Based on Workbook p. 26 ex. 2

Listen to the interview and complete the sentences correctly

An Interview with Mr Phillips Part One
InterviewerMr PhillipsMr Phillps, you are an expert in Mexican culture and history. How long have you been investigating Mexico?Very long indeed. My first research paper about this country was published in 1965.
What are the things that strike you most?
Its people, their culture and history and certainly the facts linking the past and the present.What can you say about the population of Mexico?They are a blend of Spanish and Indian cultures. This mixing of cultures can be seen in all aspects of Mexican life. The culture of the two Indian groups — the Mayas [ˈmaɪəz] and the Aztecs [ˈæzteks] — could be traced in modern Mexican customs and traditions. Descendants of these and many other Indian tribes still live on the territory of Mexico.
Where did the Mayas live?These ancient people lived in what today is southern Mexico and had a very developed culture. Around the year 350 A.D. the Mayas began to use the system of writing and mathematics. They studied the moon, the stars, the sun.So they had a profound knowledge of planets and other elements of the universe, didn't they?Evidently they did. Their knowledge enabled them to fix the length of the year almost accurately.Really?That was so indeed. The Mayan calendar was much more accurate than anything known in Europe at the time.
The Aztecs were also a very powerful Indian tribe, weren't they?Oh, yes. They ruled many other groups of Indians. When Spanish soldiers came to Mexico soon after Columbus, they were struck by the Aztec capital city whose name was Tenochtitlan. It stood where the capital of modern Mexico is now — on the Central Plateau of Mexico. It was a wonderful place built on an island in a lake. The city had more people and riches than any city at home in Europe, in Spain.But how did a small group of Spaniards manage to defeat the powerful Aztecs?
Historians say there were several reasons. First, an old Aztec legend promised a god would return to them from the sea one day, and the Aztecs thought the leader of the Spanish invaders was that god. Then the Spanish soldiers had horses and guns which were not known to the Indians.
Oh yes, I see.But that was not all. The Aztecs had many enemies who helped the Spaniards. And the last factor was smallpox. Do you mean the disease?Certainly. It's a serious infectious disease, at that time unknown in Mexico. It spread over the capital city and many Aztecs died. The Spaniards destroyed Tenochtitlan and built a new city upon its ruins. Many people from Spain came to live in a new capital.

1. In 1965, Mr Phillips
   [first visited Mexico|issued his first academic paper].
2. The biggest surprise for Mr Phillips was the connection between
   [the ancient times and today|their religion and social life].
3. The traces of Spanish and Indian influence can be seen in Mexicans
   [population|customs and traditions].
4. The main thing that helped Mayas develop such an advanced culture was
   [their calendar|writing and maths].
5. The main Aztec city was
   [beautiful and prosperous|full of their enemies].
6. The Aztecs were defeated because they  thought their conquerors were
   [sick with smallpox|gods].