PRE-READING: Look at the title and predict the main ideas of the article. Then, write down three wh-questions about the text.Ex: How old is it? WHILE READING: Set a time limit to read this article. An average reader can read at the speed of 250 words per minute. Note down your reading speed regularly to check your progress.SKIMMING: Within the time limit, read and summarize the main ideas of the paragraphs with your own words. Do not worry about unfamiliar vocabulary.

THE GREAT WALL OF VIETNAM

This article is adapted from an article by Adam Bray. You can find the original at BBC Travel, http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20110420-scale-the-great-wall-of-vietnam 22 April 2011

In the remote countryside of central Vietnam, archaeologists have discovered the ‘longest monument in Southeast Asia’, a wall that winds through rain-forested mountains and hill tribe villages, yet is still unspoiled by mass tourism.Find of the century

Earlier this year, Vietnam's most important archaeological discovery in a century was announced by Dr Andrew Hardy, head of the Hanoi branch of École française d'Extrême-Orient (French School of Asian Studies) and Dr Nguyen Tien Dong, from the Institute of Archaeology (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences). The rampart stretches 127.4 km from northern Quang Ngai Province, south into the province of Binh Dinh, and is the greatest engineering feat of the Nguyen Dynasty. History

The Long Wall of Quang Ngai, as it is now known, is made of alternating sections of stone and earth. It is believed to have been built in 1819 as a cooperative effort between the Vietnamese and H're ethnic minority. Most of the wall is still in relatively good condition, attaining heights of up to 4 metres. The H're people, like the rest of Vietnam's 54 officially-recognized ethnic groups, have a distinct language and culture. They were once under the dominion of the Champa Kingdom, which occupied all of central Vietnam, until the Vietnamese Emperor Le Thanh Tong conquered what is now Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces in 1471. Coexistence between the Vietnamese and H're was not always harmonious. Military forts were built along an ancient mandarin road (79 have been located), straddling the territories of both groups. The wall was later constructed along the road for increased security and to facilitate trade between the highland H're and lowland Vietnamese and Chinese merchants. The wall was officially designated a National Heritage site by the Vietnam government on 9 March of this year. This means more investment, increased protection, international recognition, infrastructure development and more tourists are all on the horizon for the Long Wall.Visiting the wall

Quang Ngai City, the provincial capital, is a suitable base from which visitors can reach the wall. Apart from the city's only four-star hotel, Central Hotel, near the river, the city lacks anything approaching luxury accommodation. Dining is mostly street food and local specialties like ram bap (corn spring rolls), ron (tiny river clam soup) and ca bong song tra (Song Tra River mudskipper fish). As no major tour companies have offices in Quang Ngai yet, transportation consists of Mai Linh taxis (one of the few legal and reliable companies) and motorbikes for hire. There is no need to hire a special guide (in fact, there probably are none with sufficient knowledge or experience) to visit the wall at this point. There are no maps of the wall, but signs have been placed on the country roads to help visitors locate the four archaeological sites. Two of these are located in Ba Dong Commune (Ba To District) and the other two in Hanh Dung Commune (Nghia Hanh District). As the tourist infrastructure does not yet exist and camping is not yet permitted, for now the more adventurous hikers will have to break their visits into day trips from Quang Ngai City.Adam Bray was the first journalist to visit the Long Wall of Quang Ngai. He has contributed to 20 guidebooks on travel in Southeast Asia. Grandson of the noted Biblical archaeologist Dr David Livingston, Adam has uncovered a number of undocumented ancient Champa ruins of his own.

Word count: 573 words

SCANNING: Use your notes to identify where you can find the answers to the questions you have made in the pre-reading stage.

POST-READING:Glossary: Pay attention to how the word is combined with other words in context. Do not learn the meaning of the word without sentences. Vietnamese should be the last resort after you have tried all the learning strategies. • Archaeologist (noun): someone who studies history by finding and studying relics from the past (archaeology is the field of study; archaeological is the adjective) (Nhà khảo cổ học) • Tribe (noun): an ethnic group living in one village or area (Tộc người, bộ tộc, bộ lạc) • Wind (verb): to move side to side like a snake (Uốn lượn, trải dọc theo) • Rampart (noun): a defensive wall (Lũy, bờ lũy, thành lũy) • Feat (noun): achievement, success (Chiến công, chiến tích) • Alternating (adjective): first one, then the other (Luân phiên nhau) • To attain (verb): to reach (Đạt đến, đạt được) • Distinct (adjective): clearly different (Riêng biệt, khác biệt) • To be under the dominion of (expression): to be ruled by (Dưới sự cai trị / thống trị của…) • To conquer (verb): to occupy by military force (Chinh phục, thu phục) • Coexistence (noun): the state of being together in the same place at the same time (Quá trình cùng tồn tại, cùng chung sống (của cộng đồng người Việt và H’re) • Harmonious (adjective): peacefully, without conflict (Thuận hòa) • Military fort (noun): a small simple castle (Đồn bảo vệ) • Mandarin (adjective): official, of the government (under the imperial system) (Chính thức, thuộc quan lại triều đình) • To straddle (verb): to go across both sides of a line such as a border or river (Cắt ngang) • Territory (noun): an area of land belonging to a country (Lãnh thổ) • To designate (verb): to give an official status to something (Công nhận xếp hạng) • National Heritage Site (expression): a place the government designates as being of special historical or cultural importance (Di tích Quốc gia) • To be on the horizon (idiom): to be approaching, to be coming near (Rất gần, cận kề) Grammar: Notice the special grammar point in the following sentences and choose the grammar lesson RELATIVE CLAUSES on this webpage for further information. Look at these two sentences: Archaeologists have found a wall that winds through rain-forested mountains and hill tribe villages. They were once under the dominion of the Champa Kingdom, which occupied all of central Vietnam. Answer these questions: 1. What winds through the mountains and villages? 2. What occupied central Vietnam? 3. Which word is used to connect ‘winds’ to ‘wall’? 4. Which word is used to connect ‘occupied’ to ‘Champa Kingdom’? 5. Why is there a comma in the second sentence, but not in the first sentence? Relative clauses modify the noun preceding them. A relative pronoun such as ‘that’ or ‘which’ is normally the subject or object of the clause and refers back to the noun (in the above examples ‘a wall’ and ‘the Champa Kingdom’ respectively). There are two types of relative clause: • A defining relative clause identifies the noun. There is no comma. • A non-defining relative clause gives additional information about the noun. It is separated by commas.Discussion: Find a study friend to summarize your story. Try to use the vocabulary learned in the article in speaking and writing your summary. Tell your friend about a historical monument you have visited. • Say when you visited it • Describe it • Talk about its history and what it was built for and recommend whether it is worth seeing or not. Research a historical monument and write a paragraph about it.

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).