Objective Proficiency p 16. The Story of India. Extra Listening

Watch the video and fill in the gaps
Only 60 years ago, India 1._______/ _______/ _______/ _______ of the British Empire and became a free nation. India being currently the world's largest democracy is 2._______/ ______/ _______  the future. At the same time that the 3._______/ _________ of Europe and America 4._______/ ______/ _______/ _______, one of the most important places in the history of the world is becoming powerful one more time. India has seen 5.______/ ______/ ______/ ______ of huge events since history began. India's history contains amazing drama and the greatest ideas. Its children will be part of a global superpower and at the same time be aware of their past. This is the story of a land where all human 6._______ are still alive. A 10,000-year 7.______ that goes on until our present day.
If we look at the history of life on earth, humans haven't been here long. Some hundred generations cover 8.__________/ ____________ to create order, beauty, and happiness on the face of the earth. The vast majority of us has forgotten our beginnings. Only India has preserved the unbroken 9.________ of the human story that 10._______ us all. The oldest Indian myths tell us that the first humans came from a golden egg 11._________ by the king of the gods in the 12.___________ of the cosmic ocean.
Although modern science doesn't have such a 13._______/ ________, it is also 14.________/ ________ the imagination. Science tells us is that our ancestors came from Africa into South India.
They were 15.______________, barefoot 16._______________. They were motivated by chance, necessity and by curiosity.
When humans first arrived in India, they were certainly 17.__________ by the fertility. In the South of India you can throw a mango away and a tree will grow. Life is 18.____________.
Therefore some of our ancestors stayed in India, and became the first Indians. All non-Africans in the world can 19.______/ ________/ _________/ from those early migrations into India. This was the origin of the world's population. And what surprises us is that for such a long time, those first Indians have left their 20.___________.
 Going inland from the beaches of Kerala into the 21._________/ _______/ _________/, deep in the rainforests, we come across clues of what is beneath Indian history. For example, you can even hear the voices of our ancestors.  An ancient clan of Brahmans can perform the religious rituals. For centuries, these 22._____________, or 23.__________, have been passed down from father to son.  However, they are in no known language. Only recently have outsiders been allowed to record them and to try to make sense of the Brahmans' 24.________

KEY
1.  threw off the chains (throw something/somebody off  to manage to get rid of something/somebody that is making you suffer, annoying you, etc. E.g. to throw off a cold/your worries/your pursuers.



2.  rushing headlong into (rush/jump/plunge headlong into something to start doing something with a lot of enthusiasm but without thinking about it first)



3. brief heyday (heyday the time when somebody/something had most power or success, or was most popular. E.g. In its heyday, the company ran trains every fifteen minutes (Sp. en sus buenos tiempos). A fine example from the heyday of Italian cinema. A picture of Brigitte Bardot in her heyday.



4. draws to a close (draw to a close/an end to end. E.g. As the evening drew to a close, Hillary thanked everyone for coming).



5.  the ebb and flow (the ebb and flow (of something/somebody) the repeated, often regular, movement from one state to another; the repeated change in level, numbers or amount. (Sp. fluctuaciones, altibajos). E.g. the ebb and flow of the seasons. She sat in silence enjoying the ebb and flow of conversation. He had known her long enough to recognize the ebb and flow of her moods.



6. pasts



7. epic 



8. humanity's attempts



9. thread 



10. binds



11.  laid



12. churning (churn if water, mud, etc. churns, or if something churns it (up), it moves or is moved around violently. (Sp. agitar, revolver) churn (up) The water churned beneath the huge ship. Churn something (up) Vast crowds had churned the field into a sea of mud. My stomach is really churning (Sp. revuelto)).



13. poetic vein (vein a particular style or manner. E.g. A number of other people commented in a similar vein.‘And that's not all,’ he continued in angry vein. Other speakers tackled the same problem in a lighter vein).



14. thrilling to (thrilling exciting and enjoyable. E.g. a thrilling experience/finish).



15. beachcombers /ˈbiːtʃkəʊmə(r)/ a person who walks along beaches collecting interesting or valuable things, either for pleasure or to sell



16. hunter-gatherers (a member of a group of people who do not live in one place but move around and live by hunting, fishing and gathering plants. Sp. cazador-recolector) 



17. overwhelmed 



18. superabundant /ˌsuːpərəˈbʌndənt/



19. trace their descent (trace something (back) (to something) to find the origin or cause of something. E.g. She could trace her family tree back to the 16th century. 



20. trail (a long line or series of marks that is left by somebody/something. Sp. rastro. E.g. a trail of blood. Tourists who leave a trail of litter everywhere they go. The hurricane left a trail of destruction behind it).



21. maze of backwaters (maze /meɪz/ a system of paths separated by walls or hedges built in a park or garden, that is designed so that it is difficult to find your way through. Sp. laberinto. E.g. We got lost in the maze).
Backwater a part of a river away from the main part, where the water only moves slowly.



22. incantations (incantation /ˌɪnkænˈteɪʃn/ special words that are spoken or sung to have a magic effect; the act of speaking or singing these word Sp. conjuro)

23. mantras (mantra / ˈmæntrə/ a word, phrase or sound that is repeated again and again, especially during prayer or meditation. E.g. a Buddhist mantra)

24. chants (chant a religious song or prayer or a way of singing, using only a few notes that are repeated many times. E.g. a Buddhist chant)

Transcript
60 years ago, India threw off the chains of the British Empire and became a free nation. And now the world's largest democracy is rushing headlong into the future. As the brief heyday of the west draws to a close, one of the greatest places in history is rising again. India has seen the ebb and flow of huge events since the beginning of history. Its tale is one of incredible drama and the biggest ideas. It's a place whose children will grow up in a global superpower and yet still know what it means to belong to an ancient civilization. This is the story of a land where all human pasts are still alive. A 10,000-year epic that continues today.The story of india.
In the tale of life on earth, the human story is brief. A few hundred generations cover humanity's attempts to create order, beauty, and happiness on the face of the earth. The beginnings to most of us are lost in time beyond memory. Only India has preserved the unbroken thread of the human story that binds us all. According to the oldest indian myths, the first humans came from a golden egg laid by the king of the gods in the churning of the cosmic ocean.
Modern science, of course, works in a less poetic vein, but no less thrilling to the imagination. For what science tells us is that our ancestors first walked out of africa only 70,000 or 80,000 years ago: Round the shores of the Arabian Sea and down into South India.
They were beachcombers, barefoot hunter-gatherers. Driven as human beings always have been, by chance and necessity. But also surely by curiosity, that most human of qualities.

When they came here to India, they must have been overwhelmed by the fertility. Here down south, you throw a mango away and a tree will grow. Life is superabundant.

So here some of them stayed, and they were the first Indians. And all non-Africans on the planet can trace their descent from those early migrations into India. The rest of the world was populated from here-- mother India indeed! And amazingly for so long ago, those first Indians have left their trail.

If you go inland from the beaches of Kerala into the maze of backwaters, deep in the rainforests, you'll still find their traces-- clues to what lies beneath all the later layers of Indian history-- clues that till recently were completely unsuspected. For here, you can even hear their voices-- sounds from the beginning of human time.  An ancient clan of Brahmans lives here, priests, ritual specialists. They alone can perform the religious rituals. They're preparing an ancient ceremony for the god of fire that will take 12 days to perform. For centuries, these incantations, or mantras, have been passed down from father to son-- only among Brahmans-- exact in every sound.  But some of the mantras are in no known language. Only recently have outsiders been allowed to record them and to try to make sense of the Brahmans' chants.