The Romans used great public projects to make the city the most advanced of the ancient world, and to create the largest empire of the era. Many of the roads, bridges and aqueducts of ancient Rome are still used today.

The Romans built many roads throughout their empire. The roads made it easier to travel and trade with faraway provinces. It also made it easier to collect taxes. Roman roads were straight and followed an exact design. The expression, "All Roads Lead To Rome" refers to the fact that Rome was the center of modern civilization.

Roman engineers brought water into the city by building pipelines called aqueducts. Nine aqueducts provided the Roman people with 38 million gallons of water every day. Parts of the Roman aqueduct system still supply water to fountains in Rome.

The Romans built many amphitheaters, or huge stadiums. People would gather in amphitheaters to watch shows with clowns, jugglers, and acrobats. Some of Roman entertainment was very cruel. People would watch fights between wild animals and Gladiators. Gladiators were usually slaves or criminals who fought with swords against animals or each other. A skillful gladiator might win his freedom by defeating an opponent. More often, the gladiators lost their lives.

The largest amphitheater, the Coliseum, seated about 45,000 people.  Only a portion of the Coliseum remains standing today. Earthquakes have destroyed some of the structure. Also, engineers used some of the stone from the Coliseum to build later Roman buildings. Some of the stone used to build St. Peter's Basilica, the church where the Pope resides, came from the Coliseum.

Perhaps the greatest Roman engineering achievement was the sewer. Rome is in a valley among seven hills. Without the sewers, there would be nowhere for dirty water to go. The sewer system made it possible for it to become the largest city in the world. Rome was the first city to house more than one

million people. The population declined after the fall of Rome, but today, it is home to more than six million people.

1. What is most likely the main idea of paragraph two?a) Rome was the center of modern civilizationb) Roads were important for the development of Romec) Roman roads were straightd) Trade was important in ancient Rome

2. In paragraph three, the author writes, “Roman engineers brought water into the city by building pipelines called aqueducts”. In this sentence, the word engineers most likely describes…

a) people who build thingsb) people who work with waterc) people who lived in Romed) people who measured the quality of water

Roman Technology

3. From paragraph three, you can infer that the aqueduct system in Rome was…a) good, but not good enoughb) something the people were proud ofc) highly unsuccessfuld) highly successful

4. The following sites in Baltimore is most likely an example of an Amphitheater…

a) The Hippodrome Theaterb) Ravens Stadiumc) Druid Hill Parkd) The Inner Harbor

5. Looking a paragraph four, what do you think the author’s attitude is towards gladiator fights. Please use examples from the text.

6. Which of the following sentences from the last paragraph doesn’t help in supporting the main idea of the paragraph?a) Without the sewers, there would be nowhere for dirty water to go.b) The sewer system made it possible for Rome to become the largest city in the world.c) Rome is in a valley among seven hills.d) The population declined after the fall of Rome, but today, it is home to

more than six million people.

7. If this passage had to be given a new title, the best choice for a title would be…a) The Most Important Engineering Achievement in Romeb) How Rome Grew So Largec) The Roads and Aqueducts of Romed) Great Roman Engineering Accomplishments