The Roman Aqueduct System
Around 300 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ., the population of the city of Rome reached half a million and required a solution for its growing water needs. The resulting aqueduct system, an extensive network of pipes, bridgeworks, and other conduits for importing water to the city, is famous mostly for its viaducts—the graceful arches and other elevated structures that crossed the arid valleys leading to the city. Yet these above-ground sections, while essential to the transport of water over long distances, made up only around 5 percent of the system’s length. Indeed, the Romans tried to avoid building them whenever possible, because they were costly and prone to failure. The elevated section of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct took fifteen years to build and during its first two decades of use was only in service about half the time. If the landscape around the city had been more favorable, the Roman engineers would have avoided viaducts entirely.
Most of Rome’s aqueducts actually consist of canals or underground pipes and tunnels that were made from stone or cut into rock (the word aqueduct is derived from aqua—“water”—and ductus, “enclosed passage”). Although the entire Roman water system worked by gravity, maintenance of the reservoirs and aqueducts required vigilance so that damaged pipes and tunnels would be fixed quickly and debris that could block the flow of water would be removed. All of this maintenance and the construction of new aqueducts to meet the city’s growing water demands required both funding from the emperor and donations by private citizens.
Outside the city, much of the imported water system was hidden from view. The citizens of Rome could only see what their money had bought when the imported water entered the city on elevated structures, but these reminders of the infrastructure investment could get lost in the bustle of the city. To make the people aware of their accomplishments, Rome’s leaders decorated the arches of the arcades where the aqueducts entered the city and built ornate fountains in public squares. All of this extra effort can be seen as a political statement about the good works that the government had done rather than a tribute to the gods or a civic-minded attempt to beautify the city. When Rome’s aqueducts were rebuilt around the fifteenth century ad, its rulers made sure that these decorative fountains were restored and updated for many of the same reasons.
The aqueducts behind the fountains truly are engineering marvels when you consider that the Romans—without the aid of backhoes, concrete mixers, or satellite-enhanced surveying systems—used precise measurements to build tunnels that followed the natural slopes of the hillsides. Placing the water supply underground avoided many of the challenges posed by viaducts. It also made the system more difficult for enemies to sabotage and minimized the likelihood that the water would be polluted as it flowed into the city.
Although the operation of a gravity-fed underground water delivery system may seem like a straightforward task, the Romans had to resolve a number of difficult problems in their quest to create a system that could reliably deliver water. Over a period of trial and error that spanned five centuries, the ancient Romans came up with concrete that could set when exposed to water, arches capable of bearing the weight of massive volumes of water, and a number of other useful inventions. For example, some sections of the aqueduct had to go down steep hills. Water flowing along these sections would move so fast that it would erode away the channel. The Romans solved this problem by installing stone structures in the aqueduct that made the bottom of the channel rough and so slowed the water’s momentum. Roman engineers also had to grapple with changing conditions at the water source. Sometimes the water that they wanted to route through the aqueduct contained clay and sand that had been stirred up by a recent storm. If they let the sediment-laden water into the water distribution pipes, the pipes might clog. The Romans solved this problem by building wide troughs within the aqueduct system where the water velocity would slow enough to cause the particles to settle out (like sand in a lazy river) and where these particles could be removed easily by maintenance crews.
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P1:Around 300 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ., the population of the city of Rome reached half a million and required a solution for its growing water needs. The resulting aqueduct system, an extensive network of pipes, bridgeworks, and other conduits for importing water to the city, is famous mostly for its viaducts—the graceful arches and other elevated structures that crossed the arid valleys leading to the city. Yet these above-ground sections, while essential to the transport of water over long distances, made up only around 5 percent of the system’s length. Indeed, the Romans tried to avoid building them whenever possible, because they were costly and prone to failure. The elevated section of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct took fifteen years to build and during its first two decades of use was only in service about half the time. If the landscape around the city had been more favorable, the Roman engineers would have avoided viaducts entirely.
1.Why does the author provide the information that “The elevated section of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct took fifteen years to build and during its first two decades of use was only in service about half the time”?
A.To help explain why the Aqua Claudia aqueduct could not meet the growing water needs of the Roman population
B.To help argue against the claim that above-water sections of aqueducts were essential to the transport of water
C.To emphasize the failures of Roman engineers before 300 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ.
D.To illustrate the reasons that the Romans generally chose to build fewer aqueducts than they could have
2.Paragraph 1 suggests that the landscape around Rome had which of the following effects on Roman aqueducts?
A.Rome’s water could be imported from locations very close to the city.
B.The presence of valleys forced the Romans to include viaducts as part of the aqueduct system.
C.The landscape hid some of the graceful arches and other aqueduct structures from view.
D.Characteristics of the landscape allowed some of the viaducts to be built at a low cost.
P2: Most of Rome’s aqueducts actually consist of canals or underground pipes and tunnels that were made from stone or cut into rock (the word aqueduct is derived from aqua—“water”—and ductus, “enclosed passage”). Although the entire Roman water system worked by gravity, maintenance of the reservoirs and aqueducts required vigilance so that damaged pipes and tunnels would be fixed quickly and debris that could block the flow of water would be removed. All of this maintenance and the construction of new aqueducts to meet the city’s growing water demands required both funding from the emperor and donations by private citizens.
