Audio Episode
Great Tombs
Over the course of history, civilizations have entombed their dead in various ways. Two of the most impressive tombs are the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid. The Taj Mahal was erected by the emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his dead wife. Twenty thousand workers toiled for nearly 20 years to build the white marble structure. The jeweled building seems to float on the banks of the Jumna River in Agra, India. Th is domed building is laid out in perfectly balanced elements.
The Taj Mahal’s white marble facade stands in distinct contrast to the red sandstone fronts of the surrounding buildings. The architectural ingenuity of its design can also be seen in the carved marble screens at the tops of the walls. Not only do these furnish additional beauty, but the sunlight that passes through them provides illumination for the interior of the building. This magnificent structure is commonly acknowledged as one of the world’s most beautiful buildings and an architectural masterpiece.
In ancient Egypt, deceased pharaohs and their families were laid to rest in pyramids. The Great Pyramid at Giza is the largest of these. Cheops, who ruled Egypt from 2590 to 2567 B.C., forced nearly every man in Egypt to work on his massive tomb.
Built when machinery did not exist, this mammoth structure of stone represents a tremendous feat of engineering. Nearly 2.5 million stone blocks, weighing over 5,000 pounds each, make up the Great Pyramid. Lacking written records of the construction, scholars can only speculate as to how the laborers moved these monstrous weights. One theory holds that as each level was constructed, a spiral ramp was built to convey stones to the next levels. Upon completion, a gilded stone was placed at the pyramid’s pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony. Once this golden marker was in place, workers trimmed the stones and applied a limestone facing.
Today the Great Pyramid lacks its original outer facing of limestone. Over the centuries, the limestone was stripped to provide building materials for the nearby city of Cairo.
Word list
entomb
If something is entombed, it is buried or permanently trapped by something.
When a person’s dead body is entombed, it is buried in a grave or put into a tomb.
Over the course of history, civilizations have entombed their dead in various ways.
mausoleum
A mausoleum is a building which contains the grave of a famous person or the graves of a rich family.
crypt, tomb, vault, catacomb
The Taj Mahal was erected by the emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his dead wife.
facade
The facade of a building, especially a large one, is its front wall or the wall that faces the street.
A facade is an outward appearance which is deliberately false and gives you a wrong impression about someone or something.
The Taj Mahal’s white marble facade stands in distinct contrast to the red sandstone fronts of the surrounding buildings.
ingenuity
ingenuity is skill at working out how to achieve things or skill at inventing new things.
originality, genius, inventiveness, skill
The architectural ingenuity of its design can also be seen in the carved marble screens at the tops of the walls.
illumination
illumination is the lighting that a place has.
light, lighting, lights, ray
Not only do these furnish additional beauty, but the sunlight that passes through them provides illumination for the interior of the building.
pharaoh
A pharaoh was a king of ancient Egypt.
the title of the ancient Egyptian kings
In ancient Egypt, deceased pharaohs and their families were laid to rest in pyramids.
feat
If you refer to an action, or the result of an action, as a feat, you admire it because it is an impressive and difficult achievement.
accomplishment, act, performance, achievement
Built when machinery did not exist, this mammoth structure of stone represents a tremendous feat of engineering.
convey
To convey someone or something to a place means to carry or transport them there.
To convey information or feelings means to cause them to be known or understood by someone.
One theory holds that as each level was constructed, a spiral ramp was built to convey stones to the next levels.
gilded
gilded means covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color.
having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth
Upon completion, a gilded stone was placed at the pyramid’s pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony.
pinnacle
A pinnacle is a pointed piece of stone or rock that is high above the ground.
If someone reaches the pinnacle of their career or the pinnacle of a particular area of life, they are at the highest point of it.
Upon completion, a gilded stone was placed at the pyramid’s pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony.
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Episode 567 Word Power – Gr… by English Plus Podcast
Episode Transcript
This is your host Danny and this is word power from English plus podcast.
