---
title: Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads — how Mova does on the tests · History
description: Lesson 14 of the history course of Mova's primary school: 5 of 11 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [History](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/) / 14

# Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads

<!-- .vintro -->
**Tests:** 5 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 11 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

<!-- .vabout -->
Lesson 14 of the history course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/).

<!-- .vabout -->
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/).

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1}

<!-- .q -->
uncle says nero fiddled while rome burned. true?

- **1.** Yes, he played a long violin solo from the palace roof — no support
- **2.** No, the fiddle had not even been invented — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** Yes, and the Senate clapped — no support
- **4.** No, he played the drums — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 7: «The story that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned is a myth; the fiddle had not even been invented.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «invent» (+2); the same thing acted on «fiddle» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t1/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 2 · ★ · right ✓ {#t2}

<!-- .q -->
A friend thinks all Roman soldiers came from Italy. What is true?

- **1.** Every one of them was born in the city of Rome — no support
- **2.** Soldiers came only from Britain — score 8
- **3.** Only Greeks were allowed to join the army — no support
- **4.** Soldiers came from all over the empire, even Iraq and North Africa — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 12, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 14, line 16: «Roman soldiers and traders came from all over the empire, and some soldiers on Hadrian's Wall came from Iraq and North Africa.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «come» (+4); the same doer «roman soldiers» (+4); the same place «empire» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t2/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

<!-- .q -->
If Rome had no roads, what would be hardest?

- **1.** Moving armies and messages quickly — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **2.** Building houses and temples in the city — no support
- **3.** Growing grapes for wine in the hills — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** Speaking Latin to each other properly — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 13, line 6: «Rome grew on seven hills beside the river Tiber, at a place where people could cross the river, good for trade and defence.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «seven hills» (+4); the same action «grow» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t3/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

<!-- .q -->
Arrows rain down on a group of soldiers. Which Roman trick helps?

- **1.** Throwing away their shields — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Locking shields into a tortoise — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Lying down in a ditch — no support
- **4.** Running away in all directions as fast as possible — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t4/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

<!-- .q -->
Why do many roads in Europe today still follow Roman routes?

- **1.** Roman roads were made of gold — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **2.** The Romans banned anyone from building new roads — score 5
- **3.** The Romans chose good straight lines and built them well — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **4.** Roads can never be moved, even a little — score 5

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 10, line 7: «The Silk Road was not one road but a web of trade routes across deserts and mountains between China, Central Asia, Persia and the Mediterranean.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «silk road» (+3); the same thing acted on «one road» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t5/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

<!-- .q -->
Boudica is still remembered in Britain. Why?

- **1.** As the inventor of roads — no support
- **2.** As a symbol of courage against injustice — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** As the general who built Hadrian's Wall — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **4.** As the very first Roman emperor — score 4

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 14, line 14: «Emperor Hadrian built a wall about 117 kilometres long across northern Britain to mark the empire's edge and control movement.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «build» (+3); the same thing acted on «wall» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t6/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

<!-- .q -->
What would happen to a city if its aqueduct broke?

- **1.** It would run short of fresh water — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** Nothing, it rained every day — no support
- **3.** It would get far too much water and flood the streets — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **4.** It would move to the hills — score 3

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 14, line 12: «Aqueducts carried fresh water from hills to cities, sometimes over high stone bridges, using a gentle downhill slope.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «aqueducts» (+2); the same thing acted on «fresh water» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t7/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8}

<!-- .q -->
Someone says Romans were just copiers and invented nothing. What is a fair answer?

- **1.** They made great use of arches, domes and concrete — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **2.** They invented the steam engine — no support
- **3.** They invented nothing useful at all — no support
- **4.** They invented the wheel and fire long before anyone — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 13: «The Romans used arches, domes and concrete, and the Pantheon in Rome, nearly 1,900 years old, still has the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «use» (+4); the same thing acted on «arches» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t8/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 9 · ★ · right ✓ {#t9}

<!-- .q -->
so the legions got land or cash when they quit after 25 yrs?

- **1.** No, they got nothing at all, not even thanks — no support
- **2.** Yes, and many settled in the provinces — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **3.** They became kings — no support
- **4.** They had to go back to Rome forever — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 9: «Legionaries marched about 30 kilometres a day carrying their kit, built a fortified camp every night and served for 25 years; at the end they got land or money…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «settle» (+2); the same doer «many» (+2); the same place «provinces» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t9/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 10 · ★ · right ✓ {#t10}

<!-- .q -->
Why did Hadrian build a wall across Britain?

- **1.** To keep Romans in prison — score 2
- **2.** To mark the empire's edge and control movement — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **3.** To keep the sea out of the farms in the north — score 2
- **4.** To make a road to Scotland — score 5

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 14, line 4: «Romans were great engineers, building aqueducts for water, arches, domes and concrete. But not everyone welcomed them: Boudica in Britain led a great revolt, a…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mark» (+4); the same doer «hadrian» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t10/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

<!-- .q -->
In a strategy game you can only win with huge numbers. How did Romans often win instead?

- **1.** With more soldiers than anyone — **← Mova's choice** · score 10
- **2.** With dragons — no support
- **3.** By never fighting — no support
- **4.** With discipline, training and teamwork — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 13, line 10: «Rich old families were patricians and ordinary citizens were plebeians; the plebeians went on strike by leaving the city until they won more rights.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «win» (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/t11/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

<!-- .q -->
Identify the extent of the Roman Empire at its greatest dimensions.

- **1.** From Gaul in the west as far as China in the east — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** From Britain to Egypt and from Spain to Syria — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** From Iceland to India — no support
- **4.** From Italy to Greece only — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/e1/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2}

<!-- .q -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the testudo?

- **1.** A formation wherein shields were interlocked above and around the soldiers — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **2.** A siege engine propelled by elephants — no support
- **3.** A type of short sword — no support
- **4.** An aqueduct of three tiers — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 10: «In the testudo, or tortoise formation, soldiers locked their shields above and around them to protect against arrows.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «lock» (+2); the same thing acted on «shields» (+2); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/e2/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

<!-- .q -->
Ascertain the principle whereby the aqueducts conveyed water to the cities.

- **1.** Mechanical pumps driven by steam — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The labour of slaves bearing vessels — no support
- **3.** A gradual descending gradient — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The force of the wind upon sails — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/e3/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

<!-- .q -->
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning Boudica.

- **1.** A queen of the Iceni who led a revolt against Roman rule in Britain — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The architect of Hadrian's Wall — no support
- **3.** The first empress of Rome, wife of Augustus — no support
- **4.** A general of Carthage who fought beside Hannibal against Rome — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/e4/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [13. Rome: from a town on seven hills to a republic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/13-rome-from-seven-hills-to-a-republic/)
- next →: [15. Rome: daily life, gladiators, Latin and Christia…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/15-rome-daily-life-gladiators-latin-and-christianity/)
- ↑ back to [History](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/)