We do not often think about walls, although they are everywhere we look.
Some walls have become so famous that they attract thousands of visitors
every year.
On the following pages you can find out about some well-known walls by
reading two fact boxes and descriptions of three walls taken from different
travel guides.
Hadrians wall
When you get there, you'll probably wonder why you
ever bothered to trudge up to this desolate part of
Britain. Bits of the wall are crumbling and no taller than
a molehill. The stones are now under attack from the
moss and sheep rather than savage Celtic tribes. But
instead of moaning, just close your eyes and imagine the
wall as it was in the year 130 AD, newly built, 5 metres
high and stretching 120 kilometres across the country.
Roman soldiers were stationed there to protect the
Empire from attack.
Picture this: hordes of terrifying spiky-haired Celt warriors,
their bodies painted blue, whirling their swords above their
heads and screaming battle-cries. No wonder the Romans
wanted to keep them out!
Extract from The Walker's Guide to Northern Britain.
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Extract from The Concise
Guide to Washington D.C.
The Vietnam War Memorial
The Vietnam War Memorial Wall is a popular attraction
for visitors to Washington D.C. The wall, built in 1982,
is a memorial to soldiers who died fighting in the
Vietnam War (1964-75). It is a V-shaped wall of black
granite stone, designed by a 21-year-old student, Maya
Lin. Engraved into the polished stone are 58,183 names
- every American soldier who died or went missing
during the war. Many visitors come to the wall to find
and touch the names of people they knew.
Fact Box: Great Zimbabwe (Africa)
·1 Length: Approx. 270m (circular)
·2 Built: 1200 AD
·3 Purpose: Build to impress rather than
for defence. This collection of stone
buildings, walls and towers was once
the capital city of the country we now
call Zimbabwe. The walls of the
enclosure were built from a million
blocks of granite stone.
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Fact Box: Berlin Wall (Germany)
·4
Length: Approx. 150km
·5
Built: August 1961 Taken down: November 1989
·6 Purpose: After World War II, the German city Berlin
was divided into four. Each of the four zones was to be
governed by one of the countries that had overpowered
Germany in the War: Russia, USA, Britain and France.
In 1961 a wall was built, almost overnight, to stop people
leaving the Russian zone. The wall stood for 28 years
preventing people from travelling across the city.
The Great Wall of China
While other tourists catch
special buses for their 90minute tour of the Great
Wall, I wait for a local bus.
I prefer to see the Great
Wall on my own and spend
a day on it. A wall which
took 300,000 men ten years
to build, can hardly be
viewed in one and a half
hours. After an hour I see
the wall like a great
armour-plated centipede
on the crest of a ridge.
Twisting this way and that,
it turns back on itself,
following the contours of
the
hills. At eight metres high, it
is a daunting barrier even
now, as is must have been to
the enemy it was intended to
repel. The wall is a huge
mound of earth encased in
great blocks of stone, each
one half a metre thick,
carefully laid in layers and
mortared together. the skill
of the wall's makers is
proven by the fact that the
wall still stands today, over
2200 years after it was build
in 221 BC.
The extract from A Taste of China by James Ballingall published by John Murray Publishers,
has been reproduced with the kind permission of the author.
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2.
These questions are about Great Walls of the World.
Use the information from the fact boxes and travel guides to answer these questions.
1.
How long did it take to build the Great Wall of China?
years
1 mark
2.
How long is Hadrian’s Wall?
3.
Which is the only wall that has been taken down?
1 mark
1 mark
4.
In which country was the Berlin Wall?
1 mark
5.
(a)
The walls described were built at different times and for different reasons.
Fill in the information missing from the table below.
Wall
Built in
Hadrian's Wall
Reason
to keep the enemy out
1982
Great Zimbabwe
The Great Wall of China
221 BC
to keep people in
3 marks
(b)
Which wall is the newest?
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
1 mark
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6.
Draw three lines to match each question below to its answer.
Which guide aims to provide
the facts alone?
The Walker's Guide to
Northern Britain
Which guide is giving the
writer's own impression?
The Concise Guide to
Washington D.C.
Which guide is written as if
talking to the reader?
A Taste of China
2 marks
7.
Why do you think the writer compares Hadrian's Wall to a molehill?
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
2 marks
8.
The Great Wall of China is compared to
a great armour-plated centipede ... twisting this way and that
Explain in your own words what this phrase tells you about the wall.
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
2 marks
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9.
Select information from The Walker's Guide to Northern Britain, to create a Fact Box
about Hadrian's Wall, like those written for the Berlin Wall and Great Zimbabwe.
Fact Box: Hadrian's Wall (united Kingdom)
3 marks
10.
It is easier to pick out key points of information from the fact boxes than from the travel
guides.
Why?
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
…………………………………………………………………..............…………
1 mark
11.
Think about the styles in which the travel guides are written.
(a)
The Concise Guide to Washington D.C. and A Taste of China were written by
different authors.
How can you tell from the authors' styles that they were written by different
people?
…………………………………………………………………...............……
…………………………………………………………………...............……
…………………………………………………………………...............……
2 marks
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(b)
Which author's style did you enjoy the most?
(Tick one)
A Taste of China
The Concise Guide to Washington D.C.
The Walker’s Guide to Northern Britain
Explain fully why you prefer the style of this guide.
…………………………………………………………………...............…………
…………………………………………………………………...............…………
…………………………………………………………………...............…………
3 marks
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