Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Vocabulary
| lasting | imposing | stand/stood/stood (2) |
| guard | volcanic | Polynesian |
| island | point (3) | anchor (2) |
| Easter | heritage | World Heritage |
| restore | property | undertook |
| distinct | territory | construction |
| strewn | wonder | archaeology |
| culture | head (3) | architecture |
| dot (2) | ancient | enormous |
| legacy | sentinel | landscape |
| effort | excellent | monument |
| exact | move (2) | considerable |
| task | establish | know/knew/known |
| trek | preserve | anthropology |
| explore | isolation | get/got/got-gotten |
| quarry | outpost | good/better/best |
| remain | blossom | roughly (2) |
| surf (2) | view (2) | construct |
| entice | dive (2) | miraculous |
| reach | far afield | in the first place |
| flight | easy/easier/easiest |
Video
Transcript
Imposing stone sentinels stand guard on Rapa Nui, a volcanic island that anchors the western point of the Polynesian Triangle in the South Pacific. You might know it as Easter Island.
About 42% of the island is Rapa Nui National Park, a World Heritage Property established in 1995 to preserve the natural and cultural wonders of this Chilean territory.
This Polynesian outposts blossomed in isolation, developing a distinct architectural and artistic culture.
Moai, the enormous heads that dot the landscape are the lasting legacy of this ancient society. The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable.
But no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task. The hundreds of moai standing on Easter Island today were restored by historians anthropologists and archeologists in the 20th century.
To get the best view of the moai, trek to Rano Buraku, where the volcanic rock used in their construction was quarried. Of the 887 remaining statues on the island roughly 400 are strewn in and around the volcanic crater.
While most people visit Rapa Nui to explore its cultural history, the island is also home to some excellent diving, surfing and enticing beaches.
It’s miraculous that Polynesian people even reached Rapa Nui in the first place.
Getting there today is much easier, but the island is still very far afield. Long flights service Rapa Nui from Chile and Tahiti.
Questions
Easter Island. Rapa Nui is in the Caribbean Sea. True or false?
Galapagos Islands. Are all the Moais standing in a row on a platform?
Tahiti. Is most of the island part of resorts, hotels, restaurants, cafes and discos?
Tonga. Was the ancient Rapa Nui civilization (culture) influenced by Egyptians?
Hawaii. The or statues are about the size of a person. Is this right or wrong? Are they made of marble or bronze?
Samoa. Everyone knows exactly how and why the Rapa Nui people made and moved the Moais. Is this correct or incorrect?
Fiji. Do tourists only come to Rapa Nui to marvel at the Moai?
New Zealand. Did the Polynesian settlers fly to Rapa Nui? Did the Polynesian settlers come to Rapa Nui by airplane?
Australia. I have visited Easter Island. Yes or no? Have you or your friends ever visited any islands? What islands have you visited?
Papua New Guinea. Have you heard or Easter Island? Have you seen documentaries about Easter Island?
Polynesia. How do you think the stone head statues of Easter Island were made and moved?
Australia. Would you like to visit Easter Island? What islands would you like to visit?
Solomon Islands. What might happen in the future?
Vanuatu. Would you like to be a scientist or writer of megaliths and other mysteries
