Question

Reading 3a
Check t
these words
trade route network
significant sustain
replenish supplies
influential
cosmopolitan ruins
excavate evidence
mosque inhabitant
advanced siege
abandoned bustling
crumbling overland
9251 946.1 949.1 Look at the picture and read the title and the key
words. What is the text about? What do they tell us about this place?
cosmopolitan centre of trade
• city walls. network of underground canals inhabitants quite advanced
• survived attack and siege slowly abandoned
Silk Road travellers stop to rest
Listen and read to find out.
VIDEO
Silk through Sauran
The Silk Road is known as the most famous trade route of ancient times, but in fact
it was a network of routes connecting east Asia to southern Europe and the Middle
East. It played a significant role in the movement of people and goods from about
130 BCE to the 13th century. The northern route of the Silk Road went right through
the southern part of Kazakhstan, sustaining important cities like Sauran and helping
them to develop.
Sauran was once the biggest city in Kazakhstan and a major trading centre on the
Silk Road. It was a place where travellers could stop to rest and replenish their
supplies of food and water. As an influential and cosmopolitan city, it was later used
as a capital for the White Horde.
Nowadays, the ruins are a tourist attraction. The walls still stand eight metres high
in some places and the city has been partly excavated. Archaeologists have found
evidence of a mosque, a marketplace and a sophisticated network of underground
canals, showing the inhabitants were quite sdvanced.
Sauran survived attack and siege, but was slowly abandoned as people stopped using
the Silk Road and started tracks mutes. Now, this once-bustling city is quiet and
empty except for small tortoises and occasional bird. Standing among the crumbling
stones, it's incredible to imagine the people who once lived there, the goods they
traded, and the part they played in the history of the world's greatest overland trade
route: the Silk Road.

Answer 1

Ответ:

The text is about Sauran, once the biggest city in Kazakhstan and a major trading center on the Silk Road. It explores the city's historical significance, its role as a cosmopolitan trade hub, and the archaeological evidence found in its ruins. Sauran's survival through attacks and sieges, its later abandonment, and the current state of its ruins are also discussed. The description highlights the advanced nature of its inhabitants and the impact of the Silk Road on its development.