FROM THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND Many hundred years ago (about the 4th century before our era) the country we now call England was known as Britain, and the people who lived there were the Britons. They belonged to the Celtic race; the language they spoke was Celtic. Their culture, that is to say their way of thinking and their understanding of nature, was very primitive. In the first century before our era Britain was conquered by the powerful state of Rome. The Romans lived on the peninsula, which is now called Italy and their language was Latin. They were very clever at making hard roads, building bridges and many-storeyed houses. The Romans thought a great deal of fighting and they usually managed to win most of the battles they fought. The Romans had heard very much about Britain from travelers and among other things they were greatly interested to learn what valuable metals could be found in Britain. Finally they decided to occupy the island. The Romans sailed across the sea in galleys and the general who commanded them was Julius Caesar. Caesar wrote many interesting accounts of Britain. His soldiers were clever enough, but it was not so easy to conquer the Britons, and the Romans had to en camp troops all over the country. It is from these camps that the English cities later arose. Many things the Romans taught the Britons were given Latin names. They made the Britons build roads and bridges. But the Romans and the natives of Britain did not become one nation (never mixed one with the other); all that the Romans wanted was to make the Britons work for them. Закончите предложения в соответствии с содержанием текста. 1. The Britons spoke … a) English. b) Celtic. c) Latin. 2. Britain was conquered by the Romans … a) in the 1st century A.D. b) in the 1st century B.C. c) in the 1st century. 3. The Romans spoke … a) Latin. b) Italian. c) English. 4. Julius Caesar was the commander-in-chief of the Romans … a) bridges. b) roads. c) troops. 5. To conquer Briton was … a) difficult. b) not difficult. c) easy.