English. Соколова Е.В. - 14 стр.

     d) Archaeological findings.
     e) Proofs of Atlantis' existence.

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                                         Atlantis

    One of the world's greatest mystery stories is about the lost continent of Atlantis.
A historian of old Greece Plato (about 428-347 ВС) was the first who wrote about it
in his "Dialogues".
    In 1968 an old wall was found under the water near the coast of Bimini in the Ba-
hamas. According to Plato this was the very place in which Atlantis existed. Plato
said that some old parts of that continent could be found, and that one day in the fu-
ture, Atlantis could come out from the sea again.
    Where was Atlantis? When did it exist? Why did it disappear? And will it rise
from the ocean again? These are some of the questions people ask about this mysteri-
ous continent.
    When Plato first wrote about Atlantis, he was sure it was near Gibraltar. A long
time after Plato another man called Ignatius Donnelly began to write about Atlantis.
He said it was in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe, and Africa.
    Plato believed Atlantis existed 12,000 years ago. He said it was "larger than Asia
and Libya together" and it had good lands, high mountains, and was rich in minerals.
The people had high-level knowledge and lived in wealth and harmony. One day At-
lantis disappeared into the sea because of a terrible earthquake.
    Looking at the land below the Atlantic Ocean, scientists found hills and moun-
tains which were once above the water. Fragments of buildings and walls were also
found. Perhaps they once belonged to an earlier civilization. Because of the feet, that
the Atlantic Ocean is one of the most active parts of the Earth, it is quite possible that
12,000 years ago there was some great activity which caused a large continent to dis-
appear under the water. But this is not the only idea to believe that Atlantis really ex-
isted. Another idea is linguistic. In the languages of the countries which are far from
each other, there are words with the same meaning. Take, for example, the English
word "paradise". It is pronounced and spelt in the same way in many languages of the
world. According to Plato, Atlantis was the "paradise" in which people lived in
wealth and harmony. The Greek word for "paradise" is ATLANTIS. On the other
side of the ocean, the North and South American Indians used "paradise" for some
eastern land. Their legends say that the Indian civilization was started by superior
men from a great continent in the east.
    How is it possible that so many people in different countries so far from each
other could have a similar word for a similar place? And what's more, they all seem
to put this place in the same location!
    These are just a few of the facts why some people say there was a civilization of
Atlantis over 12,000 years ago.

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