Cleopatra Reading Answers

Dec 17, 2025

Cleopatra Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Cleopatra Reading Answers has a total of 7 IELTS questions, such as Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS to complete the given blanks.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1

CLEOPATRA

More than 2,000 years after her death in 30 BCE, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra still looms large in the popular imagination. Despite what is known of her brilliance and charm, in mass media depictions, what often comes to the forefront is Cleopatra as a ravishingly seductive femme fatale. What did she really look like?

Today, many historians subscribe to the theory that Cleopatra's looks were ancillary to her considerable intelligence, learning, foresight, and strategic skills. The image of her as a sultry seductress likely stems from a narrative originally pushed by Octavian to rationalize his rivalry and conflict with fellow Roman Marc Antony, who was portrayed as having been manipulated

by a foreign temptress. What's more, casting Cleopatra as an evil beauty conveniently downplayed her competence and significance as a ruler.

While Roman historian Dio Cassius described Cleopatra as "a woman of surpassing beauty," a number of modern historians have characterized her as less than exceptionally attractive. Nevertheless, they have noted that her beauty was heralded and that her appearance was seductive. Greek biographer Plutarch, writing about a century after Cleopatra's death, presented a less flattering picture: "For her beauty, as we are told, was in itself neither altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her."

All that aside, there are artefacts that attest to Cleopatra's appearance. One of the most prominent, a marble bust dating to the third quarter of the 1st century BCE, is housed in the Old Museum in Germany. This so-called Berlin Cleopatra depicts her wearing a royal diadem. Her face IS framed by ringlets of curly hair, and the rest of her hair is gathered into a bun behind

her head. Her eyes are almond-shaped. Although her nose is prominent, her features are softly modulated and have been described as reflecting her intelligence and charm. Cleopatra's hair is styled similarly on another marble bust, this one found in a villa on the Appian Way in 1784 and now displayed at the Vatican's Gregoriano Profano Museum. On this bust too, her features are generally soft and her lips full.

An aquiline nose is the most prominent feature of the profiles of Cleopatra on contemporary coins (issued by Cleopatra or in her name) that are widely held to give the best representation of her appearance. On some of the coins, her nose is less hooked, her cheeks are full, and her chin is small, as on the marble busts.

In Hollywood, Cleopatra has been played by an array of stunning actresses. Elizabeth Taylor, who was put under the "gaze" as the “Queen of the Nile” in the best-known film version of the ruler's story, Cleopatra (1963), is a mainstay on short lists of moviedom's most attractive leading ladies. One of cinema's first sex symbols, Theda Bara, invested her Cleopatra with dark sensuality in the lost silent classic Cleopatra (1917). A scantily clad Claudette Colbert caused a sensation in Cecil B. DeMille's epic Cleopatra (1934), and Vivian Leigh was the beguiling queen in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). But how did this image of Cleopatra come to be?

As William Shakespeare wrote in his play, Antony and Cleopatra, Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/ Her infinite variety. Other women cloy / The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry/ Where most she satisfies.

Questions 21-27

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Although she has been dead or more than 2000 years, Cleopatra is still remembered by a large number of people. She is generally portrayed as a 21……………woman, and her other qualities are pushed to the background.

Answer: seductive

Supporting statement: what often comes to the forefront is Cleopatra as a ravishingly seductive femme fatale.

Keywords: forefront, seductive, femme fatale

Keyword Location: Para 1, Line 3

Explanation: The text explains that while she was brilliant, her "seductive" nature is what mass media usually emphasizes (puts in the forefront)

However, chroniclers endorse the view that she had considerable mental abilities, and her countenance was only an 22………………….. factor in her overall demeanour. The image of Cleopatra as a seductress was possibly promoted by the Roman rivals for her attention, Octavian and Marc Antony.

Answer: ancillary

Supporting statement: Today, many historians subscribe to the theory that Cleopatra's looks were ancillary to her considerable intelligence

Keywords: looks, intelligence, factor

Keyword Location: Para 2, Line 1

Explanation: The text states that her looks (countenance) were secondary or "ancillary" to her mental abilities.

Historians differ in their assessment of what she looked like; while some say she was very beautiful, some have said that her looks were not 23............... Cleopatra's busts in different museums give us an idea of what she looked like.

Answer: incomparable

Supporting statement: For her beauty, as we are told, was in itself neither altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her.

Keywords: beauty, neither, altogether

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 4-5

Explanation: Plutarch is quoted saying her beauty was not "incomparable," providing a contrast to those who saw her as a surpassing beauty.

In one, she is wearing a small jewelled crown and has 24............... eyes.

Answer: almond-shaped

Supporting statement: This so-called Berlin Cleopatra depicts her wearing a royal diadem... Her eyes are almond-shaped.

Keywords: Berlin Cleopatra, diadem, eyes

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 2

Explanation: The text describes the Berlin bust (where she wears a diadem/crown) as having almond-shaped eyes.

On coins issued by her, the most prominent feature is her 25……………... Many movies on

Answer: nose

Supporting statement: An aquiline nose is the most prominent feature of the profiles of Cleopatra on contemporary coins

Keywords: coins, prominent feature, nose

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 2

Explanation: The text explicitly identifies the "aquiline nose" as the standout feature on her coinage.

Cleopatra have been made, and in the most well-known movie of her life, her role written by, where he extols has been essayed by 26………………... She has also been the subject of a play about her beauty.

Answer: Elizabeth Taylor

Supporting statement: Elizabeth Taylor, who was put under the 'gaze' as the “Queen of the Nile” in the best-known film version of the ruler's story, Cleopatra (1963)

Keywords: best-known film, Elizabeth Taylor

Keyword Location: Para 6, Lines 1- 2

Explanation: The 1963 film is cited as the best-known version, and Taylor is the actress who played the role.

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