The Khor Virap monastery in Armenia, and behind it Mount Ararat across the border in Turkey, said to be the place where the Ark finally came to rest. The monastery’s name means ‘deep pit’: originally, an unpleasant dungeon stood on the site, where Grigor, a Christian in the court of pagan King Tiridates III, was kept for fourteen years. Grigor subsequently converted Tiridates to Christianity in 301.
Introduction
In the 6th century BC, Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians, and her nobility were deported to Babylon. In their exile, they studied their oppressor’s heathen mythology of a great flood, and turned it quite brilliantly into an allegory of Israel’s sins, the ‘flood’ of invasion, and their own Noah-like role in keeping Judaism alive until God restored Israel to her land.
IN the ninth generation of Adam’s descendants, creation had become so corrupt that God was ready to sweep everything from the face of the earth in a great flood.
However, Noah and his family found favour in God’s eyes. For their sake, he instructed Noah in the building of a vast ark, designed to preserve one breeding pair of every animal in creation.
Nothing else survived the storm that followed.
When it was over, Noah waited many days before sending out a dove to see if the waters had subsided, but it found no home. The second time, it found an olive branch, but still no home. The third time, the bird did not return, and Noah knew the world was habitable again. He built an altar, and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
And that man should not fear another such flood, God set high in the sky the most beautiful pledge of unconditional forgiveness: the rainbow.
Based on Genesis 6-9.
Précis
Creation had gone so badly wrong, that God decided to wash it all away. So that the world could be repopulated afterwards, he showed Noah how to build a ship for his family and one pair of every animal. God later set the rainbow in the sky, as a sign that he would never do that again. (57 / 60 words)
Creation had gone so badly wrong, that God decided to wash it all away. So that the world could be repopulated afterwards, he showed Noah how to build a ship for his family and one pair of every animal. God later set the rainbow in the sky, as a sign that he would never do that again.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, besides, despite, just, otherwise, since, unless, until.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Habitable. Rainbow. Water.
2 Another. Creation. Sweep.
3 Breed. Dove. Still.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Build.
Billed.
2.
Hire.
Higher.
3.
Him.
Hymn.
4.
Know.
No.
5.
But.
Butt.
6.
Cent.
Sent.
7.
Altar.
Alter.
8.
Time.
Thyme.
9.
Great.
Grate.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
prchs (5)
parches. perches. porches. preaches. purchase.
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