2.

The Roman Army

The Roman Empire was a great power in ancient times. But the first Roman army was
made up of ordinary citizens. Young men did the fighting. Older men cleaned weapons
and defended their cities. They served only in crisis of war. Then the time came when
Rome needed well-trained men. A new army of full-time, paid soldiers was created. The
men were called legionaries. Legionaries stayed in the army for 20 years. They trained,
fought, and built roads and bridges. The legionaries served in groups called legions. Each
legion was made up of about 6,000 men. At the height of the Roman Empire, around 27
B.C., 28 legions served the empire.
Legionaries carried their weapons, clothes, tents, food, and cooking pots. They
marched about 21 miles a day. When they came to a river, they built a bridge. Each night
they set up camp. They built earth walls to protect the camp from attack. They also built
roads so the army could march between towns and camps. About 50,000 miles of
highways were built. They connected all parts of the Roman Empire. (Some parts of these
roads still exist today.)
Sometimes the Roman army attacked towns. A town might have walls made of thick
stone. Its gate would be heavy and wooden. The towns soldiers defended the town,
hurling spears and shooting arrows from the top of the walls. The attacking Roman
soldiers used a movable tower. They pushed the tower toward the enemys walls. They
lowered a drawbridge from the tower to the top of the wall. Then the Roman soldiers
swarmed across the drawbridge to capture the town.
At their peak, no one equaled the Romans, their army, or their empire. They had no
rivals.

Main Idea

1. Mark the main idea

Mark the statement that is too broad
Mark the statement that is too narrow
a. The Roman had a very large empire.
b. The Roman army was an important
part of the Roman Empire.
c. The Roman legions sometimes attacked
Heavily defended towns.
Subject Matter
2. This passage is mostly about
a. what the Roman legions did.
b. who trained Roman soldiers.
c. why Roman roads survive to this day.

Answer

Score

15
5
5

B
N
B
M
N

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d. The Roman army before the legions were formed.

Supporting Details
3. The legionaries carried
a. a road maps.
b. a drawbridge.
c. their tents.
d. movable towers.
Conslusion
4. Which adjective best describes the Roman army?
a. vicious
b. well-trained
c. weak
d. small

Clariyfing Devices
5. The date 27 B.C. in the first paragraph refers to
a. the first year that Rome had a full-time army.
b. the year that 50,000 miles of roads were built.
c. the year the Roman army invented movable towers.
d. the time when the Roman Empire was largest and most powerful.

Vocabulary in Context
6. In this paasage, the word rivals means
a. equals
b. crimes
c. leaders
d. friends
Add your scores for questions 1 6. Enter the total here

Total Score

and on the graph on page 158

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