Why was Machu Picchu forgotten for several hundred years?
7. Why are some experts worried about the condition of Machu Picchu?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍
A. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words
in the following sentences.

1. Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built by the Inca Indians.
a) story b) destroyed remains c) castle
2. The city likely served as a country estate for Inca nobles.
a) people of high position b) farmers c) soldiers
3. The buildings included a palace, temples, storage buildings and many houses.
a) buildings for worshiping a god b) castles c) hospitals
4. The structures were designed to fit into the landscape.
a) gardens b) city c) the natural surrounding land
5. Many people were killed in civil wars between rival groups. DISCUSS
a) Indian b) Spanish c) enemy 1. Do you think it is important to preserve
6. When the Spanish conquered Peru, the city was probably already forgotten. World Heritage Sites? Why or why not?
a) discovered b) defeated c) bought
7. In 1911, an American historian happened upon the ruined city. 2. Many people today think of Machu
a) found by chance b) wrote about c) studied Picchu as an example of amazing
architectural design. Do you agree?
B. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. estate a) a religious leader 3. What do you think modern society can
_____ 2. retreat b) a piece of writing learn from the ruins of Machu Picchu?
_____ 3. terraced c) a large piece of property
_____ 4. irrigation d) a large house of a noble person 4. What kind of civilization do you think
_____ 5. steep e) a person who shows you the way the ancient Inca people had?
_____ 6. slope f) a quiet, restful place
_____ 7. abandon g) an area of rising ground or slanting land 5. Have you ever visited a World Heritage
_____ 8. priest h) a watering system Site? If so, describe it.
_____ 9. palace i) a person skilled at working with his hands
_____ 10. craftsman j) go away from
_____ 11. guide k) having a sharp or big slope or incline
_____ 12. article l) having a series of sloping levels

2
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 Famous Places
Machu Picchu

ANSWER KEY

Please note:
The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1-5 individual answers

&
2. The Inca people were an aboriginal civilization who lived in western South America. They controlled most of this land
until they were conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century.
3. It is located in South America.
4. Smallpox is a very deadly, contagious disease caused by a virus. It was once one of the most feared diseases in the
world, but there was a worldwide vaccination program to prevent smallpox and it is no longer a problem.
5. A World Heritage Site is a place chosen by the United Nations as a place with outstanding value to humanity. The
United Nations tries to protect and preserve places of cultural heritage and natural importance. There are over 800 such
sites around the world.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

A. True or False
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. T

B. Written Answers
1. Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built by the Inca Indians in the 1400s.
2. It is located in a tropical forest high in the Andes Mountains in central Peru.
3. It was probably built as a country estate for Inca nobles and as a religious retreat.
4. Machu Picchu covered about five square miles and had about 200 beautifully-crafted buildings and terraced gardens
with irrigation channels to water the community’s crops.
5. Many people died of smallpox and many were killed in civil wars.
6. Machu Picchu was forgotten for hundreds of years because the Incas had no written language and the Spanish had
never discovered it.
7. Some experts are worried that Machu Picchu may be damaged by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the
site each year.

VOCABULARY REVIEW

A. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning

1. b 2. a 3. a 4. c 5. c 6. b 7. a

B. Matching
1. c 2. f 3. l 4. h 5. k 6. g 7. j
8. a 9. d 10. i 11. e 12. b

3
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photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.
 Famous Places
Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is the ruins of a small city built in the 1400s by the Inca Indians. It is found high in the
Andes mountain range in central Peru, South America.

Machu Picchu is 6,750 feet above sea level, set in a tropical forest between two mountains. The
Urubamba River can be seen 3,000 feet below.

The city likely served as a country estate for Inca nobles and as a religious retreat. It covered about 5
square miles and had 200 buildings. These included a palace, temples, storage buildings, and many
smaller houses for servants. Fine craftsmen used local stone to build these structures, all of which were
designed to fit into the landscape. Terraced gardens with irrigation channels were built on the city’s
steep slopes to grow potatoes and corn for the community. Stone stairways connected the different
levels.

Only nobles and priests, and their servants, would have known about Machu Picchu. By 1527, half of
the Inca population had died of smallpox. In the next few years, many more people were killed in civil
wars between rival groups. When the Spanish conquered Peru in 1532, the city was probably already
abandoned and forgotten.

The Incas had no written language and the Spanish never discovered Machu Picchu, so the city remained
forgotten until 1911. That year, an American historian and his local guides happened upon the ruined
city. A few years later, an article appeared in the National Geographic Society’s magazine. Archeologists
and tourists have been visiting it ever since.

In 1983, the United Nations named Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site. Today, it is Peru’s largest
tourist attraction and is visited by 500,000 people each year. Some experts are concerned about the
damage that so many visitors may be doing to the site.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.