Roman Chariots in England

　

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Brainstorming

Look at these pictures and words. Talk about them in pairs. What do they make you think of?

Ben Hur

B: Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters in the words in brackets below.
　

The (omaRns) 1._________ lived about 1,800 years ago. They were from the city of Rome. Rome was the most powerful city in the world.
The Roman (mray) 2._________ was stronger than other armies. The army controlled large parts of North Africa and Europe, including (rBitani) 3._________. The leader of the Romans was called the (Epmerro) 4._________.

Some (sarchaeologist) 5._________ are interested in the Romans. The archaeologists (dgi) 6._________ up places where the Romans lived. They find parts of buildings (called remains) and things that belonged to the Romans.

Reading Activities

A: Comprehension

Read part of today's article. Answer the questions:

1. What have archaeologists found in Colchester?
2. How many people watched the chariot races?
3. Who is Philip Crummy?
4. When did he start working in Colchester?

Archaeologists have found remains of a chariot racing track in the city. 8,000 people probably watched chariot races at the track. Archaeologist, Philip Crummy has worked in Colchester since 1971. He thinks the track is one of the most exciting things he has found. (Continued/...) Words: watched - look at something for some time races - competitions to see who can drive, run etc the fastest Article © 2005 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2005 www.english-to-go.com

B: True Or False

Read another part of today's article. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Chariot racing was a safe sport.
2. Many charioteers died.
3. Charioteers were old men.
4. There were 12 chariots in some races.
5. Four horses pulled one chariot.

Chariot racing was more dangerous than most other sports. The charioteers usually died when they were very young. "Imagine when it was race day... with a 12-chariot race,... and 48 horses," Crummy says. Words: charioteer - a person who raced a chariot imagine - make a picture in your mind about something Article © 2005 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2005 www.english-to-go.com

C: Complete The Sentences

Read today's article. Complete these sentences about Colchester.

Interesting Information about Colchester:
1. Colchester is the __________recorded town in __________.
2. Famous people who visited __________ include the Roman Emperor __________.
3. Famous remains in the city include a chariot racing __________.

Chariot Racing Track Found In Colchester 　 COLCHESTER, England Fri Feb 11 (Reuters) - Colchester is an interesting city. It is the oldest recorded town in Britain. The Roman Emperor Claudius visited Colchester with elephants and camels. But now archaeologists have found something more interesting. Archaeologists have found remains of a chariot racing track in the city. 8,000 people probably watched chariot races at the track. Archaeologist, Philip Crummy has worked in Colchester since 1971. He thinks the track is one of the most exciting things he has found. Chariot racing was more dangerous than most other sports. The charioteers usually died when they were very young. "Imagine when it was race day... a 12-chariot race,... and 48 horses," Crummy says. Article © 2005 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2005 www.english-to-go.com

　

D: Reading For Understanding

Answer the questions about these sentences from the article.

"But now archaeologists have found something more interesting."

1. This means that the news of the chariot racing track is...

a. more interesting than the information about Claudius visiting the town.
b. less interesting than the information about Claudius visiting the town.

"Chariot racing was more dangerous than most other sports."

2. This means that...

a. chariot racing was the most dangerous sport.
b. a lot of other sports were safer than chariot racing.

 

A: Language

"Chariot racing was more dangerous than most other sports."

This sentence compares different things. The sentence compares chariot racing with other sports. More dangerous is an example of a comparative adjective.

Short adjectives take -er than...
e.g. Colchester is older than London.

Long adjectives take more than...
e.g. This race is more exciting than the last race.

(One-syllable adjectives (e.g. short, brave) take -er. Three-syllable adjectives (e.g. important, dangerous) take more. Most two-syllable adjectives take more but some do not.)

Spelling

Some consonants are doubled. hot -> hotter
Y changes to i. pretty -> prettier
The e is not doubled. rare -> rarer

A few adjectives are irregular:
good -> better
bad -> worse
far -> farther / further

Make each adjective in the brackets into a comparative adjective. These are all short adjectives.

1. His horses were __________ (fast) than the other teams.
2. This racing track is __________ (long) than the track in my town.
3. He is __________ (brave) than the other charioteers.
4. The winner is __________ (young) than my brother.
5. This race was __________ (bad) than the last one.
6. The weather here is __________ (hot) than in Colchester.

Make each adjective in the brackets into a comparative adjective using more. These are all long adjectives.

