Lesson 2: The History of the Wheel

Key Words: invent, valley, ancient, further, pioneer, warfare

A. Look at the following pictures of wheels. They existed in different ages in history. Discuss with your partner and put ordinal numbers under them (in spelling, such as ‘first’, ‘second’, etc.) beginning from the earliest to the modern times.

B. Read the following dialogue between the English teacher, Mr. Ramis, and a student, Rubina.

Mr. Ramis: You know that the invention of the wheel has helped to create a new civilization. But do you know who first used wheels?

Rubina: No teacher. But I guess it may be the Greeks.

Mr. Ramis: The Greeks were pioneers in many things. But in this case, however, the Mesopotamians were the first. The oldest ever wheel was discovered in Mesopotamia. It was in 3,500 B.C.

Rubina: Where is Mesopotamia?

Mr. Ramis: Well, Mesopotamia was in ancient Iraq. It was along the valley of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. After the Mesopotamians, the wheel was further improved by the Egyptians. They first made wheels with spokes. Then they used them on chariots around 2000 BC.

Rubina: So the wheel traveled to Egypt from Mesopotamia?

Mr. Ramis: Exactly. But it traveled eastwards too. Wheels reached the Indus valley by 3000 B.C. But chariots with spoked wheels were made in ancient India in around 1500 B.C. They were used for war, hunting, and racing.

Rubina: What about the Greeks, teacher? Didn’t they use wheels?

Mr. Ramis: They definitely did. In 1500 BC, the Greeks too learned the idea of wheel-making from the Egyptians. They also made further improvements on it. Later, the Romans did the same too and produced a variety of wheeled vehicles.

C. Read the statements below and say whether they are true or false. If false, give the right answer.

1. The Greeks were the pioneers in developing spoked-wheels.
2. The earliest wheel was discovered in 2000 B.C.
3. The Egyptians first used wheels on chariots.
4. The Romans first used wheeled chariots for warfare.
5. The ancient Indians used wheels before the ancient Romans did.

D. Look at the following map of ancient river-valley civilizations and discuss their locations in the map with your partner.

[Map image]

E. Listen to the teacher/CD carefully and complete the following sentences with appropriate words.

U9, L2 E Listening Text: 10

1. Shang China lies _____ the far east of India.
2. The Indus and Ganges valley is _____ the middle.
3. The Tigris and Euphrates valley lies _____ the Nile and the Indus-Ganges.
4. The Bay of Bengal is _____ the east coast of India.
5. The Tigris and Euphrates run on the _____ of Mesopotamia.

F. Discuss in pairs and make as many ‘wh’ questions as you can from the given answers below. First one is done for you.

1. i) Where does Mesopotamia lie? ii) Which countries does Mesopotamia lie between?

Ans. Mesopotamia lies between India and Egypt.

2. Ans. The Caspian Sea is on the north of Mesopotamia.
3. Ans. The Nile falls into the Mediterranean Sea.
4. Ans. The river Yangzi lies to the east of India.
5. Ans. The Tigris and Euphrates run on the west of Mesopotamia.

G. Write a paragraph on the history of the wheel. Take your cues from the dialogue in section B.