解放军文职招聘考试Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt

  Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt

埃及艳后

  Cleopatra was the regular name of the queen of Egypt in the Ptolemaic dynasty (托勒密王朝). The best known was Cleopatra Ⅻ. The name “Cleopatra” is Greek for “father’s glory”; her full name, “Cleopatra Thea Philopator” means “the Goddess Cleopatra, Beloved of Her Father.”

  Cleopatra Ⅻwas never in fact the only ruler of Egypt; she only co-ruled with her father, brother, brother-husband, and son. However, in all these cases, her co-rulers were king in name only, with her keeping the true power.

Cleopatra was far from beautiful, although her image today is attractive. Her face on ancient coins had a long hooked nose and strong features. Yet she was clearly a very attractive woman. She had a musical voice and extraordinary charm. She was also highly clever. She was the first of her family who could actually speak Egyptian! She spoke nine languages and was a smart politician.

At the age of seventeen she became the queen of Egypt, and ruled the country together with her 12-year-old brother. However, she dropped his name from official documents. And it was Cleopatra’s face alone that appeared on coins. Perhaps because of her independence, she was removed from power in 48 BC. And she was soon forced to flee Egypt. She made preparations to recover her rights by force or arms.

At this moment Julius Caser followed Pompey into Egypt. He was attracted by her beauty. In Rome Cleopatra lived openly with Caser as his wife until his death. Then she returned to Egypt.

Later she became the ally (同盟) and wife of Mark Antony. Their connection was highly unpopular at Rome, and they were defeated in 31 BC. Having no prospect of final success, Antony committed suicide, and then Cleopatra did so in the thirty-ninth year of her age.

With her ended the dynasty of the Ptolemies, Egypt was made a Roman province.

I Aims and Demands（教学目的和要求）

To learn a passage about Cleopatra, once the famous Queen of Egypt and get the students to know something about her life.

ⅡKey Points and Special Difficulties（重点和难点）

Key points:

1) to describe Cleopatra

2) to grasp some useful words and expressions

regular, extraordinary, charm, hook, politician, official, document, independence, remove, recover, commit suicide

Special difficulties:

to know about her life as a ruler

Ⅲ Teaching Aids and Approaches（教具及教学方法）

Multi-media, Task-based approach and the integrated approach

Ⅳ Brief Teaching Procedures（教学过程）

Step1 Lead-in （导入新课）

Throughout history there are a few great women rulers. Can you list some of them?

Step2 Fast reading（快速阅读）  

Read the passage quickly and answer （快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1) What did Cleopatra look like?

2) How old was Cleopatra when she killed herself?

Keys（参考答案）:

1) She was not beautiful with a long hooked nose and strong features.

2) 39 years old.

Step3 Careful reading（细读）

1. Describe Cleopatra.

What was Cleopatra like? / What kind of person was she?

She was a very independent and smart politician.

2. Discuss about Julius Caser and Mark Antony.

What was Julius Caser like? What about Mark Antony?

3. Pay attention to some important sentences.

1) However, in all these cases, her co-rulers were king in name only, with her keeping the true power.

However, her co-rulers were not actually in power. It was she that kept the true power.

2) Cleopatra was far from beautiful, although her image today is attractive.

Cleopatra was not beautiful at all …

3) However, she dropped his name from official documents.

She deleted his name from the historical documents.

4) Having no prospect of final success, Antony committed suicide, and then Cleopatra did so in the thirty-ninth year of her age.

Seeing that it was impossible for him to succeed, Antony killed himself…

Step4（作业）

Tell the story of Cleopatra to your family and neighbors.

Step5 Assessment（评价）

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1. regular adj. 规则的，定期的                2. extraordinary adj. 非同寻常的

3. charm n. 魅力                                       4. hooked  adj  钩状的

5. politician  n. 政治家                            6. official  adj. 官方的；正式的 

7. document  n. 文件                              8. independence  n.  独立

9. remove  v. 去除                                  10. flee   v. 逃离，逃跑

11. recover  v. 恢复                                 12. prospect  n. 可能性；前景

13. commit suicide 自杀                            14. in name 名义上