In today’s episode, we’re going to learn 10 new words, we’re going to learn the word in tune mausoleum, facade, ingenuity, illumination, Pharaoh feet convey gilded and Pinnacle, all in the context of a story of great tombs, you’re going to learn these 10 new words in the context of great tunes. And that’s not everything. Of course, you can practice everything you’re learning in this episode on English plus podcast.com. The link is in the description, it’s going to take you to the custom post I created for this episode, you’re going to find everything you need to practice and make these words permanent in your active vocabulary bank. And before we start, there is something I would like to tell you about things are going to change a little bit on English plus podcast, we’re going to have every other episode as a premium episode. So there’s still going to be free episodes of course, but every other episode of every single series that we have here is going to be premium. And if you want to unlock all premium episodes, and the other things that I’m offering my patrons like English plus magazine, you can become a patron of English Plus, you will be supporting English plus and supporting me to continue creating episodes for English plus, and you will have all the good stuff that comes with premium episodes and other premium content that I’m creating for my patrons on Patreon. The link is in the description, become a patron of English plus podcast helped me continue this journey and never stopped learning. And now without further ado, let’s start talking about great tombs.
Over the course of history, civilizations having tomb they’re dead in various ways. Two of the most impressive tombs are the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid. The Taj Mahal was erected by the Emperor shahjahan as a mouse Liam for his dead wife, 20,000 workers toiled for nearly 20 years to build the white marble structure. The Jewel building seems to float on the banks of the Joomla river in Agra, India. This dome building is laid out in perfectly balanced elements. The Taj Mahal is white marble facade stands in distinct contrast to the red sandstone front’s of the surrounding buildings. The architectural in January of its design can also be seen in the carved marble screens at the tops of the walls. Not only do these furnish additional beauty, but the sunlight that passes through them provides illumination for the interior of the building. This magnificent structure is commonly acknowledged as one of the world’s most beautiful buildings and an architectural masterpiece. In ancient Egypt, diseased Pharaohs and their families were laid to rest in pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of these keops, also known as hoo foo, who ruled Egypt from 2590 to 2567 bc forced nearly every man in Egypt to work on his massive tomb. Built when machinery did not exist. This mammoth structure of stone represents a tremendous feat of engineering. Nearly 2.5 million stone blocks weighing over 5000 pounds each make up the Great Pyramid. Lacking written records of the construction, scholars can only speculate as to how the laborers move these monstrous weights. One theory holds that as each level was constructed, a spiral ramp was built to convey stones to the next levels. Upon completion, a gilded stone was placed at the pyramids Pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony. Once this golden marker was in place, workers trim the stones and apply the limestone facing today the Great Pyramid lacks its original outer facing of limestone. Over the centuries, the limestone was stripped to provide building materials for the nearby city of Cairo. So that was our story about the great tombs. I hope you learn something from this story. But now the real learning begins with a 10 words that I have in store for you. These words are in tune, mausoleum, facade, ingenuity, illumination, Pharaoh feet, come
They gilded and Pinnacle and now let’s start with the very first word in tune BNT Oh MB in tune.
Let’s take a look at how we use that in context. We said over the course of history civilizations have in tune their dead in various ways. What does that mean? Of course it comes from the word tune. Now if something is in doomed, it is buried or permanently trapped by something I in our case here we’re talking about dead people. And they were put in a tomb, which is obviously a place to bury dead people. But this is the verb in tune to put in a tomb to be buried or permanently trapped. Of course, you’re not trapped, but to be buried in a place. And in this case, we’re talking about great Pharaohs and kings and their tombs were magnificent, like the pyramids or the Taj Mahal. And now for the next word, mausoleum. m au SOLEUM mausoleum.
Now let’s see how we use this word in context. We said the Taj Mahal was erected by the Emperor shahjahan as a mouse, Liam for his dead wife, and a lot of romantic stories circle around the building and this love story between Shan Xiao Han and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. But what is the meaning of the word mouse solium. A mouse Selenium is a building which contains the grave of a famous person or the graves of a rich family. And in this case, we know it’s the wife of Sha one. So that is the meaning of mausoleum. What is our next word facade, f a c, a d e, facade.
Now let’s see how we use that word in context. We said the Taj Mahal is white marble facades stands in distinct contrast to the red sandstone fronts of the surrounding buildings. So what is the facade of a building means the facade of a building, especially large one is its front wall, or the wall that faces the street. And obviously, when we talk about the facade of Taj Mahal, it is the most recognizable picture that you see online. That is the facade of Taj Mahal. Of course, if you’ve been there, or if you’ve seen it on one of those documentaries, you will know that there’s a lot more to Taj Mahal than this magnificent facade, but we can all agree that the facade is the most recognizable feature of the Taj Mahal, that is the front of the building. So that is a word facade. What about our next word in January, I N, g, e, n, u i, t, y in genuine.
Let’s take a look at how we use this word in context. We said the architectural in January of its design can also be seen in the carved marble screens at the tops of the walls. And here, of course, we’re still talking about the Taj Mahal, but we’re talking about the architectural ingenuity of its design. What is the meaning of in January? Well, in January, his skill at working out how to achieve things or skill at inventing new things, we’re talking about something that is genius, something that is inventive, or originality, creativity at its best, that is in January, and that is when we say the architectural in January, we cannot say that about a regular building that is ordinary looking, we use that only to talk about great buildings, or other things. Of course, that is the word in January. Now let’s move to our next word illumination, i l l u m, i n a t IO n illumination.
Now let’s see how we use that word in context. We said not only do these furnish additional beauty, but the sunlight that passes through them provides illumination for the interior of the building. We’re still talking about the Taj Mahal, of course, but here, what does that mean provides illumination for the interior of the building, we’re talking about our we’re talking about those beautiful carved marble screens at the tops of the walls, and we said that they do not only furnish, they’re not just there for decoration. They are great decoration, of course, but they’re not there just to decorate. They also provide illumination, what is the meaning of illumination, illumination is the lighting that a place has. So remember, that was built a long time ago, and they needed to think about how to light a place without a lot of torches, and obviously they didn’t have electricity back then. So those carved marble screens provided illumination provided light to that place. That is the meaning
of illumination. Now we will move to our next word Pharaoh. And now of course, we’re talking about the Great Pyramid of Giza. So we move to Ancient Egypt and Pharaohs, PHAR. A Oh, H. Pharaoh.
Now let’s take a look at how we use this word in context. We said in ancient Egypt, deceased Pharaohs and their families were laid to rest in pyramids. So not everybody was laid in rest in pyramids, not at all, only the seized Pharaohs and their families. So who are the pharaohs? Well, actually, a Pharaoh was a king of ancient Egypt, simply a king. Now, of course, they call themselves gods, most of them anyway. But we’re talking about ancient Egyptian kings, those ancient Egyptian kings were called Pharaohs. Now, this might not be a new word for you. But the spelling can be a challenge. Sometimes it is PHAR, a Oh, h Pharo. And now that takes me to the next word, feet, f e a t, feet.
Now let’s take a look at how we use that in context. We said built when machinery did not exist. This mammoth structure of stone represents a tremendous feat of engineering. What does that mean? What is a feat of engineering, of course, we’re not talking about feet, f E, D, that is the plural of foot. That’s something else feed here is completely different. If you refer to an action or the result of an action as a feat, you admire it because it is an impressive and difficult achievement. It’s a great accomplishment, a great achievement that is a feat. And obviously, when we talk about the Great Pyramid of Giza, even today, with all the machinery we have, it wouldn’t be easy to build another pyramid as great as those we can find in Egypt. But back in the day when no machinery existed, this mammoth structure definitely represents a tremendous feat of engineering a tremendous accomplishment and tremendous achievement that is the meaning of feet. Now let’s move on to our next word conveyed co NVY convey.
