A River of Seasons

Have you ever wondered about the famous Nile River? Did you know that it is the longest river in the world? The Nile River flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Yearly floods bring soil rich in nutrients to the Nile Valley.
The river divided the farmers’ calendar into three seasons. The flood time, the “time of inundation” when all work stopped, lasted from July to October. The “time of emergence,” allotted to plowing and sowing, ran from November to February. Finally, “the time of harvest” occupied March to June.
The river was a highway for transport and trade. It provided fish and larger game in the form of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. It sustained marshes where papyrus reeds grew and where waterfowl could be caught for food.
The majority of the people in Egypt live in the fertile areas around the Nile River. This narrow band of farmland is usually less than 24 miles wide! The areas away from the river are desert lands where few humans live. These deserts kept Egypt isolated allowing the civilization to flourish for more than 3,000 years.

Adapted from: Hart, G.(1996). Ancient Egypt. San Francisco, CA: Weldon Owen.

To learn more about Ancient Egypt and the Nile River visit this site: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/egypt/nile.htm



Vocabulary
inundation- to flood; cover or overspread with water
plowing- to turn up soil
sowing- to scatter seeds over land for growth
harvest - the gathering of crops
marshes- wetland in which the level of water is shallow
flourish- to be successful; prosper
waterfowl- a freshwater bird; a species of the ducks, swans and geese family.
fertile- producing, or capable of producing vegetation

Vocabulary/Writing Exercise
1) Why was the Nile River so important to the ancient Egyptians?
2) What season according to the farmer’s calendar is occurring now in Egypt?

Match the vocabulary word to the correct definition below:

inundation---- freshwater bird
plowing---- capable of producing vegetation
sowing---- the gathering of crops
fertile---- to turn up soil
flourish---- to flood or overspread with water to
harvest---- scatter seeds over land for growth
marshes---- wetland
waterfowl---- to be successful; prosper

Grammar Point

Possessive Nouns: When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun,
For example:
The farmer’s calendar (one farmer)
The farmers’ calendar (two or more farmers)

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:
Ancient Egypt's Nile River (the Nile River of Ancient Egypt)

Note: Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
1. the boyfriend of my sister
2. my sister's boyfriend

Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun---- plural noun
my child's dog------ my children's dog
the man's work------ the men's work
the mouse's cage------ the mice's cage
a person's clothes------ people's clothes

Grammar Exercise
Choose the best word that fits in the sentences and write it in the correct way to show possession.
For example: I met_ Frank’s______ sister at the party last week. (Frank)

singer--women--student--grocer--man--children--swan--Maria--baby--father

1) This is the _________glasses.
2) The ___ rooms are upstairs.
3) That is my ___ umbrella.
4) The ________ neck is long.
5) The ________ bathroom is occupied.
6) ________camera is broken.
7) The ________ eyes are blue.
8) The _________voice is loud.
9) The ___________books are on the desks.
10) The __________ shop is round the corner