Great walls
Humans have built walls for protection against invaders since civilisation began thousands of
years ago, but the type of invader has changed over the years.
Probably one of the oldest and longest walls in Europe is Hadrian’s Wall in the UK. The
Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in 122 AD, when most of Britain was part of the Roman
Empire, and ordered his soldiers to build a stone wall from the east to the west coast of
northern Britain, which was the furthest north the Roman Empire reached at the time. The
wall was intended to establish the northern border of the Empire and to protect Roman Britain
from attacks from the north, and was guarded for nearly 250 years. But Hadrian's Wall wasn’t
just a wall as there were regular guard posts and forts to house the soldiers with hospitals,
storerooms and even toilets!
Probably the most famous wall in the world is the Great Wall of China. Like Hadrian’s Wall, it
was built as a protection from invaders from the north. It was started in the fifth century BC
and took about two thousand years to build. It was the world’s largest human-made object at
the time. It is often said that the Great Wall of China is visible from space but this is just a
myth. Although the wall is 8,850 kilometres long, it is actually more a collection of short walls
and natural defensive barriers, like rivers or steep hills. Because it wasn’t a continuous wall, it
wasn’t successful at preventing invasions from the north. It was abandoned and fell into
disrepair. However, there was extensive rebuilding in the 20th century and, like Hadrian’s
Wall, it is now a World Heritage Site.
Walls are built to protect people from invaders, but the latest ‘invader’ is sand! The severe
droughts in the 1980s in Africa led to a substantial drop in food production and caused
extensive desertification. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo first put forward the idea of a
‘green wall’ in 2005. The 7,775km long 15 km wide tree belt will cross 11 countries from west
to east across Africa. The trees could help prevent soil erosion and seeds being blown away
in the wind, the roots help store water in the ground and the leaves provide shade for crops
from the intense Africa sun. The construction of the Great Green Wall is progressing slowly
but offers real hope of slowing down desertification.
1 Before reading the text, think of as many different types of walls or reasons for
building a wall as you can. Then read the text and see how many of your ideas were
mentioned.
2 Read the text again. For which wall or walls are the statements true? Most of the
sentences are true for more than one wall.
Hadrian’s Wall
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
The Great Wall of China
The Great Green Wall
It took about two thousand years to build. __________
Soldiers built this wall. __________
The aim was to prevent invasions from the north. __________
The idea for the wall was thought of by a ruler. __________
The path of the wall goes over more than one country. __________
The aim of the wall is environmental. __________
It was guarded for over 200 years. __________
The path of the wall is from coast to coast. __________
The wall is a World Heritage Site. __________
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanglobal.com
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012.
1
3 Use the adjectives from the box to complete the sentences below. The meanings
are in brackets.
extensive
intense
severe
steep
substantial
1 It is actually more a collection of short walls and natural defensive barriers, like rivers or
__________ (rising at a sharp angle) hills.
th
2 There was __________ (over a large area) rebuilding in the 20 century.
3 The __________ (causing a lot of damage / harm) droughts in the 1980s led to a
__________ (large in amount or degree) drop in food production.
4 The leaves provide shade for crops from the __________ (very strong) African sun.
4
Which adjectives from exercise 3 are often used with the following nouns?
1
2
3
4
5
__________ damage / repairs
__________ pain / heat
__________ road / slope
__________ flooding / injuries
__________ increase / changes
5 Match the verbs from the box to their verb patterns.
help
1
2
3
4
5
6
intend
order
prevent
protect
take
__________ time to do something
__________ to do something
__________ someone to do something
__________ something / something (from) happening
__________ someone / something from someone/something
__________ (to) do something
6 Make sentences about the three walls using the verbs from exercise 5.
7 Discuss these questions with your partner(s).
–
–
–
–
What did you find interesting or surprising in the text?
What other walls do you know about in your country / other countries?
What other World Heritage Sites do you know about?
The Great Wall of China is a very popular tourist site. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of a place becoming a popular tourist destination?
Glossary
abandon (verb) – if you abandon someone or something you leave them / it
invader (noun) – a country, army etc that uses force to enter another country
fort (noun) – a strong building, often with a high wall around it, used by soldiers for defending a place
fall into (verb) – to start happening, often without planning
disrepair (noun) – a broken or damaged state
myth (noun) – something that people wrongly believe to be true
barrier (noun) – anything that prevents progress or makes it difficult for someone to achieve
something
World Heritage Site (noun) – a place that has a lot of historical importance and is officially not
allowed to be changed or damaged
crop (noun) – a plant grown for food, usually on a farm
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanglobal.com
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012.
2