Reading1

More than any other town, Pompeii and Herculaneum can give us an idea of what an ancient city looked like because:

• ashes and mud have preserved the appearance they had at the time of the eruption

• despite the changes that have taken place over the centuries, they have preserved both the general structures and individual buildings of the Roman era

• the general structures have remained those of the ancient city, while the individual buildings have undergone changes

• the eruption of the Vesuvius did not affect either the general structures or the single buildings

• they are the only two Roman towns of which we have remains

The typically Roman urban layout is often found still today:

• in all English cities

• in Roman villages transformed into camps

• in cities built by the Romans

• in Rome

• in all historic centres

In Roman cities the forum was located:

• far from the most important public buildings

• near the political and religious centre

• at the intersection of parallel thoroughfares

• at the intersection of the Cardo and the Decumanus

• at the intersection of the hills

In Roman houses, which element was the rainwater collecting basin?

• The impluvium

• The compluvium

• The atrium

• The courtyard

• The hortus

Which of the following statements is consistent with the content of the passage II?

• The typical Roman city had only two gates: one at the cardo maximus and one at the decumanus maximus

• Some cities that still exist began as Roman military camps

• Simple Pompeii houses never had windows on the street, but only on the inner courtyard

• Like Roman cities, a Pompeii house had a grid layout

• The dining room of Roman houses was triangular to accommodate a three-sided table and three beds