Prime Time 2, Coursebook

Sports and games in ancient Rome (Unit 13) Reading: Gladiators a) Read the text about gladiators. The gladiators were mostly prisoners and slaves. They were tall and strong and they had to fight against each other. Sometimes gladiators also had to fight against wild animals like lions and bears. Those fights took place in big arenas called ‘amphitheatres’, for example the Colosseum in Rome. The fights in those theatres were bloody and violent. Gladiators fought in front of thousands of people for entertainment. The Romans, rich and poor, liked to watch those games. There were different types of gladiators and they all had different weapons and clothes for protection. This made it more interesting for the audience to watch. The very best gladiators got money, a crown and great admiration by the people. If they were very successful, gladiators were sometimes freed from slavery and didn’t have to fight in the arena any longer. Some freed fighters became trainers in gladiator schools. b) Tick the qualities a gladiator had to have in ancient Rome. weak fearless  tall brave muscular calm thin short strong scared frightened aggressive c) Use some of the words from task 1b and find the opposites. 1. strong – weak 2. tall – 3. / – frightened/scared d) Look at the picture. Then write a text (ca. 40 words) in your exercise book and describe one of the gladiators. The vocabulary below might help you. 567i4t 1 5 10 arm/leg protection helmet large/small shield net short/long sword trident 134 16 Unit Fact detectives one hundred and thirty-four Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv