第3章 Lesson 3: The Inca
Before the Spanish built their own empire in South America around the 16th century, there was the Inca, an ancient civilization that once lived on the mountains in what is now a country called Peru.
The Inca were good fighters. Over the years, they built a large empire of 12 million people. The worshipped the Sun, and believed their leader descended from it. Though they were defeated in 1533 by the Spanish, the ruins of one of their high mountain settlements still exists today as Machu Pichu.
To the Inca people, the llama was an important animal. The llama is sure-footed on the steep and rocky crags of mountains, much like the big-horn sheep and mountain goats that we can see—if we are lucky—when driving through the mountains of British Columbia. The llama provided the Inca with food and clothing, and was the main method of transport. Because of the importance of this animal to the Inca, it is found in many of their legends.
The Llama and the Flood
Two Inca shepherds were resting on a rock high in the mountains, when they noticed that their llamas were acting strangely. These llamas seemed to be staring at the sky. The two shepherds approached the llamas and asked them what was wrong. The llamas replied that the stars said it was soon going to rain, and that the land below would be flooded.
The two shepherds, who were good and honest mountain people, loved their animals very much and believed the story. They went to get their families and moved further up the mountain to live in caves. They were worried about the people down below, so they sent a message about the coming flood. The people down in the valleys laughed at the message and ignored the mountain people. Not long after, the rain came and continued for four months.
The people living in the valleys died, but the shepherds and their families repopulated the Earth. And the llamas were happy to live up high, close to the stars.
I. Word List
worship: to think something is very important
settlement: town or city
crags: steep hills
legends: stories
flood: too much water, usually caused by a lot of rain
caves: large holes in rock
II. Fill in the blanks about the Inca and llamas.
The Inca:
were good _________________.
was an _________________ civilization.
__________________ the Sun.
lived in what is now ______________.
The Llama:
is ________________ on steep mountains.
was the Inca's main method of ______________.
provided the Inca with food and ______________.
is found in many Inca ____________.
III. Answer the following questions.
1. How big was the Inca empire?
___________________________________________________________.
2. When did the Spanish build their empire in South America?
___________________________________________________________.
3. In the legend, what disaster do the llamas say will happen?
___________________________________________________________.
4. Why do you think the people in the valleys ignored the message about the flood?
___________________________________________________________.
IV. What's the word? Using the clues, find the correct words in the reading.
1. the name of a country: P _ _ _
2. the names of two animals: l _ _ _ _ _, s _ _ _ _
3. a kind of disaster: f _ _ _ _
4. bright things in the sky: s _ _ _ _
5. the name of an Inca settlement: M _ _ _ _ P _ _ _ _
6. not right: w _ _ _ _