Famous Places

The Great Wall of China

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is the largest military structure in the
world and one of its great wonders. It runs from east to west across
northern and north-central China, winding through hills and
mountains for about 4,500 miles. The United Nations declared it a

1. Have you ever been to China and seen the Great Wall?
If not, would you like to go?
2. How many people do you think visit the Great Wall of
China each year?
3. What do you think was the purpose in building the
Great Wall?

World Heritage Site in 1987.

4. Do you know when construction first began on the

Great Wall?

Parts of the Great Wall are over 2,000 years old. Rival rulers of

5. What is a World Heritage Site? Have you ever been to

a World Heritage Site?

small areas built earth and stone walls to mark their boundaries and
as protection from northern invaders. Messengers also traveled
along these walls to take messages from one ruler to another.
About 210 bc, Emperor Qin unified the country and ordered these
individual sections to be connected. This took several centuries to
complete. Qin and succeeding emperors used forced labor to build
the wall higher, wider, and longer. Bricks and granite were used to
reinforce old sections and to build new ones. Lookout posts and
battle forts were constructed at intervals along the wall, and soldiers
were stationed along it. The soldiers would light huge bonfires on
the wall to signal danger.
During the Ming Dynasty (13681644), a major renovation of the
Great Wall began, which took 200 years to complete. The wall
became much more elaborate in design and modern cannons were
added at strategic positions.
The Great Wall lost its military importance in the modern era and
many sections of the wall are in ruins or have disappeared.
However, there is still great interest in the wall and previously

COMPREHENSION
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
1. The Great Wall of China runs from north to south
across eastern China.

undiscovered sections of it have been found in the last few years.

2. The Great Wall is 4,500 years old.

Today, the Great Wall is one of Chinas most important tourist

3. Parts of the Great Wall were originally built for military

purposes.

attractions. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour a wellParts of the wall are being restored, but it is a difficult and expensive

4. The Great Wall still serves an important military

purpose.

process.

5. The entire Wall has been well-preserved.

preserved section of the wall located about 50 miles from Beijing.

1
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Famous Places
The Great Wall of China
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. Where is the Great Wall of China located and how long is it?
2. How old is the Great Wall?
3. Why was the Wall built?

DISCUSS

4. What part did Emperor Qin play in the building of the Great Wall?
5. How did the Great Wall change under the rule of Emperor Qin and his successors?
6. What changes occurred during the Ming Dynasty?
7. What is the importance of the Great Wall today?

VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words on the left with correct meaning on the right.
_____ 1. military

a) form into one

_____ 2. heritage
_____ 3. rival

b) place
c) large, heavy gun that fires big metal balls

_____ 4. invader
_____ 5. unify
_____ 6. century

d) space between two points

e) army
f) someone who comes into a country and attacks

_____ 7. reinforce
_____ 8. interval

g) something coming from the past

h) make stronger

_____ 9. cannon
_____ 10. site

i) competitor
j) one hundred years

1. Why has the Great Wall of China

lost its military importance in
todays world?
2. Do you think that it is important to
maintain World Heritage Sites?
Why or why not?
3. What other historical structures
have been built through forced
labor?
4. The Great Wall was built as a
protection against invaders. How
do countries protect their borders
in modern society?

B. Choose the correct word from the left column above to complete the following sentences.
1. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are _____________________ soft drink companies.
2. Were going to add some more wood pieces to _____________________ our old fence.
3. He has served as a captain in the _____________________ for the last ten years.
4. There was a lot of disagreement among the club members, but the president is trying to
_____________________ the different groups.
5. They could hear the sound of the loud _____________________ fire from a very far distance.
C. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following sentences.
1. The emperors used forced labor to build the wall.
a) a lot of money
b) workers

c) bricks

2. Soldiers were stationed along the wall.

a) placed
b) trained

c) shot

3. During the Ming Dynasty, a major renovation began.

a) restoration
b) war
4. Today many sections of the Wall are in ruins.
a) run by the government b) in very bad condition
5. Tourists visit the well-preserved section of the Wall.
a) popular

b) mountainous

c) tourist attraction
c) fixed up
c) kept in good condition

2
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Famous Places
The Great Wall of China

ANSWER KEY
Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1 - 4. Individual answers.
5. A World Heritage Site is chosen by the United Nations as a place with outstanding value to humanity. The United
Nations tries to protect and preserve places of cultural heritage and natural importance. There are over 800 such sites
around the world. (& individual answer)
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1.F

2. F

3. T

4. F

5. F

B. Written Answers
1. It is located in northern and north-central China. It is about 4,500 miles long.
2. Parts of the wall are over 2,000 years old.
3. The Wall was built to mark boundaries between areas and to protect against invaders.
4. Emperor Quin had individual sections of the wall connected.
5. Under the rule of Emperor Quin and his successors, the old sections of the wall were reinforced, new sections were
built, lookout posts and battle forts were added, and soldiers were placed along the wall.
6. During the Ming Dynasty, the wall became much more elaborate and modern cannons were added.
7. Today the Great Wall is one of the most important tourist attractions in China.
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Matching
1. e

2. g

3. i

B. Choose the correct word

1. rival
2. reinforce

4. f

5. a

3. military

6. j

7. h

4. unify

8. d

9. c

10. b

5. cannon

C. Choose the correct word

1. b

2. a

3. a

4. b

5. c

3
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photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.

Famous Places
The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is the largest military structure in the world and one of its great wonders. It
runs from east to west across northern and north-central China, winding through hills and mountains for
about 4,500 miles. The United Nations declared it a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Parts of the Great Wall are over 2,000 years old. Rival rulers of small areas built earth and stone walls to
mark their boundaries and as protection from northern invaders. Messengers also traveled along these
walls to take messages from one ruler to another.
About 210 bc, Emperor Qin unified the country and ordered these individual sections to be connected.
This took several centuries to complete. Qin and succeeding emperors used forced labor to build the
wall higher, wider, and longer. Bricks and granite were used to reinforce old sections and to build new
ones. Lookout posts and battle forts were constructed at intervals along the wall, and soldiers were
stationed along it. The soldiers would light huge bonfires on the wall to signal danger.
During the Ming Dynasty (13681644), a major renovation of the Great Wall began, which took 200
years to complete. The wall became much more elaborate in design and modern cannons were added at
strategic positions.
The Great Wall lost its military importance in the modern era and many sections of the wall are in ruins
or have disappeared. However, there is still great interest in the wall and previously undiscovered
sections of it have been found in the last few years.
Today, the Great Wall is one of Chinas most important tourist attractions. Each year, hundreds of
thousands of visitors tour a well-preserved section of the wall located about 50 miles from Beijing. Parts
of the wall are being restored, but it is a difficult and expensive process.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.