Daily Reading Practice · Nonfiction passage
Any word, any time — right from this page.
The Silk Road was not a single road, but a huge networknetwork (noun)A group of interconnected paths or systems.≈ Synonym: system🇺🇿UZ: tarmoq🇷🇺RU: сеть of trade routestrade route (noun)Paths used to transport goods for trade.≈ Synonym: commercial paths🇺🇿UZ: savdo yo'llari🇷🇺RU: торговые пути that connected China to Europe, passing through Central Asia, Persia, and the Middle East. For more than 1,500 years, merchantsmerchant (noun)People who buy and sell goods for profit.≈ Synonym: traders🇺🇿UZ: savdogarlar🇷🇺RU: торговцы used these routes to carry goods, ideas, and culturesculture (noun)The customs and beliefs of particular societies.≈ Synonym: civilisations🇺🇿UZ: madaniyatlar🇷🇺RU: культуры between distant civilisationscivilisation (noun)Complex societies with developed cultures.≈ Synonym: societies🇺🇿UZ: sivilizatsiyalar🇷🇺RU: цивилизации that would otherwise never have made contactcontact (noun)Communication or connection with someone.≈ Synonym: connection🇺🇿UZ: aloqa🇷🇺RU: контакт.
The route gets its name from one of its most valuable goods: silk. Chinese producersproducer (noun)People or groups that make goods.≈ Synonym: makers🇺🇿UZ: ishlab chiqaruvchilar🇷🇺RU: производители kept the processprocess (noun)A series of actions to achieve a result.≈ Synonym: method🇺🇿UZ: jarayon🇷🇺RU: процесс of making silk a closely guarded secretsecret (noun)Information kept hidden from others.≈ Synonym: hidden knowledge🇺🇿UZ: sir🇷🇺RU: секрет for centuries, which made the fabric extremely valuablevaluable (adj)Worth a great deal of money.≈ Synonym: precious🇺🇿UZ: qimmatbaho🇷🇺RU: ценный in Europe and the Middle East. In exchangeexchange (noun)The act of giving and receiving things mutually.≈ Synonym: swap🇺🇿UZ: almashinuv🇷🇺RU: обмен, traders brought back preciousprecious (adj)Of great value; rare.≈ Synonym: valuable🇺🇿UZ: qimmatbaho🇷🇺RU: драгоценный stones, glass, spices, and horseshorse (noun)Large animals used for riding and transport.≈ Synonym: steeds🇺🇿UZ: otlar🇷🇺RU: лошади from other regions.
But the Silk Road carried far more than physicalphysical (adj)Relating to the body or material things.≈ Synonym: material🇺🇿UZ: jismoniy (moddiy)🇷🇺RU: физический goods. Along these routes, religionsreligion (noun)Systems of belief in a god or gods.≈ Synonym: faiths🇺🇿UZ: dinlar🇷🇺RU: религии such as Buddhism and Islam spread to new regions, and inventionsinvention (noun)Things created or designed for the first time.≈ Synonym: creations🇺🇿UZ: ixtirolar🇷🇺RU: изобретения like papermaking and gunpowder travelled from China to the rest of the world. Languageslanguage (noun)Systems of communication used by people.≈ Synonym: tongues🇺🇿UZ: tillar🇷🇺RU: языки, artart (noun)The expression of creative skill and imagination.≈ Synonym: creative work🇺🇿UZ: san'at🇷🇺RU: искусство styles, and scientificscientific (adj)Relating to science.≈ Synonym: technical🇺🇿UZ: ilmiy🇷🇺RU: научный knowledge also passed between cultures, making the Silk Road one of history's greatest enginesengine (noun)Things that drive or power a process.≈ Synonym: drivers🇺🇿UZ: harakatlantiruvchi kuchlar🇷🇺RU: двигатели (движущие силы) of culturalcultural (adj)Relating to the arts and customs of a society.≈ Synonym: artistic🇺🇿UZ: madaniy🇷🇺RU: культурный exchange.
Travelling the Silk Road was far from easy. Merchants faced harsh desertsdesert (noun)Large areas of dry, sandy land.≈ Synonym: arid regions🇺🇿UZ: sahrolar🇷🇺RU: пустыни, tall mountain rangesmountain range (noun)Series of connected mountains.≈ Synonym: mountain chains🇺🇿UZ: tog' tizmalari🇷🇺RU: горные цепи, and the constant riskrisk (noun)The possibility of something harmful happening.≈ Synonym: danger🇺🇿UZ: xavf🇷🇺RU: риск of banditsbandit (noun)Robbers, especially in wild or remote areas.≈ Synonym: robbers🇺🇿UZ: qaroqchilar🇷🇺RU: разбойники. Because of these dangers, few traders travelled the entire route themselves. Instead, goods were usually passed from one group of merchants to the next, changing hands many times before reaching their final destinationdestination (noun)The place to which someone travels.≈ Synonym: endpoint🇺🇿UZ: manzil🇷🇺RU: пункт назначения.
The Silk Road began to decline in importance after the 15th century, as sea routes became fasterfast (adj)Moving or happening quickly; quicker.≈ Synonym: quicker🇺🇿UZ: tezroq🇷🇺RU: быстрее and safer for moving large amounts of goods. However, its legacylegacy (noun)Something handed down from the past.≈ Synonym: inheritance🇺🇿UZ: meros🇷🇺RU: наследие remains enormous. Today, historians see the Silk Road as an early example of globalisationglobalisation (noun)The process by which the world becomes interconnected.≈ Synonym: global integration🇺🇿UZ: globallashuv🇷🇺RU: глобализация — proof that even in the ancient world, distant peoples were far more connectedconnected (adj)Joined or linked together.≈ Synonym: linked🇺🇿UZ: bog'langan🇷🇺RU: связанный than we might imagine.