7. The price for a ticket is __________ (expensive) than in Colchester.
8. He is a __________ (foolish) man than his brother.
9. This town is __________ (interesting) than your town.
10. Chariot racing is __________ (dangerous) than wrestling.
11. This Emperor is __________ (popular) than the last Emperor.
12. This charioteer is __________ (careful) than most of the other drivers.

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"Colchester is the oldest town in Britain."

This sentence tells us how old Colchester is. This means that Colchester is older than all other towns in Britain.Oldest is an example of a superlative adjective.

Short adjectives take -est...
e.g. This racetrack is the longest in the Empire.

Long adjectives take most...
e.g. That race was the most exciting one I saw.

(One-syllable adjectives (e.g. short, brave) take -est. Three-syllable adjectives (e.g. important, dangerous) take most. Most two-syllable adjectives take most but some do not.)

Spelling

Some consonants are doubled. hot -> hottest
Y changes to i: pretty -> prettiest
The e is not doubled. rare -> rarest

A few adjectives are irregular:
good --> best
bad --> worst
far --> farthest / furthest

Fill the gaps in the sentences. Choose the best adjective from the list below. Write it in the superlative. (The first four answers are short adjectives: the last four are long adjectives.)

frightened, noisy, happy, old, young, careful, powerful, dangerous

13. You are the __________ charioteer. The other charioteers are older than you.
14. Be quiet! You are the __________ boy in the crowd!
15. I won! I am the __________ man in the world!
16. You are the __________ charioteer. The other charioteers are younger than you.
17. This race will be the __________ one. The drivers all want to win. I hope no-one dies.
18. His face was white. He was the __________ charioteer in the race.
19. The Roman was the __________ army in the world. It controlled large parts of North Africa and Europe.
20. He is the __________ charioteer. He never gets hurt.

B: Using The Language

Answer these questions in pairs. You can say or write your answers.

1. What is the most dangerous sport in the world?
The most dangerous sport is...
2. What is the most exciting sport in the world?
The most exciting sport is...
3. What city is the most interesting city in your country?
The most interesting city in my country is...

 

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TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Brainstorming - Notes

Give students a chance to look at the pictures in pairs. The pictures show the Coliseum, a Roman in a toga, a bust of a Roman emperor and a Roman soldier. The words 'Rome' and 'Ben-Hur' are to prompt students to remember any information they can about the Romans and a popular Roman pastime, chariot-racing. ( 'Ben-Hur' was a famous film about chariot-racing.) Allow pairs to share their knowledge with the class. You may like to add some prompts of your own to the activity: a map is always useful and pictures of other Roman ruins or items of interest would be helpful. It is important that students approach the reading with some prior knowledge of Roman things, especially chariot racing.

This webpage http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/chariotrace/game/game.html has an interactive chariot racing game and shows a picture of a chariot racing track (also known as a 'circus'). http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html has some interesting photos of mosaics and sculptures of charioteers. http://www.catuk.org/excavations/circus/index.html shows photos of the excavations underway in Colchester. Your students may be interested in these before or after reading the article.

B: Vocabulary - Answers

1. Romans, 2. army, 3. Britain, 4. Emperor, 5. archaeologists, 6. dig.

Reading Activities

A: Comprehension - Answers

1. remains of a chariot racing track, 2. 8,000 people, 3. an archaeologist, 4. 1971.

B: True Or False - Answers

1. F, 2. T, 3. F (They usually died when they were young.), 4. T, 5. T.

C: Complete The Sentences - Notes

'Recorded' which is used to describe Colchester means that it is the earliest town that we have historical records for in Britain.

C: Complete The Sentences - Answers

1. oldest, Britain, 2. Colchester, Claudius, 3. track.

D: Reading For Understanding - Answers

1. a, 2. b.

Post-Reading Activities

A: Language - Notes

If you wish, you could give your students a list of one, two and three-syllable adjectives showing which take -er/-est and which take more/most. However, at elementary level the most important thing is that students understand what the structure is used for and know some common examples of patterns.

A: Language - Answers

1. faster, 2. longer, 3. braver, 4. younger, 5. worse, 6. hotter, 7. more expensive, 8. more foolish, 9. more interesting, 10. more dangerous, 11. more popular, 12. more careful, 13. youngest, 14. noisiest, 15. happiest, 16. oldest, 17. most dangerous, 18. most frightened, 19. most powerful, 20. most careful.

B: Using The Language - Notes

Circulate and check that students are using comparative and superlative structures correctly.

B: Using The Language - Answers

1. - 3. Answers will vary.