Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. an amphitheater
    • ex. Many students visited an ancient amphitheater during their history trip.
  2. a ruin
    • ex. Tourists explored the ancient ruins of the city.
  3. excavation
    • ex. The excavation process revealed layers of soil that were thousands of years old.
  4. in the works
    • ex. A new shopping mall is in the works for our neighborhood this summer.
  5. medieval
    • ex. The castle has medieval walls and towers that are more than 600 years old.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Rome has opened two new subway stations that bring modern travel close to ancient history. One station is underneath the Colosseum, an old amphitheater famous around the world. Inside the station, visitors can see many artifact displays. These include ceramic plates and vases, stone wells, and buckets. There are also ruins from a first-century home, such as a cold pool and a bath. Screens show the excavation work, helping people understand why the project took so long.

The Metro C subway line has been in the works for about 20 years. Progress was slow because Rome has many underground artifacts from Roman and medieval times. Workers had to protect these archeological items while digging deep under the city. Engineers also faced problems with groundwater and needed special methods to keep the ground stable.

The other new station, Porta Metronia, is one stop away from the station underneath the Colosseum. It features the pieces and parts of a large military building from the second century. The Metro C subway line has 31 stations, but only three-quarters are working currently, and the whole project will be completed by 2035.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.
Photo Credits: The Associated Press

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Excavation Work

  • Would you like to visit an archaeological site? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you could make an exhibition of objects found in excavations, what would you include? Discuss.
  • What would you do if you found ancient objects under your property? Discuss.

Modern Buildings and Ancient History

  • Rome opened two new subway stations that bring modern travel close to ancient history. Would you like to visit a subway station that looks like a museum? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What do you think about building modern subway stations in very old cities like Rome? Discuss.
  • Do you think modern buildings and ancient ruins can exist together in the same city? Why or why not? Discuss.