Unit 2

UNIT 2 WORD LIST amateur An amateur is a person who does something for fun and isn't paid for it. The amateur took pictures just as well as the person who worked for money. ambiguous If something is ambiguous, it is not entirety clear. It's ambiguous as to whether a newborn baby looks like a girl or a boy. anonymous If someone is anonymous, no one knows who he or she is. An anonymous donor gave a thousand dollars to the museum. attain To attain something is to succeed at something or to get something you want. If you want to attain a healthy body, you must exercise every day. autonomy Autonomy is another word for freedom or independence. In the 1800s, the people of India fought for autonomy from Britain. concession A concession is something that one person gives up to another. China gave Hong Kong to Britain as a concession after the war. decay Decay is the result of something slowly being broken down or destroyed naturally. The decay in the old building was obvious. dwell To dwell somewhere means to live there. Before he was a successful writer, Mark Twain dwelled in the city of Hannibal, Missouri. enlighten To enlighten someone is to teach them about something. Greek philosophers wanted to enlighten the people of Athens with their ideas. enrich To enrich means to make someone rich or increase their wealth. Taxes on people's income can be used to enrich the government.

flourish To flourish means to do very well and be in an excellent condition. The Roman Empire flourished in Europe two thousand years ago. geometry Geometry is the study of shapes and how to measure them. If you want to be able to calculate the area of a circle, you must study geometry. gleam To gleam means to sparkle and shine. The waves of the ocean would gleam every night at sunset. greed Greed is wanting to have more of something than you need or should have. The story of King Midas is a story of greed. harmony Harmony is a feeling that everything is peaceful, balanced, and in agreement. The United Nations is struggling to bring peace and harmony to the world. indigenous Indigenous means that something or someone exists naturally in an environment or area. The Pueblo people were an indigenous tribe in Arizona who lived in adobe homes. jurisdiction Jurisdiction means the power or right to make judgments about the law and how it is upheld. We did not have jurisdiction to bring the criminal to trial. parade A parade is a series of things or people that come or are shown one after another. This parade of elephants is part of an open-air exhibit to honor these majestic animals. statue A statue is a three-dimensional work of art, usually made of clay, marble, or metal. The Venus de Milo is a famous ancient Greek statue. Virgin A virgin is someone who has never had sex. The virgin goddess of the moon was known as Diana.

Debate Over the Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles consists of a parade of beautiful statues of gods and goddesses from Athens, a Greek city named for Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and warfare. The statues were sculpted at a time when Athens was flourishing and perhaps the most powerful city in the world. These works of art were once brightly painted and gleamed in the sunshine, but today, 2,500 years later, many of them are broken and have lost their color. The anonymous artists who created them were very skilled in geometry, which is apparent in the sense of balance and harmony that they possess. The statues continue to awe those who come from around the world to view them. Even now the Elgin Marbles enlighten artists about the creation of beauty. In the 1800s, Lord Elgin visited Athens from England. He was an amateur art lover who was saddened to see that the statues had fallen into decay. He asked the Sultan of Turkey, who then ruled Athens, if he could buy the statues. The Sultan agreed in the hopes of enriching his kingdom. And since he found the statues to be of little importance, he willingly made the concession. Lord Elgin had just attained some of the most important treasures in art history! He brought the Elgin Marbles to England and donated them to the British Museum, where they remain to this day. However, after the Greeks attained autonomy from Turkey, their leaders complained about the sale. They believed that the Sultan of Turkey never had jurisdiction to sell the statues in the first place and that the beautiful works of art did not belong in England—instead, they should be returned to Athens, where indigenous Greeks have always dwelled. However, the British Museum has refused to return the Elgin Marbles. They say they will not feed the greed of the Greeks, and that their claims to the statues are ambiguous at best. They believe the British paid for the statues fairly and in compliance with all the laws of the time.