EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• reign: a period of time when a ruler has power
• civil: relating to ordinary people
• dispute: a disagreement
• enforce: to make sure that people obey something
• retribution: punishment that equals the crime
• perpetrator: a person who commits a crime
• legal: relating to laws

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13 — 1.7MB)

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Gapfill exercise

The Code of Hammurabi is a stone slab that contains 282 laws. It was created around 1750 B.C., during the reign of Babylonian Hammurabi, who claimed that the laws had come from the gods. The code was written in Akkadian, an ancient Babylonian . Some of the laws dealt with such as murder, theft, or assault, while others focused on civil disputes. The slab was displayed in so that everyone could know the law. Hammurabi enforced laws through retribution, which meant that a perpetrator would often be punished with the same crime they had committed. Although laws today are very different, many legal systems have been influenced by the Code of Hammurabi.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20893″]

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you think that retribution is a good way to enforce laws? Why or why not?

Transcript

The Code of Hammurabi is a stone slab that contains 282 ancient laws. It was created around 1750 B.C., during the reign of Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, who claimed that the laws had come from the gods. The code was written in Akkadian, an ancient Babylonian language. Some of the laws dealt with crimes such as murder, theft, or assault, while others focused on civil disputes. The slab was displayed in public so that everyone could know the law. Hammurabi enforced laws through retribution, which meant that a perpetrator would often be punished with the same crime they had committed. Although laws today are very different, many legal systems have been influenced by the Code of Hammurabi. 

Pre-listening vocabulary

• ancient: from the distant past
• politician: a person who works in government
• scroll: a roll of paper meant for writing on
• emperor: the ruler of an empire
• myth: a false story that is believed by many people
• advance: to make progress

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

The Library of Alexandria was an ancient in Egypt. It was built in the third century B.C. by a former Greek politician named Demetrius of Phalerum. For years, it held up to 500,000 scrolls of about law, history, math, science and more. But at some point in history, the library was , and all of that knowledge was lost. A myth is that the library burned down in 48 B.C, when the Roman emperor Julius Caesar attacked the of Alexandria. In truth, historians still don’t know exactly what happened to the library. However, many people believe that would have advanced much faster if the scrolls had never been lost.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20538″]

Discussion/essay questions

1. What do you think the world would be like today if the Library of Alexandria was never destroyed?

Transcript

The Library of Alexandria was an ancient library in Egypt. It was built in the third century B.C. by a former Greek politician named Demetrius of Phalerum. For years, it held up to 500,000 scrolls of writing about law, history, math, science and more. But at some point in history, the library was destroyed, and all of that knowledge was lost. A popular myth is that the library burned down in 48 B.C, when the Roman emperor Julius Caesar attacked the city of Alexandria. In truth, historians still don’t know exactly what happened to the library. However, many people believe that society would have advanced much faster if the scrolls had never been lost.