Step Three B1.2
READING SHAKESPEARE
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William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar
KEY
TO
THE
The Life of William
Shakespeare
EXERCISES
Page 6 – exercise 1
1C 2A 3B 4B 5B 6D
1 Because it is St George’s Day.
2 A grammar school where he was
taught Latin.
3 The period after his marriage,
about which we have no
information.
4 He worked for a theatrical
company.
5 He acted.
6 Thirty-eight.
7 Shakespeare’s theatrical company.
8 He died on 23 April 1616 in
Stratford-upon-Avon.
Page 17 – exercise 2
The Historical Julius
Caesar
Page 8 – exercise 1
1 He had them ask for a large
ransom to make him look more
important to the Roman people.
This shows his arrogance but also
his political intelligence.
2 To attack Pompey. Civil war was
the result.
3 He was assassinated. Another 13
years of civil war.
WAR: army, enemies, victory, beaten
GOVERNMENT: king, citizens, tribune
SPECIAL EVENTS: feast, holiday,
procession
SPORTS: athlete, race, challenged
ROME: city, crowd, streets
T J KWH
RWT C H
B O L R G
A RWH I
C R B D F
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T A D Y A
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Page 17 – exercise 3
1 strong 2 people’s 3 trust
4 king 5 hear 6 tribunes
7 frightened 8 bad 9 right
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Page 18 – exercise 4
Page 28 – exercise 4
1 began 2 when 3 who 4 sacrificed
5 Then 6 cut 7 ran 8 which
A2 B5 C4 D9 E1 F6 G7 H8 I3
Page 18 – exercise 5
Before you read
Page 29 – exercise 1
Open answers
1B 2A 3A 4C 5B 6B
Before you read
Page 19 – exercise 1
Part Three
1B 2A 3C 4B 5A 6A
Page 34 – exercise 1
Page 27 – exercise 1
Page 16 – exercise 1
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Part Two
Part One
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1 Flames fell out of the sky, and a
lion walked the streets of Rome.
2 Caesar
3 To show him that he will kill
himself rather than live under
tyranny.
4 Brutus was popular with the
Roman people, and one of his
ancestors had driven the Tarquin
kings from Rome.
5 He was Caesar’s friend.
6 He sent him anonymous letters
that spoke about the danger to
Rome.
7 Because the people of Rome would
think that the conspirators were
just murderers, and Antony was
nothing without Caesar.
Page 27 – exercise 2
1 Cc – E 2 Cs – A 3 Cc – F
4 Cs – B 5 B – G 6 JC – H
7 Cc – D 8 Cs – C
Page 28 – exercise 3
1 Flames falling from the sky. A lion
in the streets of Rome.
2 Either that Caesar is a danger to
Rome, or that the gods are angry
with Rome.
3 Open answer
4 Open answer
1H 2I 3J 4G 5A 6F 7C 8D
Page 34 – exercise 2
Sample answer:
My husband and I were going to
watch the race of the Lupercal. Before
we arrived there, a dirty old
soothsayer came up to Caesar. He
warned my husband that he would be
in great danger on the Ides of March.
This, of course, made me scared, but
my husband did not seem worried.
After the races the people tried to
give Caesar a crown to make him king.
He refused – three times. This too
made me afraid because I knew that
many people hated the idea of a king
in Rome. Then I had a terrible dream
– the people of Rome washed their
hands in my husband’s blood.
Horrible! But that is not all. The
sacrifice that we ordered had
surprising results: the animal had no
heart. My dream and the sacrifice
were enough. Caesar decided not to
go to the Senate on the Ides of March,
but Decius told my husband a
different interpretation to my dream:
it showed that Caesar was the life
blood of Rome. Happy and proud with
this, Caesar went to the Senate to die.
Page 35 – exercise 3
1 strangely 2 different
3 pay attention 4 leave
5 anything 6 what
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Page 35 – exercise 4
1 he shouldn’t go 2 shouldn’t trust
3 should kill 4 shouldn’t kill
5 should stay 6 shouldn’t believe
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stage. Costumes were luxurious
but always of that period. They did
not use historically accurate
costumes.
Before you read
Page 41 – exercise 1
Page 36 – exercise 5
2
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1A 2B 3A 4C 5A 6B
Part Four
6
P
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O A C H
Page 49 – exercise 1
1 Because it was the Ides of March
and nothing had happened to him.
2 Because Artemidorus ordered him
to read it, and ‘nobody told Caesar
what to do’.
3 They asked for the return from
exile of Metellus Cimber’s brother.
14
4 He was shocked.
S H
5 On the stage in plays, just like
E
Shakespeare’s.
R A L
6 He was sad, even though he
R
believed it was the right thing to
16 S T O R M
do.
