METU/SFL Spring 2022

DBE INTERMEDIATE GROUP

RHO15
TEXT I.
A Today, the idea of gladiators fighting to the death, and of an amphitheater where this could take place
watched by an enthusiastic audience, shows the depths to which the Roman Empire was capable of sinking.
Yet, to the Romans themselves, the institution of the arena was one of the proudest features of their
civilization. Hardly any historians at the time of the Roman Empire questioned the morality of staging
gladiatorial combat. The epitaphs on the gladiators' gravestones mention their profession without shame,
apology, or resentment. So who were these gladiators, and what was their role in Roman society? The
Romans believed that the first gladiators were slaves who were made to fight to the death at the funeral of
a distinguished aristocrat, Junius Brutus Pera, in 264 BC. This spectacle was arranged by the descendants of
the dead man to honor his memory.
B Gradually, gladiatorial spectacle became separated from the funerary context, and was staged by the
wealthy as a means of displaying their power and influence within the local community. The number of
gladiators to be displayed was a key attraction: the larger the figure, the more wealthy and generous the
sponsor was perceived to be, and the more glamorous the spectacle. Most gladiators were slaves. They
were subjected to harsh training, fed on a high-energy diet, and given expert medical attention. Hence, they
were an expensive investment, not to be killed easily. For a gladiator who died in combat, the trainer might
charge the sponsor of the gladiatorial entertainment up to a hundred times the cost of one who survived.
Therefore, it was much more costly for sponsors to supply the bloodshed that audiences often demanded,
although if they did allow a gladiator to be killed, it was seen as an indication of their generosity.
C Some gladiators were not slaves but free-born volunteers. The chief incentive was probably the down-
payment that a volunteer received upon taking the gladiatorial *oath. This meant that the owner of the
gladiator had the final decision over the gladiator's life, giving him the status of a slave. Some emperors
with a strange sense of humor made upper-class Romans (of both sexes) fight in the arena. However, as
long as they did not receive money for their participation, such persons would be exempt from the stain of
infamia, the legal limitation attached to the practitioners of shameful professions such as those of
gladiators, actors and prostitutes.
D It was the privilege of the sponsor, who acted upon the wishes of the spectators, to decide whether to free
the defeated gladiator or give him to the victor to be killed. However, he did not have to follow the
spectators’ wish. Mosaics from around the Roman Empire picture the critical moment when the victor is
standing over his opponent, ready to inflict the fatal blow, his hand stayed (at least temporarily) by the
*referee. The figure of the referee is frequently illustrated in the background of a fight, sometimes
accompanied by an assistant. The details of the rules governing gladiatorial combat are unavailable to
modern historians, but the presence of these referees suggests that the regulations were complex, and
their enforcement potentially controversial. The rules were probably specific to different styles of combat.
Gladiators were individually armed in various combinations, each combination imposing its own fighting-
style. Gladiators who were paired against an opponent in the same style were relatively uncommon.
E Gladiatorial displays were special days in communities throughout the empire. All classes of local society
were represented, seated strictly according to status. The fully armed combatants always paraded
beforehand. Exotic animals were displayed and hunted in the early part of the program, and prisoners were
executed, though not always, by exposure to the animals. As the combat between each pair of gladiators
reached its climax, the orchestra played crazy music. The combatants (as we know from mosaics, and from
surviving skeletons) aimed at the major arteries under the arm and behind the knee, and tried to hit their
opponent's skull. The hunger for excitement even resulted in a particular rarity, female gladiators.
F Above all, gladiatorial combat was a display of nerve and skill. The gladiator, worthless in terms of his status
in society, was paradoxically capable of heroism. Under the Roman Empire, his job was one of the threads
that bound together the entire social and economic fabric of the Roman world. Not even Spartacus, most
famous of all gladiators, left his own account of himself. But pieces of evidence, in words and pictures,
remain to be pieced together as proof of an institution that characterized an entire civilization for nearly
700 years.

*oath: promise *referee: a person who controls a sports match or contest

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Mark the alternatives that best answer the questions or complete the statements about the text.
1. Which of the following is not true according to paragraphs B and C?
a) The number of gladiators was an indication of how rich the sponsor was.
b) Every time a gladiator died during the fight, the sponsor had to pay the trainer.
c) Not all of those who took part in gladiatorial fights were slaves.

2. It can be understood from paragraph C that free-born volunteers became gladiators because
they wanted _________.
a) to become an upper-class Roman
b) to take the gladiatorial oath
c) to receive the money

3. According to paragraph D, who decided the fate of the defeated gladiator?

a) The sponsor
b) The spectators
c) The referee

4. It is thought that the rules of gladiatorial fights were probably_________.

a) the same regardless of the fighting style
b) not very easy to understand
c) made by the referees

5. According to paragraph E, which of the following did NOT happen during gladiatorial displays?
a) Music was played.
b) Gladiators fought against exotic animals.
c) Gladiators tried to hit specific parts of the body.

6. Which of the following is true according to the text?

a) Most historians of the time objected to holding gladiatorial fights in the arena.
b) Despite the wealth and power of the Roman Empire, gladiators paid for their own expenses.
c) Gladiators with the same fighting style did not often fight against each other.

