Magy's English Edu. Club
Cambridge 16 Academic Reading Test Four Passage One
Roman Tunnels
Label the diagrams.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
1. …….. to direct the tunneling
The answer is POSTS.
In paragraph one, in the early first millennium BCE, they introduced the qanat method of tunnel construction, which consisted of placing POSTS over a hill in a straight line, to ensure that the tunnel kept to its route.
2. water runs into …….. used by local people
The answer is CANAL.
In paragraph one, once the tunnel was completed, it allowed water to flow from the top of a hillside down a canal, which supplied water for human use.
3. vertical shafts to remove earth and for …….
The answer is VENTILATION.
In paragraph one, the excavated soil was taken to the surface using the shafts, which also provided ventilation during the work.
4. ……. made of wood or stone
The answer is LID.
In paragraph two, the shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing in and out of them and were covered with a wooden or stone lid.
5. …… attached to the plumb line
The answer is WEIGHT.
In paragraph two, to ensure that the shafts were vertical, Romans hung a plumb line from a rod placed across the top of each shaft and made sure that the weight at the end of it hung in the center of the shaft.
6. handholds and footholds used for …..
The answer is CLIMBING.
In paragraph two, the shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing in and out of them and were covered with a wooden or stone lid.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
Choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.
7. The counter-excavation method completely replaced the qanat method in the 6th century BCE.
The answer is FALSE.
In paragraph three, it was used to cut through high mountains when the qanat method was not a practical alternative.
8. Only experienced builders were employed to construct a tunnel using the counter-excavation method.
The answer is NOT GIVEN.
In paragraph three, adjustments to the direction of the tunnel also had to be made whenever builders encountered geological problems or when it deviated from its set path.
9. The information about a problem that occurred during the construction of the Saldae aqueduct system was found in an ancient book.
The answer is FALSE.
In paragraph three, an inscription written on the side of a 428-meter tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error.
10. The mistake made by the builders of the Saldae aqueduct system was that the two parts of the tunnel failed to meet.
The answer is TRUE.
In paragraph three, an inscription written on the side of a 428-meter tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error.
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
11. What type of mineral were the Dolaucothi mines in Wales built to extract?
The answer is GOLD.
In paragraph four, traces of such tunnels used to mine gold can still be found at the Dalaucothi mines in Wales.
12. In addition to the patron, whose name might be carved onto a tunnel?
The answer is (THE) ARCHITECT(‘S) (NAME).
In paragraph five, most tunnels had inscriptions showing the names of patrons who ordered construction and sometimes the name of the architect.
13. What part of Seleuceia Pieria was the Çevlik tunnel built to protect?
The answer is (THE) HARBOUR/HARBOR.
In paragraph five, for example, the 1.4-kilometer Çevlik tunnel in Turkey, built to divert the floodwater threatening the harbor of the ancient city to Seleucia Pier, had inscriptions on the entrance, still visible today, that also indicates that the tunnel was started in 69 CE and was completed in 81 CE.