Now let’s take a look at how we use this word in context. Now, we said that nobody knows for sure how they built the pyramid because they were no written records. But one theory holds that as each level was constructed, a spiral ramp was built to convey stones to the next levels. So what is the meaning of convey here? Now I use it a lot. You might have heard me use it a lot to talk about information to convey information or feelings means to cause them to be known or understood by someone but that is for information or feelings. But what about stone here we’re talking about something to convey someone or something to a place means to carry or transport them there. So it is like to transport these gigantic stones to the next level. And we said that one theory holds that as each level was constructed, a spiral ramp was built around the constructed part to convey stones to the next level to transport stones to carry stones to the next level that is the meaning of convey. And now for our next word gildan gi l d e d gildan.
Let’s take a look at how we use this word in context. We said upon completion at gilded stone was placed at the pyramids Pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony. What is the meaning of gilded now gilded means covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color. Now of course you can see it today because it is gone somewhere. But that is the meaning of gilded gilded and here we’re talking about a gilded stone it’s covered or highlighted with gold or something of a golden color. So nowadays when we talk about gilded something, maybe we’re not talking about real gold, but just a golden color. That is the meaning of gildan and now we come to our very last word Pinnacle, bi n ac LE Pinnacle.
Now let’s see how we use this word in context, but actually was in the same sentence that I just used to talk about the gilded stone upon completion that gilded stone was placed at the pyramids Pinnacle during an elaborate ceremony. So what is the meaning of a pinnacle we’re talking about here, the pyramids Pinnacle, a pinnacle is a pointed piece of stone or rock that is high above the ground. And for a pyramid, it’s obvious we’re talking about this stone that is put on top of the pyramid and it was gilded it was because it’s not anymore. Anyway, the point is that is the pinnacle of a building or of us
structure like the pyramid, we can use Pinnacle to talk about the pinnacle of a career or something. As someone reaches the pinnacle of their career or the pinnacle of a particular area of life, they are at the highest point of it. So we can say that he or she is at the pinnacle of their career. And that is a great feat, of course, great achievement. Remember a feat? That is a great feat. So that is our word Pinnacle. Let me remind you again, we talked about 10 words, don’t forget the words into mausoleum facade in January illumination Pharaoh feet convey gilded and Pinnacle. And I’ll be honest with you, and I’m going to tell you that you’re going to forget most of these words, or what these words mean or how we use them. But that’s not a problem, because you can always practice these words. And to do that, all you need to do is one thing, take the link in the description, it’s going to take you to a custom post I created for this episode on my website English plus podcast calm there, you will find everything you need to practice these words, you will find interactive activities, you will find a PDF downloadable worksheet and in the PDF practice worksheet, you will also review the words we learned last week in Word power episodes. So there is more benefit to it than just learning the 10 words, eight practices the last 20 words we talked about in our word power series. And don’t forget, as I told you, at the beginning of this episode, every other episode of every single series is going to be premium now and it’s going to be exclusive only to my patrons on Patreon. The link is in the description. If you become a patron you will be supporting me to create more of the content you love, you will have access to all the premium episodes and you will have access to all the premium content I’m creating. I’m talking about special publications I’m talking about English plus magazine and a lot of interesting things coming your way. If you decide to become a patron of English plus on Patreon, the link is in the description. Don’t think twice support English. Plus, if you love this show, you would love to have it around for years to come. And that happens only with your support. And now finally, if you’ve made it this far in this episode, I assume that you liked the episode and I will ask you to leave your honest review on Apple podcasts or any other podcast player you’re listening to because that will help English plus grow and reach more people. Now that being said, that will be everything for today’s episode. This is your host Danny thank you very much for listening to another episode from English plus podcast, another word power episode. I will see you next time.
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