Sadlier Vocab Unit 6

Nazca Lines

Persuasive Essay

If one __(1)__ the list of more than 900 locations the United Nations has identified as World Heritage Sites, none remains more mysterious than the Nazca Lines of southwest Peru.

These lines, sometimes called geoglyphs, are giant ground drawings. They cover an area of nearly 200 square miles. In the dry, windless climate of the high desert plain, the drawing s have survived for many centuries. The huge shapes, __(2)__ from the air, first attracted world attention in the 1920s, when airplane pilots reported these unique and __(3)__ creations.

Some of the lines depict geometric shapes, such as trapezoids, triangles, and spirals. Others show gigantic animals and plants. One monkey, for example, measures 360 feet long, while a bird resembling a condor stretches 440 feet.

Who were the __(4)__ designers of these shapes? How ere the geoglyphs made, and why? For nearly a century, experts have been in a lively, __(5)__ debate. They have done their utmost to explain a phenomenon that still frustrates rational explanation.

For many years, the German-born mathematician and archaeologist Maria Reiche __(6)__ the prevailing view on the Nazca Lines. Reiche argued that the lines were a giant sun calendar and astronomical observatory. Systematic investigation by the British astronomer Gerald Hawkins, however, dislodged his theory, even if it did not thoroughly __(7)__ it. Critics of Hawkins, in turn, have pointed out that he paid only __(8)__attention to the cultural context of the Nazca Lines. Hawkins has also been criticized for employing only a makeshift network of astronomical targets, a selection that would make more sense in England than in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus Hawkins may have only scratched d the surface of the astronomical significance of the Nazca Lines.

The Reiche-Hawkins debate, at least, has unfolded on a sober playing field. Some theorists of Nazca, however, have not been __(9)__ to offer explanations that may fairly be described as __(10)__.

Among the most eccentric theories is one that says the lines functioned as actual runways. One imaginative theorist, for example, was convinced that the drawings were meant to be seen from the air. He argued that the creators of the lines also managed to build hot-air balloons, which they used to admire their handiwork from aloft.

Another even more imaginative commentator has proposed that the runways of Nazca were not used for takeoffs, but for landings. According to this theory, the inbound passengers were space aliens. After they landed, they intermarried with earthlings. Was this theory deliberately intended to __(11)__ the public? Perhaps it was, since its principal proponent __(12)__ his ideas in a highly profitable best-selling book.

The puzzles of the Nazca Liens are far from being solved. Among the __(13)__ theories, perhaps the most persuasive claims that he lines had a religious purpose. According to this theory, ancient people walked the lines as pilgrims. These people worshipped mountain deities, largely because water came down from the mountains. For all cultures, water has a central role. The origin, movement, and function of water were subjects of fundamental importance. It may be, then, that the Nazca Lines, which are so much more visible from the air than from ground level, were designed to be pilgrimage routes for people worshipping the water-giving deities of the mountains. This is the most feasible and convincing answer to the puzzle of the Nazca Lines.

anonymous dynamicprescribeeradicatemarginalreluctant quaint browseinimitableprominentdupepreviewpending makeshift frustrates

NameTotal Points: /25

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DIRECTIONS: Choose the appropriate word from your Sadlier Vocab #6 in the word box at bottom of the story page to fit into the context of the sentence. Write the correct word below on the line with the corresponding number in the passage.

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Directions: Select the boldface word that better completes each sentence and write it on the line provided. Write the type of sentence on the line provided at the end of each using the following abbreviations: Simple (S) Compound (C) Complex (CX) Compound/Complex (CCX)

14. ____________________________ We have many good musicians in our school orchestra, but they need a (makeshift, dynamic) conductor to make them play as a unit. ______________

15. ____________________________ As I was (previewing, browsing) my way lazily through the newspaper, I was shocked to see my own name in a headline. ____________

16. ____________________________Even before we saw Alice, we heard her (inimitable, grim) high-pitched giggle and knew she was a the party. ____________

17. ____________________________You must realize that, although we may find the customs of other lands (anonymous, quaint), they are just part of everyday life in those areas. ____________

18. ____________________________It is wise to (dupe, preview) the contents of a book before you buy it. _______________

Write your own with any vocabulary word not used in the story:

19. Complex Sentence: _________________________________________________________________

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20. Compound/Complex Sentence: ________________________________________________________________

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