1) a chain -a number of nonnected things

2) mighty - strong, powerful

3) a skyscraper - a very high building

4) great-grandparents - your grandparents` parents

5) a melting pot -   a place where there is a mixing of people of different races and nationalities

6) a mixture - a number of connected things

7) to rise - to beging

8) a desert -sandy country with little water and few plants

9) grassland - wild, open land covered mainly with grass