At the History Lesson

A history teacher was talking to his class about the ancient Romans.

‘They were very strong, brave people, and they were good soldiers,’ he said.

‘They always wanted to have strong bodies, so they played a lot of games.’

‘Did they like swimming?’ one of the girls asked. ‘That makes people’s bodies strong.’ She was very good at swimming.

‘Oh, yes, some of them swam a lot,’ the teacher answered. Then he told them a story about one famous Roman.

‘There was a big, wide river in the middle of Rome,’ he said. ‘It was the Tiber, and this man swam across it three times every day before breakfast.’

The girl laughed when she heard this.

‘Why are you laughing?’ the teacher asked her angrily. ‘Have I said anything funny?’

‘Well, sir,’ the girl answered, ‘Why didn’t he swim across the river four times, to get back to his clothes again?’

Answer these questions

1. Why did the ancient Romans play a lot of games?

2. Why was one of the girls interested in swimming?

3. Who swam across the Tiber before breakfast?

4. Why was the teacher angry?

5. Why did the girl laugh?

Which of the answers to these questions are right?

Write the correct ones

1. What did the teacher in this story teach?

a. Swimming.

b. Games.

c. History.

2. When the teacher said, ‘Some of them swam a lot’, who was he talking about?

a. The Romans.

b. The girls in his class.

c. Strong people.

3. Why did the girl laugh?

a. Because the Roman swam before breakfast.

b. Because the Roman did not finish swimming near his clothes.

c. Because the teacher was angry.

by L. A.  Hill