New words:

to have a big effect on: avere un grande effetto su

to become dissatisfied: diventare scontento

to be hungry for information: essere bramoso di informazioni

to work out: decifrare/risolvere

in time of war: nel periodo di guerra

plough: aratro

serf: servo

corn mill: mulino/ macina del grano

fishery: zona di pesca

central heating: riscaldamento centralizzato

onto parchment: sulla pergamena

to be remarkable: essere eccezionale

nowhere else: in nessun altro posto

to jump forward: fare un balzo in avanti

computing: calcolo / elaborazione

roughly: a grosso modo

to store: mettere/sistemare

to launch: lanciare/dare il via

to move on: passare oltre/ voltare pagina

 

Questions:

1. What happened in 1066?

a. Duke William of Normandy conquered England.

2. In 1085, what was William thinking?                                                                                                                                  

c. I wish I knew how much land each of my nobles has.

3. How did William collect information for the Domesday Book?

c. He sent officials whom he could trust to find the facts about land ownership.

4. Which of these questions did William’s officials not ask?

b. How many bedrooms are there in your house?

5. Who actually wrote the Domesday Book?

a. A scribe.

6. It was called the Domesday Book because:

a. What is said was final. You could not argue with it.

7. At the National Archive in Kew, you can:

c. See copies of the Domesday Book.

8. What did the BBC decide to do in 1985?

b. They decided to make a new Domesday Book recording ordinary life in the mid-1980s.

9. Who gathered the information for the BBC’s Domesday project?

a. Schools and community groups all over the country.

10. What do the BBC want now?

c. They want people to send them new articles and photographs.

 

Page 24 ex.1)

1. You will hear a lecturer talking about the Domesday Book. Why was the Domesday Book made?

c. I t was a census of the English population.

2. You will hear a student answering a teacher’s questions about the Domesday Book. Why is it called the Domesday Book?

c. Because the information could be used to judge people.

3. You hear a radio talk about the controversial aspects of William’s survey. What was the purpose of the survey?

a. It confirmed the Norman political and economic domination.

4. You will hear a professor explaining the role of the nobility in the survey. Why did the barons consent to the Domesday Book?

a. Through the survey, their titles were consolidated.

5. You will hear two people discussing whether studying the Domesday Book is worthwhile. Why is the Domesday Book so important?

c. Because it is the first survey of its kind in the whole world.

6. You hear an extract from a history programme about the Normans. Does the Domesday Book help explain the causes of the Norman Conquest?

c. No, because it is not a military document.

7. You will hear part of a history lesson at school. What does the Domesday Book reveal about the impact of the Normans in England?

b. It shows that the English nobility were replaced by the French.

8. You overhear a professor talking to a colleague about the Domesday Book. Is there anything more the survey can tell us?

c. Yes, historians and sociologists use it frequently for new information.