英语流利说 懂你英语 Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3
The Murder of Caesar
In this course, we have tried to prepare you to understand and discuss important topics that are often in the news.
Sometimes the news is good news, but all too often we learn of problems and crises.
Once in a while, an event is extraordinary and will change the world.
In this lesson, we focus on an event that changed history forever.
This historic event was the assassination of the Roman leader, Julius Caesar.
We will never know how history might have been different had this event not taken place.
But we can speculate what caused it and how it might have been prevented.
One of the most famous assassinations in history was the assassination of Julius Caesar.
At the time of his death in 44 B.C., he was the leader of the Roman Empire.
His title was "Dictator for Life" which meant he had absolute authority for as long as he lived.
He had gained this power through his successes as a military commander.
In fact, some historians consider him to be one of the greatest military commanders in history.
Once gaining power, he fought against corruption and began to restructure the government.
For example, he increased the number of senators and changed how they were chosen.
Instead of being elected, they could be appointed, even if they were not from Rome.
These actions reduced the power of individual senators and shifted the power to Caesar himself.
In doing so, he created many enemies, especially among the aristocracy.
However, he also had many admirers who supported his efforts to end corruption.
Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of Roman senators on March 15, 44 B.C.
He was scheduled to leave Rome 3 days later to fight in another war.
He had appointed members of his army to rule the Empire while he was away.
This action angered many in Roman Senate who didn’t want to take orders from Caesar's subordinates.
He should have been aware that many of the senators hated him, but he dismissed his security force not long before the assassination.
If he hadn’t dismissed it, the assassination attempt might not have succeeded.
On the day of his assassination, it is reported that Caesar may have been handed a warning note as he entered the Senate.
If he did receive such a note, he didn’t read it.
It seems as if he was in a state of denial and refused to recognize the danger that was facing him.
Once he had entered the senate, he was surrounded by senators holding daggers, or knives.
The first blow hit Caesar in his neck and drew blood.
Then the other senators joined in and stabbed him repeatedly until he fell to the floor and died.
In total, he suffered 23 knife wounds.
With is death, power shifted to his adopted son, Octavian, who vowed revenge against the assassins.
Eventually, several of the leading assassins were either killed or committed suicide.
After a power struggle, Octavian strengthened his position as leader and ruled the Empire for many years.
In the end, Caesar's attempts to end corruption failed.
JFK Assassination
One of the most historic events of the 20th century was the assassination of US President, John Kennedy.
Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, serving as President from January 1961 until November 1963.
During his time in office, the US entered the space race with the Soviet Union.
Kennedy pledged that the US would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Unfortunately, he never lived to see this happen.
In October of 1962, the US and the Soviet Union came dangerously close to entering a full-scale nuclear war.
This event was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kennedy's skillful handling of the situation, along with that of his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, helped save the world from a nuclear catastrophe.
Following this event, his approval rating in the United States improved from 66% to 77%.
To many, he was considered to be the type of leader who could build a better world.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy's presidency came to a sudden and tragic end.
He was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in the city of Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy and his wife were sitting in an open car, waving to a large crowd of people when he was shot.
They were sitting in an open car, with no protection, because the sky was clear.
It had rained until about 10 a.m., but then the sun came out.
If the sky hadn't cleared, there would have been a bubble top, or clear roof, on the car.
This would have prevented the assassination.
Kennedy wanted it down so that he could be closer to the crowds who were there to greet him.
Another factor that contributed to the assassination was the route of the motorcade through the city.
The route was published several days earlier in the local newspapers.
The motorcade was to pass through downtown Dallas and round a sharp corner near the building where the assassin worked.
From that building, there was a clear view of the president's car.
If the route had been different, the assassination probably wouldn't have taken place.
The president was struck by two bullets, but it was the second one that probably killed him.
That was the fatal shot.
It opened a massive wound in his head.
Sitting beside him, his wife's last words to her husband were: "Jack, Jack, can you hear me? I love you, Jack."
The assassin's quick shots were incredibly accurate.
If the fatal shot had been off by just a little, Kennedy might have survived.
So if any of these factors had been different, history would have changed.
Kennedy's death disillusioned many Americans who had been inspired by his vision for the future.
With his death, a whole generation of Americans woke up to a reality where their dreams for a brighter future had been shattered.
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