First, listen carefully to this audio file:

Questions:

1. What does the speaker mean by occupational hazard?
2. How many emperors were killed between 284 and 41 BC?
3. By whom were the emperors mostly killed?

Now, listen again to this audio file, and use the audio script if necessary:

When in Rome
Back in the days of the Roman Empire, being the top dog was just as risky a business, and assassination was an occupational hazard. If you take a look at the long list of emperors who met their death at the hands of others, you wonder what made the job so attractive. In the period between 284 and 41 BC, more than half of the 40 or so emperors came to a premature and violent end while in office, often at the hands of the soldiers who were supposed to protect them – from Heliogabalus down to Claudius and Julius Caesar, not forgetting Caligula this very week in AD 41.

Model Answers :

• What does the speaker mean by occupational hazard?
  • As a boss or top rank officer, They were threatened by others in office.
• How many emperors were killed between 284 and 41 BC?
  • nearly 20 emperors were assassinated by their people over two and half centuries.
• By whom were the emperors were mostly killed?
  • Mostly by their soldiers who were supposed to protect them!

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