tailieunhanh - IELTS Academic Reading Sample 122 - The Family of Germanicus

Mời các bạn thử sức bản thân thông qua việc giải những bài tập trong IELTS Academic Reading Sample 122 - The Family of Germanicus sau đây. Tài liệu phục vụ cho các bạn đang chuẩn bị cho kỳ thi sắp tới. | You should spend about 20 minutes on the questions 1-16 which are based on the following reading passage. Read the following passage and answer the questions 1- 16 on your answer sheet. The Family of Germanicus Germanicus is not a name that many people are familiar with today but the man and his family are central figures in the story of one of the most colourful imperial dynasties the world has ever known the Julio-Claudians. The Julio-Claudians get their name from two families of the old Roman republic. Both families were old. The Julians had an impeccable aristocratic pedigree while the Claudians were one of the most politically powerful families in the state. The two were thrown together into an alliance during the troubles which gripped Rome during the fall of the Republic. Julius Caesar the most famous member of the Julian family led his legions in the conquest of Rome. Though Caesar was a great general he lacked the political skills to control the Roman senate and Caesar was killed by the senators during one of their meetings. Another round of civil wars followed and Caesar s great-nephew Augustus became the ruler of Rome. In contrast to Caesar Augustus was a superb uncompromising and ruthless politician. Early in his career he realized that his family could not rule alone and he allied himself with the Claudians by marrying a woman called Livia Drusilla. Livia was not only a Claudian herself but the former wife of another Claudian. She had two children by her first marriage Tiberius and Drusus. When he grew up Drusus married Antonia the daughter of Mark Antony. They had two children one called Claudius and the other named Tiberius after his uncle and grandfather Tiberius was a common Roman name and often used for members of the Claudian family. Tiberius joined the army while he was still a young man and turned out to be an excellent soldier. At the time the Romans were busy with a major war in Germany. This war had not been going well and the Romans lost a