Learn English with BBC Podcasts

The Mongol Empire


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Published: 2.21.2017   [ UPDATED OCT 2024 ]
Level 5   |   Time: 2:21
Accent: British

TOEFL: A short lecture on the history of the Mongol Empire.

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You can download the file [ HERE ].

    

triangle Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções


  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.

  2. WATCH the VIDEO

    The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.

  4. WATCH and READ the SCRIPT

    Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.

  2. VER el VIDEO

    La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.

  4. MIRAR Y LEER

    Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.

  5. HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES

    Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

  1. 어휘 읽기

    비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.

  2. 비디오 보기

    비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.

  3. 문제에 답하기

    먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.

  4. 비디오 보면서 대본 읽기

    대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.

  5. 액티비티 하기

    듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

  1. LER o VOCABULÁRIO

    É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.

  2. ASSISTA ao VÍDEO

    Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.

  4. ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT

    Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

triangle Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario


  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a clan [n] - a group of related people
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ feuding [adj] - fighting
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ the spine of Asia [n] - the mountains of Asia
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a large umbrella group [n] - a broad organization that includes many smaller groups or organizations under its control
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ the Huns [n] - a group of people living in central Aisa from the 1st to 7th century
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a trigger [n] - a cause, a starting event
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ steppe lands [n] - large grasslands
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ nomads [n] - people who move around often
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a flock [n] - a group of sheep
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ charismatic [adj] - charming and inspiring
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ savage [adj] - violent and uncontrolled
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ tolerant [adj] - allowing other ideas, views, cultures
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ tribal [adj] - related to tribes, small groups, or family groups
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ suppress [v] - prevent, stop, limit, control
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ teach a moral [exp] - teach a lesson
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ savaged [v] - destroyed
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ go berserk [exp] - become very violent

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb, [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression



triangle Comprehension Questions 이해력 검사 문제 Perguntas de compreensão Preguntas de comprensión


  1. The Mongol Empire didn't ______.
    have a strong leader
    emerge from nowhere
    travel across the spine of Asia

  2. Attila the Hun is a good example of ______.
    a tribal leader that conquered a lot territory
    a particularly violent leader
    a successful Mongol leader

  3. According to the speaker, the triggers that often allow large groups to emerge and dominate are ______, ______, and ______.
    opportunities that allow conquest
    tolerance of different religions
    a charismatic military leader
    innovations in technology
    changes in climate
    violent conquest

  4. The common image of the Mongols today ______.
    comes from a lot of first-hand accounts
    is usually represented as quite violent
    is very accurate

  5. The Mongols were actually very tolerant of ______.
    administration
    warfare
    religion

  6. The Mongols were good at ______.
    integrating a diverse group of people into their empire
    developing new types of technology
    learning new languages

  7. The Mongols were often violent in order to ______.
    prevent rival religious groups from becoming more popular
    set an example preventing other groups from resisting
    reduce the population of their enemies

  8. The city of Merv in Turkmenistan ______.
    had a strong political alliance with the Mongols
    became the capital of the Mongol empire
    was destroyed by the Mongols



triangle TOEFL Questions TOEFL 문제 Perguntas do TOEFL Preguntas de TOEFL


  1. What is the man mainly talking about?
    (A) The administrative failures of the Mongol Empire
    (B) The factors contributing to the rise of the Mongol Empire
    (C) The climate changes affecting the nomadic tribes in Asia
    (D) The comparison between the Mongols and modern societies

  2. According to the speaker, how do people commonly perceive the Mongol Empire today?
    (A) As a minor tribal group with little historical impact
    (B) As sophisticated and tolerant administrators
    (C) As savage, barbaric, ultra-violent warriors
    (D) As pioneers of modern warfare tactics

  3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a trigger for the formation of large tribal groups?
    (A) The emergence of a charismatic military leader
    (B) Changes in climate across the steppe lands
    (C) Advances in agricultural techniques
    (D) Opportunities for rapid conquest

  4. Why does the speaker mention cities like Nishapur and Merv?
    (A) To illustrate the selective use of extreme violence by the Mongols.
    (B) To give examples of cities that the Mongols conquered peacefully.
    (C) To explain how these cities resisted the Mongols for centuries.
    (D) To highlight the Mongol preference for isolated cities.

  5. How did the Mongols generally handle the various identities within their empire?
    (A) They suppressed them to enforce a singular culture
    (B) They replaced them with Mongol traditions
    (C) They allowed for diversity and integration
    (D) They ignored them entirely



triangle Sentence Building 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones [ ? ]

Summary

This activity is designed to improve sentence accuracy and complexity. Most students can produce the key content words in a sentence. However, they have difficulty with accuracy because the functional words are difficult or can seem unimportant. This activity will help learners eliminate problems with these functional words by giving them immediate feedback on the mistakes they are making. It will also help students develop their use of more natural, varied and complex sentence structures.