7 He was sad and angry.
The Theatre in
8 Because he knew that he was
Shakespeare’s Times
popular with the people and a good
speaker.
Page 40 – exercise 1
9 He promised him that he would
1 Acting was not considered a very
have revenge for his death.
respectable profession.
10 He said that he was ambitious and
2 They looked like the old courtyards
wanted to be king. He said that he
where travelling actors first
killed Caesar for love of Rome.
performed.
11 They wanted him to be their king.
3 Disease because of the large
12 He reminded them how he had
number of people gathered into a
refused to be king.
small area, and fire. The Globe
13 He said Brutus was ‘an honourable
burned down.
man’.
4 They were usually performed in
14 He showed them his will in which
the middle of the afternoon.
Caesar left them land and money.
5 They were played by boys.
15 They too wanted revenge against
6 Stage machinery of various types
the conspirators.
was used. Actors could even ‘fly’,
16 They ran away.
and real explosions occurred,
which sometimes damaged the
3
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Open answers
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1B 2B 3B 4C
1C 2A 3D 4A 5D 6D 7C 8C 9B
Page 51 – exercise 4
1 wife 2 leg 3 gods 4 dream
5 blood 6 heart 7 Brutus
8 king 9 accused 10 ambitious
11 will 12 kill
Before you read
Page 52 – exercise 1
1B 2C 3B 4B 5A
Before you read
Page 65 – exercise 1
1B 2B 3B 4B 5A 6B
Part Six
Page 71 – exercise 1
What Brutus says
What Brutus does
Part Five
Page 58 – exercise 1
1A 2B 3B 4A 5A
6 A 7 B 8 A 9 A 10 A
Page 58 – exercise 2
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Page 65 – exercise 1
Page 50 – exercise 3
C
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7 D E A
8 S U P P O R
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The Romans in Britain
Page 49 – exercise 2
1 P I
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Antony’s view of Brutus
It is better to talk than to fight.
His words have no value:
he said he was Caesar’s friend
and then he killed him.
Cassius’s view of Antony
What Antony says He promised friendship to
Cassius and Brutus.
What Antony does And then he raises an army
against them.
What Pindarus
sees
V E D
E M B E R E D A group of men
surrounds
E D
Titinius.
What Pindarus
assumes
Titinius has
been captured
by the enemy.
T H
T E D
The real
situation
Titinius has met
some of Brutus’s
soldiers who are
happy because
they have
defeated part of
Octavius’s army.
Page 58 – exercise 3
Open answers
Page 71 – exercise 2
Page 59 – exercise 4
1A 2B 3B 4A 5A 6A 7B
1 must 2 must 3 mustn’t
4 mustn’t 5 must 6 mustn’t
Page 73 – exercise 3
Page 59 – exercise 5
1 needn’t 2 mustn’t 3 mustn’t
4 needn’t 5 mustn’t
1 The conspirators have been
attacked by the people of Rome.
2 The enemy has been defeated by
Antony.
3 Caesar has been killed.
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4 The citizen has been eaten by a
lion.
5 Caesar has been asked by
Calpurnia not to go to the Senate.
1 The Senate has made him king.
2 Artemidorus has written a letter
explaining the conspiracy.
3 The pirates have captured Caesar.
4 Brutus has stabbed Caesar.
5 The soothsayer has warned Caesar
about the Ides of March.
Before you read
Page 73 – exercise 1
1 back 2 death 3 battle
4 son 5 afraid 6 freedom
7 soldiers 8 killed
Part Seven
Page 78 – exercise 1
1 C/D 2 L/H 3 L/C 4 A/G
5 B/A 6 D/B 7 B/F 8 A/E
Page 78 – exercise 2
Sample answer:
I am the great Julius Caesar and, in
the end, revenge is mine!
It all began after my victory over
Pompey. The great city of Rome
welcomed me with open arms. There
were even many people who wanted
me to be king of Rome; they offered
me the crown three times and each
time I refused. Obviously, many
people hated me: they were jealous of
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my power and ability. I was warned
of my assassination by a dirty old
soothsayer. ‘Be careful on the Ides of
March,’ he said. But I could not be
afraid: that was my weakness. So, in
the end Casca, Cassius and the other
dirty conspirators stabbed me to
death. Sadly, even my friend Brutus
was among them. This led to war, a
great civil war. But I had my revenge
– Cassius thought his armies were
losing when they were winning. I, the
ghost of Caesar, made him believe
that. Revenge is mine!
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1 Focus on the context
Answer the following questions.
1
When and where was William Shakespeare born?
2 Why is the date of his birth important?
3 What did Shakespeare do when he first went to London?
4 How many plays did he write?
5 Which famous theatre did Shakespeare’s company build in London in
1599?
