【学习笔记】懂你英语 核心课 Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3（IV）阅读 The Murder of Caeser

【学习笔记】懂你英语 核心课 Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3（IV）阅读 The Murder of Caeser

Should a good leader be loved or feared? This question is as relevant to leaders today as it was to Julius Caesar when he took control of Rome in 44 BC. How Caesar treated his enemies is a valuable lesson on forgiveness, arrogance, and absolute power. 

After Caesar seized power, he had to decide how to handle those who opposed him. Roman politics had always been bloody. The previous dictator had murdered 5000 of his rivals and confiscated their property after coming to power. Caesar's enemies expected a similar punishment.

But Caesar was determined not to rule through fear. If he were to reform the government, he would need the support of the people（跟读）. So he made a fateful decision: rather than punish or kill his enemies, he offered them mercy and incentives. He didn't seize their property, and he even rewarded some of them with high-ranking government positions. However, not all of his enemies wanted to be forgiven. Caesar's rivals came from the aristocracy. Many had held power in the Senate for centuries. By expanding and reforming the Senate, Caesar had shifted power away from the aristocracy and taken it for himself. The high-ranking positions he had given as rewards had no real authority. For the aristocracy, to live without power was not forgiveness, but humiliation.

Caesar should have known that many senators hated him, but his arrogance seems to have blinded him. After he made himself dictator for life, he proclaimed himself a god and consolidated more power. These actions infuriated his enemies and even his allies. However, he still considered many senators to be his loyal friends. He even dismissed his personal security force. Ironically, when he was assassinated, it was his good friend, Brutus, who led the plot. Perhaps it is better for a leader to be feared. If Caesar hadn't let his rivals live, he might not have been murdered. But was forgiveness the problem? Caesar's reforms took power from the aristocracy, and his arrogance angered both friends and enemies. Perhaps if he hadn't been so arrogant, or acted like a god, he would have survived.

【选择】-Which factor help contribute to Caeser's assassination?   -His reforms shifted power away from the aristocracy.

【选择】-How did Ceasar treat his enemies after he seized power?    -He offered them mercy and incentives.

【选择】-What does the author believe about Ceasar's arrogance?    -It blinded him to the dangers around him and led to his death.

【选择】To humiliate someone means... to make them feel foolish and ashamed.

【选择】To infuriate someone means to make them feel extremely angry.

【选择】To confiscate something means to take possession of it.

【选择】To reform something means... to make changes to it to improve it.

【选择】-How had the previous dictator handled those who opposit him?    -The previous dictator had murdered 5 ,000 of his rivals and confiscated their property after coming to power.

【选择】-How did Ceasar handle his opposition?     -So he made a fateful decision: rather than punish or kill his enemies, he offered them mercy and incentives.

【跟读】If Caeser hadn't let his rivals live, he might not have been murdered.

【跟读】He even dismissed his personal security force.