04.09.25: Level 1 (review); Ora Maritima [12]; Britannia antīqua [1](ii) Part two: listening and comprehension

Listen to the extract and answer the questions. The translation is at the end of the post.

Vocabulary

fāgus, -ī [2/f]: beech tree

fēra, -ae [1/f]: wild beast / animal

matēria, -ae [1/f]: timber

pīnus, -ī [2/f]: pine tree

crēber, -ra, -rum: thick; packed; abundant / crowded (with)

frūgifer, -a, -um [< frux: fruit + fer: bearing]: fruitful

incultus, -a, -um: uncultivated

nōtus, -a, -um: known

tōtus, -a, -um: all; the whole (of)

vastus, -a, -um: wild, vast, deserted

vērus, -a, -um: true; vēra (neuter plural): ‘true things’ = the truth

affirmō, -āre [1]: state; affirm

dēsum, dēesse (< dē + sum) [irr.]: be lacking

fere: almost

Part 1(ii)

"Fere tōta Britannia quondam silvīs densīs crēbra erat. Inter ōram maritimam et fluvium Tamesam, ubi nunc agrī frūgiferī sunt, silva erat Anderida*, locus vastus et incultus. Silvae plēnae erant ferārum - lūpōrum, ursōrum, cervōrum, aprōrum. Multa et varia māteria erat in silvīs Britannicīs: sed fāgus Britannicīs antīquīs nōn erat nōta, sī Gāius Iūlius vēra affirmat. Et pīnus Scōtica dēerat."

*Anderida: the forest of Andred, the Weald, name of an Anglo-Saxon forest

Questions

[A]

Which of the following statements is true?

[1]

[a] All of Britain was covered with thick forests.

[b] Britain was almost completely covered with thick forests.

[c] Britain has always been covered with thick forests.

[2]

[a] The forest of Andred was near fields.

[b] The River Thames is by the sea.

[c] Between the Thames and the sea there are now fields.

[3]

[a] The forest of Andred was uncultivated.

[b] People farmed in the forest of Andred.

[c] Farm animals grazed in the forest of Andred.

[4] In the forest of Andred there were …

[a] wolves and wild boars

[b] bears and foxes

[c] horses and stags

[5] British forests had …

[a] beech trees but no Scots pine.

[b] a lot of timber.

[c] various types of building materials.

[B] Label the images:

aper, aprī [2/m]; lupus, -ī [2/m]; cervus, -ī [2/m]; ursus, -ī [2/m]

____________________

Part 1(ii)

Almost all of Britain was once thick with dense forests. Between the seashore and the river Thames, where there are now fertile fields, was the forest of Andred, a vast and uncultivated place. The forests were full of wild animals - wolves, bears, deer / stags, boars. There were many and various types of timber in the British forests: but the beech was not known to the ancient Britons, if Gaius Julius is stating the truth [ = ‘true things’]. And there was no Scots pine [ = was lacking]

Answers: Question [A]

[1] [b] Britain was almost completely covered with thick forests.

[2] [c] Between the Thames and the sea there are now fields.

[3] [a] The forest of Andred was uncultivated.

[4] In the forest of Andred there were … [a] wolves and wild boars

[5] British forests had … [b] a lot of timber.