6 What can visitors see in Stratford-upon-Avon?
SCORE ......./6
Page 79 – exercise 3
1 prisoner 2 ghost 3 Philippi
4 battle 5 brave 6 shouts
7 ran 8 led 9 fought 10 won
11 refused 12 raised 13 march
14 revenge 15 raised 16 executed
17 conspiracy 18 noble 19 loved
20 defeated
2 Focus on the story
For questions 1-10, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
1
A5 B3 C4 D9 E7
F 8 G 2 H 1 I 10 J 6
Shakespeare’s Roman Plays
Page 82 – exercise 1
1A 2D 3B 4A 5C
Page 82 – exercise 2
Open answers
Page 84 – exercise 3
1B 2A 3B 4A 5B 6B
7 A 8 A 9 A 10 B 11 A
Why was there a magnificent procession in Rome?
A
B
C
D
To celebrate Pompey’s victory.
To celebrate Flavius and Marullus’ victory.
To celebrate Caesar’s victory.
To celebrate Brutus’ victory.
2 Why did the crowd cheer three times?
A
B
C
D
Because Caesar was offered the crown and refused it three
times.
Because Caesar was offered the crown but didn’t really
understand why.
Because Caesar was offered the crown and refused it twice but
then accepted it the third time.
Because Caesar was offered the crown but he offered it to
Brutus instead.
3 Why didn’t Calpurnia want Caesar to go to the Senate House?
A
B
C
D
Because she wanted him to stay at home with her that day.
Because she was worried that he was in danger.
Because Brutus and Portia had been invited for lunch.
Because she wasn’t feeling very well.
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Photocopiable © 2007 Black Cat Publishing
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© 2007 Black Cat Publishing,
an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
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4 Who stabbed Caesar first?
A
B
C
D
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10 Antony knew that Brutus had killed Caesar because
Brutus.
Cassius.
Artemidorus.
D Casca.
A
B
C
D
he was frightened of him.
he wanted to become king himself.
he loved Rome.
the other conspirators had threatened to kill him instead.
SCORE ......./10
5 What reason did Brutus give for killing Caesar?
A
B
C
D
Caesar had become a traitor.
Caesar was too ambitious.
Caesar didn’t love the people of Rome.
Caesar wanted to be king.
3 Focus on the characters
For questions 1-15, of which of the people A-F are the following
statements true?
6 What did Octavius, Antony and Lepidus plan to do?
A
B
C
D
A Julius Caesar B Brutus C Cassius
D Antony E Calpurnia F Portia
They planned to run away from Rome.
They planned to defeat Brutus and divide the Roman Empire
between them.
They planned to kill all the conspirators except Brutus and
Cassius.
They planned to go to war to help Brutus.
A
B
C
D
‘I will return to you at Philippi’.
‘You will die at Philippi’.
‘I will see you murdered at Philippi’.
‘You will see me again – at Philippi’.
8 Why did Cassius die?
A
B
C
D
He thought the battle was over and he preferred to die rather
than remain as Antony’s prisoner.
Brutus’ men killed him by mistake.
He saw that Titinius was dead and killed himself.
Pindarus was a traitor and killed him.
9 What did Brutus ask his men to do?
A
B
C
D
7
Kill Antony.
Kill Lucilius.
Kill him.
Kill Strato.
Photocopiable © 2007 Black Cat Publishing
7 What did the ghost say to Brutus?
1
He conspired to kill Caesar because he loved Rome.
2
He remained faithful to Caesar until the end.
3
He saved Caesar’s life several times.
4
She was worried that Caesar was in danger.
5
He refused the crown three times.
6
He claimed he would never live under tyranny.
7
He thought Caesar would be a bad king.
8
She told her husband they shouldn’t have secrets from each other.
9
Her dream frightened her.
10
His ghost appeared in front of Brutus.
11
He left some money to every Roman citizen.
12
He helped to make a list of the conspirators.
13
She killed herself.
14
He was convinced the battle was over and asked Pindarus to kill him.
15
He realised that in the end, Caesar had won.
Photocopiable © 2007 Black Cat Publishing
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SCORE ......./15
TOTAL SCORE ......./31
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Focus on the context – exercise 1
1 In 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon.
2 It is St George’s Day and St George
is the patron saint of England.
3 He worked for a theatrical
company, the ‘Lord Chamberlain’s
Men’.
4 Thirty eight.
5 The Globe Theatre.
6 The house where Shakespeare was
born, Anne Hathaway’s cottage
and the Royal Shakespeare
Theatre.
Focus on the story – exercise 2
1C 2A 3B 4D 5D
6 B 7 D 8 A 9 C 10 C
Focus on the characters – exercise 3
© 2007 Black Cat Publishing,
an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
1B 2D 3C 4E 5A 6C 7B 8F
9 E 10 A 11 A 12 D 13 F 14 C 15 B
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