The Reading / Listening - Famous Sights - Level 4

Rome will charge a fee to get close to its world-famous Trevi Fountain. From February, visitors will have to pay two euros to get close to it. Rome wants to deal with the growing numbers of sightseers at the sight. The famous fountain is suffering because of overtourism. There is a lot of congestion in the summer. Crowds and people taking selfies are damaging the ambiance. Visitors have also damaged the stonework surrounding the fountain.

Rome's mayor said the fee could raise $7.6 million a year. He said 30,000 people visited the attraction every day this year. That is over ten million visitors. City residents will not have to pay the fee. The mayor said: "Culture is a fundamental right of citizenship. The citizens of Rome can enjoy our museums free of charge." The fountain was completed in 1762. It depicts the god of all water, and symbolizes the wild force of the world's seas and rivers.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Famous Sights - Level 5 or  Famous Sights - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.reuters.com/world/rome-charge-tourists-get-close-famed-trevi-fountain-2025-12-19/
  • https://www.dw.com/en/rome-to-introduce-entry-fee-for-historic-trevi-fountain/a-75248561
  • https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/visiting-trevi-fountain-now-cost-coin-toss-2-128563022


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Rome will charge
  2. get close to its world-
  3. pay two euros to
  4. deal with the growing numbers
  5. suffering because of
  6. There is a lot of congestion
  7. people taking
  8. the stonework surrounding
  1. the fountain
  2. get close to it
  3. overtourism
  4. in the summer
  5. a fee
  6. selfies
  7. famous Trevi Fountain
  8. of sightseers

Paragraph 2

  1. the fee could
  2. 30,000 people visited
  3. City residents will not have
  4. Culture is a fundamental
  5. enjoy our museums free
  6. The fountain was
  7. It depicts the god of
  8. symbolizes the wild force
  1. of charge
  2. all water
  3. right of citizenship
  4. of the world's seas
  5. raise $7.6 million
  6. to pay the fee
  7. completed in 1762
  8. the attraction

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Rome (1) ________________________________________________ fee to get close to its world-famous Trevi Fountain. From February, visitors will have to pay two euros to get (2) ________________________________________________. Rome wants to deal with the growing numbers of sightseers (3) ________________________________________________. The famous fountain is suffering because of overtourism. There is a (4) ________________________________________________ in the summer. Crowds and people taking selfies are (5) ________________________________________________. Visitors have also damaged the stonework (6) ________________________________________________.

Rome's mayor said the (7) ________________________________________________ $7.6 million a year. He said 30,000 people visited (8) ________________________________________________ day this year. That is over ten million visitors. City residents will not have to pay the fee. The mayor said: "Culture is (9) ________________________________________________ of citizenship. The citizens of Rome can enjoy our museums (10) ________________________________________________." The fountain was completed in 1762. It (11) ________________________________________________ of all water, and symbolizes the (12) ________________________________________________ the world's seas and rivers.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Romewillchargeafeetogetclosetoitsworld-famousTreviFountain.Fr
omFebruary,visitorswillhavetopaytwoeurostogetclosetoit.Romewa
ntstodealwiththegrowingnumbersofsightseersatthesight.Thefamou
sfountainissufferingbecauseofovertourism.Thereisalotofcongestion
inthesummer.Crowdsandpeopletakingselfiesaredamagingtheambia
nce.Visitorshavealsodamagedthestoneworksurroundingthefountai
n.Rome'smayorsaidthefeecouldraise$7.6millionayear.Hesaid30,00
0peoplevisitedtheattractioneverydaythisyear.Thatisovertenmillion
visitors.Cityresidentswillnothavetopaythefee.Themayorsaid:"Cultu
reisafundamentalrightofcitizenship.ThecitizensofRomecanenjoyour
museumsfreeofcharge."Thefountainwascompletedin1762.Itdepicts
thegodofallwater,andsymbolizesthewildforceoftheworld'sseasandri
vers.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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