Reading
passage One definition of a road is
that it is a way between two places that has been improved in
some way to make travel easier. The first ‘roads’ were simple pathways
that probably followed the routes that animals take as they wander
around the countryside. Roads have a very long history. Streets paved
with stone were built in the Mesopotamian city of Ur some 6,000 years
ago, and corduroy roads (roads created by placing logs side by side)
dated to around the same time have been found in the south of England. Later roads were specifically
constructed to allow faster travel for soldiers, government officials
and eventually traders.
One of the great road builders of ancient times was Darius I, king of
Persia. In 500 BCE,He ordered the construction of the Royal Road that
stretched from Sardis on the western coast of what is now Turkey to
Susa in what is now Iran. On this road, Darius’ mounted messengers
could travel 2,700 kilometers in only seven days using relays of
horses. Probably the greatest road builders of antiquity, however, were
the Romans. Beginning around about 300 BCE, Roman roads were built
mostly by the Roman army as it campaigned against Rome’s enemies, Roman
roads were constructed in as straight a line as possible and were
paved. As the empire expanded, so did the road network and eventually
more than 80,000 kilometers of paved roads crisscrossed the Roman
Empire in Europe, North Africa and the Near East. Roads, however, are
expensive to build and need a strong central government to maintain
them. When the Persian and Roman empires declined, their road networks
declined with them. (275)
Main
idea: roads in the ancient world MP 1: --- roads very old
-- paved streets Ur 4,000 BCE
-- corduroy roads S. England
6,000 years ago MP2: --- Darius I (Persia) great road
builder, Royal Road
-- 2,500 years ago
-- Sardis to Susa
-- Royal messengers (horsemen)
cover 2,700 km in seven days MP3: --- Romans prob greatest road builders
-- begin 300 BCE
-- built by army on campaign,
empire bigger, more roads
-- straight, paved
-- 80,000 km MP3: --- roads expensive build and maintain,
so empire declines roads decline
Listening
passage If roads in ancient times had
been primarily for the use of armies and government business, the
coming of the agricultural and industrial revolutions in Europe in the
18th century created
a need for roads to facilitate trade and the movement of goods and
people from one place to another. This could only be made possible if a
method of constructing roads could be developed that was not impossibly
expensive and produced roads that were useable in all weathers. One of
the first people to do this was a Scottish engineer by the name of John
Macadam, spelt M-A-C-A-D-A-M. Macadam continued the work of earlier
French and English road builders but his breakthrough was to realize
that massive heavy rocks used as a foundation for a road were not
necessary. This made roadbuilding csimpler and cheaper. In the early
19th century, Macadam perfected a road
structure that had three layers. The first layer was made up of stones
of a maximum size of 75 millimeters. This layer was compacted, pushed
together, by a heavy roller. Another identical layer of 75 millimeter
stones was laid down and again compacted. Finally a top layer of
smaller stones of 25 millimeters was added. This kind of road was
known as a ‘macadamised’ road. The most important advantage of
macadamized roads was that they were usable in any kind of weather. The
‘macadamized’ road really was the first ‘modern’ road and
revolutionized road transport. It led to the vast road networks that we
all take for granted today. (244)
Main
idea: the beginning of modern
roads MP 1: --- 18th C Agric & Ind rev. create
demand for roads --
must be inexpensive, all-weather MP2 --- John Macadam one of first to provide
new roads --
Mac knew big rock foundation unnecessary, simpler, cheaper MP3: -- Macadam made three-layer roads --
1st layer stones 75 mm max, compacted
-- 2nd layer stones 75 mm max, compacted --3rd layer stones 25 mm max, compacted MP4: -- Macadamised roads first modern roads --
changed road transport --
led to today's network
Sample
essay 1 In this set of materials, the
reading passage discusses roads in ancient times, and the listening
passage describes the beginnings of modern roads.
The reading passage informs us that
the concept of a road is very old indeed. It is known that about 6,000
years ago paved streets existed in the city of Ur and roads made of
logs were in use in England. Some 2,500 years ago, the Persian king,
Darius I, built his royal road which linked the coast of modern-day
Turkey with Iran. Using this road the king could send messages at the
astonishing speed of almost 400 km a day. A few hundred years later,
Roman armies built roads as they moved to fight Rome's enemies. These
Roman roads were straight and had a paved surface. The Roman road
network eventually reached about 80,000 km, making them probably the
greatest of all ancient road builders. The purpose of roads in ancient
times was usually to allow armies and government officials to move more
quickly, and without a strong government the roads began to deteriorate.
The listening passage tells us about
the work of the road builder John Macadam. The economic growth of the
Industrial and Agricultural revolutions created a demand for new roads.
Macadam was one man who helped meet this demand. He was an engineer who
developed a method of creating roads that did not need massive rock
foundations, and were thus easier to make. He created roads made of
three layers of crushed then compacted stones. The first two layers
used stones that were at most 75mm in size. Each layer was compacted.
Finally a layer of smaller 25mm stones was laid and compacted.
'Macadamised' roads were important because they were undamaged by bad
weather. They were in fact the first roads we can call modern. (302)
Sample
essay 2 In
this set of materials, the reading passage discusses roads in ancient
times, and the listening passage describes the beginnings of modern
roads.
The reading passage informs us that roads are a very old idea. Roads
existed in Mesopotamia and England in 4,000 BCE. Some 2,500 years ago,
the Persian king, Darius I, built his royal road from Sardis to Susa.
Messengers could at almost 400 km a day on this road. Later, Roman
armies built roads as they moved to fight Rome's enemies. The Roman
road network eventually reached about 80,000 km, making them probably
the greatest of all ancient road builders. The purpose of roads in
ancient times was usually to allow armies and government officials to
move more quickly.
The listening passage tells us about the work of the road builder John
Macadam. Economic growth in the 18th century made more roads necessary.
Macadam was an engineer who developed a method of creating roads that
did not need massive rock foundations, and were thus easier to make. He
created roads made of three layers of crushed then compacted stones.
The first two layers used stones that were at most 75mm in size. Each
layer was compacted. Finally a layer of smaller 25mm stones was laid
and compacted. 'Macadamised' roads were important because they were
undamaged by bad weather. They were in fact the first roads we can call
modern. (232)