3.The word “vigilance” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A.skill
B.great speed
C.close attention
D.patience
4.Paragraph 2 supports the idea that repairing aqueducts and removing debris could
A.lead to further damage in pipes and tunnels
B.require the building of new reservoirs
C.be done with the help of gravity
D.be expensive
P3: Outside the city, much of the imported water system was hidden from view. The citizens of Rome could only see what their money had bought when the imported water entered the city on elevated structures, but these reminders of the infrastructure investment could get lost in the bustle of the city. To make the people aware of their accomplishments, Rome’s leaders decorated the arches of the arcades where the aqueducts entered the city and built ornate fountains in public squares. All of this extra effort can be seen as a political statement about the good works that the government had done rather than a tribute to the gods or a civic-minded attempt to beautify the city. When Rome’s aqueducts were rebuilt around the fifteenth century ad, its rulers made sure that these decorative fountains were restored and updated for many of the same reasons.
5.According to paragraph 3, why did Rome’s leaders decorate the arches of the arcades and build fountains in public squares?
A.To ensure that citizens could easily locate the water that they needed
B.To make the government’s infrastructure achievements more visible
C.To make the city look beautiful
D.To make a tribute to the gods
P4: The aqueducts behind the fountains truly are engineering marvels when you consider that the Romans—without the aid of backhoes, concrete mixers, or satellite-enhanced surveying systems—used precise measurements to build tunnels that followed the natural slopes of the hillsides. Placing the water supply underground avoided many of the challenges posed by viaducts. It also made the system more difficult for enemies to sabotage and minimized the likelihood that the water would be polluted as it flowed into the city.
6.In paragraph 4, all of the following are mentioned as advantages of placing the water supply underground EXCEPT:
A.It helped overcome the difficulties of building viaducts.
B.It helped protect the water system from attack.
C.It helped keep the water clean.
D.It helped the water flow into the city more quickly.
P5:Although the operation of a gravity-fed underground water delivery system may seem like a straightforward task, the Romans had to resolve a number of difficult problems in their quest to create a system that could reliably deliver water. Over a period of trial and error that spanned five centuries, the ancient Romans came up with concrete that could set when exposed to water, arches capable of bearing the weight of massive volumes of water, and a number of other useful inventions. For example, some sections of the aqueduct had to go down steep hills. Water flowing along these sections would move so fast that it would erode away the channel. The Romans solved this problem by installing stone structures in the aqueduct that made the bottom of the channel rough and so slowed the water’s momentum. Roman engineers also had to grapple with changing conditions at the water source. Sometimes the water that they wanted to route through the aqueduct contained clay and sand that had been stirred up by a recent storm. If they let the sediment-laden water into the water distribution pipes, the pipes might clog. The Romans solved this problem by building wide troughs within the aqueduct system where the water velocity would slow enough to cause the particles to settle out (like sand in a lazy river) and where these particles could be removed easily by maintenance crews.
7.According to paragraph 5, the Romans prevented erosion in their aqueduct system by
A.decreasing the weight of some sections of the aqueduct
B.building the aqueducts on hills
C.slowing the water’s flow in steep parts of the aqueduct
D.developing new types of concrete that did not erode
8.According to paragraph 5, why did the Romans build wide troughs within the aqueduct system?
A.To ease the process of removing material stirred by storms
B.To serve as possible replacements for clogged water distribution pipes
C.To make the best use of clay and sand as construction materials
D.To redirect the flow of water from nearby lazy rivers
P5:Although the operation of a gravity-fed underground water delivery system may seem like a straightforward task, the Romans had to resolve a number of difficult problems in their quest to create a system that could reliably deliver water. ■Over a period of trial and error that spanned five centuries, the ancient Romans came up with concrete that could set when exposed to water, arches capable of bearing the weight of massive volumes of water, and a number of other useful inventions. ■For example, some sections of the aqueduct had to go down steep hills.■ Water flowing along these sections would move so fast that it would erode away the channel. The Romans solved this problem by installing stone structures in the aqueduct that made the bottom of the channel rough and so slowed the water’s momentum.■ Roman engineers also had to grapple with changing conditions at the water source. Sometimes the water that they wanted to route through the aqueduct contained clay and sand that had been stirred up by a recent storm. If they let the sediment-laden water into the water distribution pipes, the pipes might clog. The Romans solved this problem by building wide troughs within the aqueduct system where the water velocity would slow enough to cause the particles to settle out (like sand in a lazy river) and where these particles could be removed easily by maintenance crews.
9.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
These challenges, rather than discouraging the Romans, led to advances in engineering.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.
10.
A.Rome’s favorable landscape made the construction of an aqueduct system easier in and around Rome than in other parts of the ancient world.
B.Rome’s gravity-driven aqueduct system was built based on precise measurements and was highly impressive, especially given the absence of modern technology at the time.
C.Centuries of trial and error resulted in inventions that successfully solved various problems and kept Rome’s large population continuously supplied with water.
D.Although the Roman aqueduct system is best known for its above-ground structures, the majority of the system consisted of well-maintained underground pipes and tunnels.
E.Rome’s fountains and arcades where the aqueducts entered the city became busy areas where people gathered for political and religious events.
F.Rome’s water was usually laden with sediments, but Rome’s water-distribution pipes were designed to prevent damage from sediments entering them at a high velocity.
