You are going to see a variety of words.

Think about:

1) What each word tells you about this text?

2) What type of text might it be?

Dawn

Granite

Bridge

Lake

Temple

Ceremony

Colin Thubron: Shadow of the Silk Road

In the dawn the land is empty. A causeway stretches across the lake on a bridge of silvery granite, and beyond it, pale on its reflection, a temple shines. The light falls pure and still. The

noises of the town have faded away, and the silence intensifies the void—the artificial lake, the temple, the bridge—like the shapes for a

ceremony which has been forgotten.

What can we infer about China?List the impressions you

get about China, the girl and the traveller and explain how you inferred them.

Example: – I get the impression that the girl is embarrassed when she sees the

traveller from the phrase “laughs through her fingers”

Do you think this is a good description?

What atmosphere is being

created?

What might come next?

Can you tell if this is fiction or non-fiction?

Examples