Lessons 59–60 · 2 lessons · S. Khan, L. Kamalova, L. Jurayev. Teens’ English 7 (English, Grade 7). “O‘zbekiston” Publishing House, Tashkent, 2019
60
The Silk Road
Textbook: p. 73
GoalReading about the Great Silk Road; talking about trade, exchange of culture and dangers.
New words
silk · ipakspices · ziravorlarcaravan · karvontrade · savdo
Explanation
The Great Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes from China to the Mediterranean and Rome; it was not one road but many routes. Its total length was more than 6,000 km. Silk, tea and spices went west from China, and gold, silver and precious stones went east. People exchanged not only goods but also ideas, food, art and knowledge. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent in Uzbekistan were important cities on the Silk Road. The way was dangerous: deserts, mountains, bad weather and robbers. Merchants travelled in caravans with camels. Compare: “Samarkand was as important as Bukhara.” In True/False tasks check each sentence against the text.
Worked examples
A merchant from Samarkand packed silk, tea and spices on his camels. His caravan crossed deserts and mountains for many weeks. At a big market in the west he sold the silk for silver and bought glass.
— Was the Silk Road one road? — No, it was a system of routes. — What did China sell? — Silk, tea and spices. — Was it easy to travel? — No, it was dangerous.
Class activity
“Caravan game”: the group draws the caravan route on a map from China to Rome and names three cities (Samarkand, Bukhara, ...).
Practice
1
True or false: The Silk Road was only one road.
False. It was a network of routes.
2
What did China sell?
silk, tea and spices
3
Name two Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan.
Samarkand and Bukhara
4
Why was the Silk Road important?
It connected countries, and ideas and cultures were exchanged along with goods.