The Pyramids

Famous Places
The Pyramids
Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

The Pyramids 1. When do you think the Pyramids of Egypt were built?
2. Do you know why they were built?
The pyramids are tombs that were built over 5,000 years ago for the 3. What kind of things do you imagine were placed inside
the Pyramids?
kings of ancient Egypt.
4. What is an archeologist?
Ancient Egyptians believed that after their kings died, they became 5. How many men do you think were needed to build a
gods in another world. A pyramid was to be the dead king’s palace pyramid?
in the afterlife where he would rule as a god. As well as a burial
chamber, the complex included rooms to hold things the king
would need in the afterlife, such as furniture, jewelry, and cooking
utensils. Servants or wives who died later were buried close by in
much smaller tombs.
Archeologists believe that local farmers and villagers willingly

worked on the pyramids during the flood season, when the land
could not be worked. The workers thought it would ensure their own
afterlife and make Egypt prosperous.
The structure of the pyramids evolved slowly. They went from

platforms stacked on an underground tomb to larger step-style
structures to the massive smooth-sided pyramids found at Giza.
Of the 80 known pyramids, the biggest and finest is the Great

Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. The base of the Great Pyramid covers
over 13 acres. It was 481 feet high but, over the years, has lost 30 COMPREHENSION ✍
feet off its top. Two million blocks of stone, each weighing over 2
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
tons, were used to build it. Workers likely moved these huge stones
statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
into position by using ropes to pull them up ramps. As many as false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
20,000 to 30,000 men may have worked on this pyramid, which
1. The Pyramids were built for the afterlife of the ancient
took 20 years to finish.
Egyptian kings.
Smaller pyramids of this type were built for another 1,000 years. 2. Local farmers were forced to work on the Pyramids.
When robbers started looting the precious goods stored inside them,
3. The Pyramids held many things besides the kings’
kings were buried in hidden tombs. Tombs of later kings were
bodies.
discovered in a valley near Luxor, which is now called the Valley of
the Kings. 4. The structure of the Pyramids changed gradually over
time.
5. It took 200 years to finish The Great Pyramid of Khufu.
1
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Famous Places
The Pyramids
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. Why were the Pyramids built?

2. What kinds of things were placed in the Pyramids?
3. According to archeologists, why did local farmers and villagers work on the Pyramids willingly?
4. How did the structure of the Pyramids change over time?
5. Describe the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
6. How did workers likely move the massive stones into place?
7. Why were kings eventually buried in hidden tombs?
VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍ DISCUSS
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right. 1. Besides the ancient Egyptians,
what other cultures built
pyramids? Where can we see
_____ 1. tomb a) with agreement; without being forced
examples of these today?
_____ 2. palace b) pile; put things on top of each other
Have you ever visited any of
_____ 3. chamber c) place to bury a dead body these?
_____ 4. utensils d) stealing; taking away goods illegally
_____ 5. local e) very large; huge 2. How have burial customs
_____ 6. willingly f) room changed throughout history
and how do they differ from
_____ 7. prosperous g) a sloping way to move from one level to another, instead of stairs
culture to culture?
_____ 8. evolve h) king’s house; a very large, beautiful house
_____ 9. stack i) very valuable 3. Do you believe that local
_____ 10. massive j) instruments or tools for eating or cooking villagers worked willingly on
_____ 11. ramp k) change or develop gradually, slowly over time the Pyramids or do you think
_____ 12. looting l) in the area that forced labor was
involved? Explain your
_____ 13. precious m) successful, rich
answer.
B. Choose the correct word from the left column above to complete the following
4. Would you like to be an
sentences. archeologist? Why or why
not?
1. Please don’t ________________ your books on the floor. Put them on the shelves.
2. Eating ________________ are different in different countries. Some people use chopsticks; others use knives and forks.
3. His business is becoming very ________________ and he is now making a lot of money.
4. Now that she is using a wheelchair, they are going to build a ________________ at the front door of their house.
5. I’m happy there is a university in our ________________ area. Our children will not have to go away to study.
6. There was a violent demonstration in the city and a lot of store windows were broken. There was also a lot
of ________________ before the police arrived.
7. Many people were killed in the ________________ earthquake last year.
8. Buckingham ________________ , where Queen Elizabeth lives, is a very popular British tourist attraction.
9. Her grandmother left her a beautiful gold ring with three ________________ stones.
10. Maria is an excellent music student. She ________________ practices the piano for over an hour every day. Her mother
never has to ask her to do it.
2
Famous Places
The Pyramids
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 - 3. individual answers
4. An archeologist is a person who studies past human life and remains left by ancient peoples.
5. individual answer
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. T 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F
B. Written Answers
1. The pyramids were built to be the palaces for the kings after they died and became gods in the afterlife.
2. The pyramids contained the bodies of the dead kings as well as furniture, jewelry, cooking utensils and other things
they might need in the afterlife.
3. Local farmers and villagers worked on the pyramids willingly because they thought that it would ensure their own
afterlife and make Egypt prosperous. Also, they worked during the flood season when they could not work on the land.
4. They started as platforms stacked on an underground tomb and then changed to larger step-style structures. Eventually
they became smooth-sided pyramids.
5. It is the biggest and finest pyramid and has a base covering 13 acres and a height of over 400 feet. Two million blocks
of stone, each weighing over two tons were used in it.
6. Workers probably used ropes to pull the stones up ramps.
7. The kings were eventually buried in hidden tombs because robbers had started to steal the valuable things inside the
pyramids.
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Matching
1. c 2. h 3. f 4. j 5. l 6. a 7. m 8. k
9. b 10. e 11.g 12.d 13. i
B. Choose the correct word

1. stack 2. utensils 3. prosperous 4. ramp 5. local 6. looting 7. massive
8. palace 9. precious 10. willingly
3
Famous Places
The Pyramids
The Pyramids
The pyramids are tombs that were built over 5,000 years ago for the kings of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egyptians believed that after their kings died, they became gods in another world. A pyramid
was to be the dead king’s palace in the afterlife where he would rule as a god. As well as a burial
chamber, the complex included rooms to hold things the king would need in the afterlife, such as
furniture, jewelry, and cooking utensils. Servants or wives who died later were buried close by in much
smaller tombs.
Archeologists believe that local farmers and villagers willingly worked on the pyramids during the flood
season, when the land could not be worked. The workers thought it would ensure their own afterlife and
make Egypt prosperous.
The structure of the pyramids evolved slowly. They went from platforms stacked on an underground
tomb to larger step-style structures to the massive smooth-sided pyramids found at Giza.
Of the 80 known pyramids, the biggest and finest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. The base of the
Great Pyramid covers over 13 acres. It was 481 feet high but, over the years, has lost 30 feet off its top.
Two million blocks of stone, each weighing over 2 tons, were used to build it. Workers likely moved
these huge stones into position by using ropes to pull them up ramps. As many as 20,000 to 30,000 men
may have worked on this pyramid, which took 20 years to finish.
Smaller pyramids of this type were built for another 1,000 years. When robbers started looting the
precious goods stored inside them, kings were buried in hidden tombs. Tombs of later kings were
discovered in a valley near Luxor, which is now called the Valley of the Kings.
4

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Famous Places

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

Archeologists believe that local farmers and villagers willingly

The structure of the pyramids evolved slowly. They went from

Of the 80 known pyramids, the biggest and finest is the Great

5. It took 200 years to finish The Great Pyramid of Khufu.

1. Why were the Pyramids built?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍ DISCUSS

B. Choose the correct word

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