7. According to the text, ___________.

a) despite the violence involved, Romans were not ashamed of gladiatorial combat
b) it was forbidden for women gladiators to fight in the arena
c) only the nobles and the rich were allowed to watch the gladiators
ACTIVE VOCABULARY LIST

 spectacle (n)
football spectators (n)
 descendants(n) of the dead man/Irish settlers
 a generous (adj) sponsor
generosity (n)
 indicate (v)
an indication (n) of generosity/the city’s prosperity/disease
 an incentive (n) to become a gladiator/to work harder
 be exempt (adj) from a legal limitation/taxes
 have/enjoy a privilege (n)
privileged (adj)

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  accompany (v)
a referee accompanied by an assistant/course books accompanied by CDs
 complex/safety/traffic regulations (n)
 controversial (adj) regulations/issues/decisions
 opponent (n)

TEXT II.
A Political systems are sub-systems of a larger society. These sub-systems are “lasting and continuing”
patterns of behavior which are related to power, authority, and rule. As the discipline of political
science developed, scholars studied the patterns of countries in Western Europe and North
America. These states had established boundaries which separated them from other states having
their own control. The continued existence of these states depended upon the individuals within
the state identifying with it. However, it could be observed that within these states were smaller
groups who possessed some aspects of culture, such as language, religion and a common history,
which were different from other groups within the state and also different from that culture which
the state considered characteristic of itself.
B Ethnic groups are those in which the individual members consciously share some aspects of
common culture. These cultural aspects include language, religion, personal attitudes and values,
life-style, patterns of interaction, and other social behavior.
C Political scientists frequently give the name “nation” to these groups, especially if their ethnic
quality is the same as that of a state which presently exists or has existed in the past elsewhere in
the world. People of Chinese origin, for example, living throughout SouthEast Asia, but outside the
boundaries of the state of China, are members of the Chinese nation. A “state,” on the other hand,
has fixed boundaries within which it is completely independent and is governed by whatever form
of governmental institution has developed historically: democracy, monarchy, or any other. Of the
more than one hundred independent states in the world, only a very few could be said to consist of
a single ethnic group. Of these, Japan is the most outstanding example. Therefore, the term “nation-
state,” which is widely used by historians, political scientists, and other social scientists, is not a
correct description of very many existing states.
D In nineteenth-century Europe, the doctrine that every state should consist of a single ethnic group
and that every ethnic group should have a state was developed. This doctrine WAS a dangerous
one, since most states were multi-ethnic within their fixed boundaries, and the changing of
boundaries could only be accomplished by war or conquest - patterns of behavior which most states
and international organizations wished to avoid. This alarming and subversive doctrine was strongly
advocated by the American president Woodrow Wilson in the peace talks following World War I as
the doctrine of self-determination of peoples. The end of World War II brought about the collapse
of the empires of Great Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium, among others, and the doctrine of
self-determination, self-rule, was again supported by colonial peoples who found themselves freed
from their imperial rulers.
E Following the two World Wars, there was a rise of sharper ethnic or quasi-ethnic identities in many
of the older states. Since World War II, particularly, ethnic conflict has been more severe in many
states than class conflict. The concentration of an ethnic minority within the boundaries of a state
may be the result of a number of political factors. Military conquests may bring about changes in
boundaries which result in an ethnic group being separated from the main body of the group. Some
of the ethnic minorities may be the result of migration. The remaining people of old colonies may
also account for the existence of minorities within states. Most of the ethnic minorities around the
world have been struggling to become independent states since the end of World War II, and many
have resorted to force in the attempt to gain that end. In fact, several ethnic minorities have

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 succeeded in this.
F An ethnic group consists of a number of individuals who identify with other individuals and share
one or more bonds which are of significant value to all. One of the most powerful of these bonds is
language. _____________. Through language, individuals establish their own particular identity: the
‘I’, which indicates their existence. Also through language, they establish contact with others who
are like them, the ‘we.’ All outsiders, strangers, or enemies are designated by ‘they.’

G Religion is another powerful shared interest which keeps groups of people united. However, a
shared religion and a shared language by themselves do not ensure that people will identify with
each other. The countries of North Africa and the Middle East, for instance, share the Arabic
language and the Islamic religion, yet they do not identify with each other. These states do not
share a common historical background, and many of their traditions and values date to the time
before the Arab conquest and differ greatly.

Mark the alternatives that best answer the questions or complete the statements about the text.
1. What cannot be inferred about the states in Western Europe and North America?
a) Each had its own control mechanism different from other states.
b) They continued to exist even if the individuals in each ceased to identify with it.
c) These states were comprised of various groups whose culture did not resemble others’.

2. What is necessary to call a state “nation-state” according to paragraph C?

a) To be independent within fixed boundaries
b) To have only one ethnic group within the state
c) To have an ethnic quality similar to that of another nation

3. According to paragraph D, the doctrine of self-determination __________.

a) was favored by imperial rulers who preferred to free their colonies
b) was against the idea that each state should be composed of one ethnic group
c) was considered to be dangerous as it could lead to wars and conquests

4. According to paragraph E, which of the following is NOT a reason for the existence of an ethnic
minority in a state?
a) The desire to become independent
b) Changing boundaries
c) Migration

5. Which of the sentences below fits best into the blank in paragraph F?
a) Language is the most basic of all human cultural elements
b) Human language relies entirely on social convention and learning
c) The number of human languages in the world is estimated to be around 6,000

6. Choose the statement that best summarizes paragraph G.

a) Religion is one of the most important factors that connect people.
b) People in North Africa and the Middle East do not identify with each other.
c) People with a shared language and a shared religion do not always identify with each other.

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ACTIVE VOCABULARY LIST
 establish (v) boundaries/business/effective communication links
established (adj) boundaries
 boundary (n)
 identify (v) with the state/the characters in the novel
 aspects (n) of culture/the job/the situation
 an outstanding (adj) example/athlete/quality of work
 accomplish (v) the changing of boundaries/a goal/a task
 advocate (v) the doctrine/free market policies
 class/ethnic conflict (n)
 account for (v) the existence of minorities within states/the differences
 bonds (n) of friendship/love
family bonds