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Unit 16 Lesson 3

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Unit 16 Lesson 3
The Taj Mahal
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• asked and answered some questions about a building
• read a passage about the Taj Mahal
• answered some questions on the text
• rewritten a passage
• found the difference between two clauses
• written your reaction to a statement
A You all know of the Taj Mahal. Discuss the following in pairs.
1 Where is the Taj Mahal?
2 What kind of a building is it?
3 Why is it called the Taj Mahal?
4 Who built it?
5 Why was it built?
6 What is it a symbol of?
B Read the following passage about the Taj Mahal in India.
It has been over three hundred years since Emperor Shah Jahan of Delhi built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife in Agra. Architecturally, it is still one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The building is made of fine white marble with inlays of coloured marble. It has eight sides and many open arches. It rests on a platform or terrace of red sandstone. Four slender while towers rise from the comers of the terrace. There is a large dome above the centre of the building. Around this large dome there are four smaller domes. Just inside the outer walls, there is an open corridor from which visitors can look through carved marble screens into a central room. The bodies of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz lie in two graves below this room.
The Taj Mahal is surrounded by a beautiful garden and there is a long pool that stretches out in front of the building. One can see the beauty of the Taj Mahal in its reflection in the pool water. Visitors come to see this wonderful building at different times of the day since it assumes a different look at different times. Most people like it best on moonlit nights.
Now discuss the following questions in pairs or groups.
1 What architectural feature of the Taj Mahal makes it most impressive?
2 How does the pool outside enhance the beauty of-the Taj Mahal?
3 What special feelings prompted Shah Jahan to build such an expensive building?
C Rewrite the following passage replacing the underlined words by synonymous words or phrases.
Some people think that the Taj Mahal is most beautiful at sunset. At this time the marble picks up the colour of the sunset, and the building and its reflection in the pool gleam like pink jewels. Others like it best at noon when the bright sun makes the marble shine pure white. Still others think it should be seen by moonlight.
D Notice the difference between the 'since clauses' in the two sentences below. The first is an adverbial clause of time, while the second is an adverbial clause of cause.
It has been over three centuries since Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal.
Most people visit the Taj Mahal on moonlit nights since it looks best by
moonlight.
Write at least two other sentences showing each type of the adverbial clause.
E Bill Clinton, while visiting India in 2000, said, "The world is divided into two parties - those who have visited the Taj Mahal and those who have not. I am lucky I belong to the first party." Write your response to this statement in 5 sentences.
Focus:
Skills
Speaking, intensive reading, writing Functions
Providing information, responding to statements
Grammar/Structure
Adverbial clause of time & cause introduced by 'since'
Vocabulary
architecturally, inlays,
arch, terrace, sandstone, assume






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