高中英语 module 5 ethnic culture-reading and vocabulary2练习 外研版选修7.docVIP

Module 5 Ethnic Culture-Reading and Vocabulary(2)练习 Period 5 Reading and Vocabulary (2) ■Goals To get some idea about the Bai ethnic group To draw out useful information from the text ■Procedures Step 1: Warming up by reading a passage about the Bai ethnic group. Hello, everyone, we have known something about the ancient town of Lijiang and the history of the Naxi ethnic group. Today we’ll go on with our study. We’ll learn something about the Bai ethnic group. Archaeological finds from Canger and Haimenkou show that the Erhai area was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age, and artifacts of the period indicate that the people of the region used stone tools, engaged in farming, livestock rearing, fishing and hunting, and dwelt in caves. Possibly, they began to use bronze knives and swords and other metal tools about 2,000 years ago. The people in the Erhai area developed closer ties with the Han majority in inland provinces in the Qin and Han dynasties. In 109 BC the Western Han Dynasty set up county administrations and moved a large number of Han people to this border area. These people brought more advanced production techniques and iron tools, contributing to the economic development of the area. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the farming there had reached a level close to that of the central plains. Bai aristocrats backed by the Tang court unified the people of the Erhai area and established the Nanzhao regime of Yis and Bais. Its first chief, Piluoge, was granted the title of King of Yunnan by a Tang emperor. Slaves were used to do heavy labor; whole “free” peasants were subject to heavy taxation and forced to render various services including conscription into the army. Some of them, who lost their land, were made slaves. The Nanzhao regime lasted for 250 years. During that period of time, while maintaining a good relationship with the central government, the rulers cruelly oppressed the slaves and mercilessly plundered other ethnic nationalities through w