Foundations Reading 1B

Chap 2 Reading 1B

THE LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS Most people have heard the story of the lost city of Atlantis. But is any part of the story true? Over two thousand years ago, the Greek writer Plato wrote about Atlantis, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The island's people were very rich. They built a big city with many great buildings. But the people became greedy—they had many things, but they still wanted more. So the gods became angry. Earthquakes and large waves began to strike the island. Finally, Atlantis sank into the sea. Many explorers have looked for Atlantis. In 2004, explorer Robert Sarmast reported finding the remains of a city under the sea near Cyprus. However, Sarmast and other scientists later realized the structures he found under the sea were natural, not man-made. Mark Adams, author of the 2016 book Meet Me in Atlantis believes the city was in Morocco. Plato wrote about red and black stone circles around the city. Adams found similar red and black stones in the desert there, very near the Atlantic Ocean. Most people, however, think Atlantis is simply a story. The purpose of the story may be to teach people not to be greedy. Richard Ellis also wrote a book about Atlantis. He says "there is not a piece of solid evidence" for a real Atlantis. So was the island real or not? We only know one thing: The mystery of Atlantis will be with us for a long time.

♪