TIP: Say the sentence out loud. Notice the types of mistake you make often. Focus on those types of errors. (singular/plural, subject-verb agreement, article use, prepositions, gerunds and infinitives, noun clauses, adjective clauses, word order, and word forms.)

Resumen

Esta actividad está diseñada para mejorar la precisión y complejidad de las oraciones. La mayoría de los estudiantes pueden producir las palabras clave del contenido en una oración. Sin embargo, tienen dificultades con la precisión porque las palabras funcionales son difíciles o pueden parecer poco importantes. Esta actividad ayudará a los alumnos a eliminar problemas con estas palabras funcionales al brindarles retroalimentación inmediata sobre los errores que están cometiendo. También ayudará a los estudiantes a desarrollar su uso de estructuras de oraciones más naturales, variadas y complejas.

CONSEJO: Diga la oración en voz alta. Observe los tipos de errores que comete con frecuencia. Concéntrese en ese tipo de errores. (singular / plural, concordancia entre sujeto y verbo, uso del artículo, preposiciones, gerundios e infinitivos, cláusulas sustantivas, cláusulas adjetivas, orden de las palabras y formas de las palabras).

요약

이 액티비티는 문장의 정확성과 복잡성을 개선하기 위해 고안되었습니다. 대부분의 학생들은 문장에서 핵심 내용 단어를 생성 할 수 있습니다. 그러나 기능적 단어가 어렵거나 중요하지 않은 것처럼 보일 수 있기 때문에 정확성에 어려움이 있습니다. 이 액티비티는 학습자가 실수에 대한 즉각적인 피드백을 제공함으로써 이러한 기능적 단어의 문제를 제거하는 데 도움이 됩니다. 또한 학생들이 보다 자연스럽고 다양하며 복잡한 문장 구조를 사용하는 데 도움이 됩니다.

팁 : 문장을 크게 말하세요. 자주 저지르는 실수 유형과, 이러한 유형의 오류에 집중하세요. (단수 / 복수, 주어-동사 일치, 관사 사용, 전치사, 동명사 및 부정사, 명사절, 형용사절, 어순 및 단어 형태)

Resumo

Esta atividade foi desenvolvida para melhorar a precisão e a complexidade das frases. A maioria dos alunos pode produzir as palavras-chave do conteúdo em uma frase. No entanto, eles têm dificuldade com precisão porque as palavras funcionais são difíceis ou podem parecer sem importância. Esta atividade ajudará os alunos a eliminar problemas com essas palavras funcionais, dando-lhes feedback imediato sobre os erros que estão cometendo. Também ajudará os alunos a desenvolver o uso de estruturas de sentenças mais naturais, variadas e complexas.

DICA: Diga a frase em voz alta. Observe os tipos de erro que você comete com frequência. Concentre-se nesses tipos de erros. (singular/plural, concordância sujeito-verbo, uso de artigos, preposições, gerúndios e infinitivos, cláusulas substantivas, cláusulas adjetivas, ordem das palavras e formas das palavras.)


Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instrucciones: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.



Sentence 1

Mongols / rise / feud / clans / large / empire


The Mongols rose from feuding clans [to/into] a large empire.



Sentence 2

formation / big / grouping / often / trigger / climate / change


The formation of a big grouping is often triggered by climatic change(s).



Sentence 3

formation / big / grouping / also / often / link / charisma / leader


The formation of a big grouping is also often linked to a charismatic leader.



Sentence 4

modern / people / often / think / Mongols / just / ultra-violent / warrior


Modern people often think of the Mongols as just ultra-violent warriors.
Modern people often think (that) the Mongols were just ultra-violent warriors.



Sentence 5

Mongols / actually / quite / tolerant / other / religion


The Mongols were actually quite tolerant of other religions.



Sentence 6

Mongols / also / very / skill / administrator


The Mongols were also very skilled administrators.



Sentence 7

thus / Mongols / very / good / integrate / different / culture / their / tribe / structure


Thus, the Mongols were very good at integrating different cultures into their tribal structures.



Sentence 8

Mongols / occasional / savage / city / so / other / city / not / resist / conquest


The Mongols occasionally savaged a city so (that) other cities would not resist (their) conquest.
The Mongols occasionally savaged cities so (that) other cities would not resist (their) conquest.



Sentence 9

Mongols / build / large / land / empire / history


The Mongols built the largest land empire in history.



Sentence 10

man / think / we / should / focus / what / Mongols / right


The man thinks (that) we should focus on what the Mongols did right.



triangle Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión


  1. What was your impression of Genghis Khan before you listened to this discussion? Did the discussion change your impression?
  2. Which ideas or information in this discussion were most surprising to you?
  3. Why do you think the Mongol Empire was so successful? Use ideas from the discussion and your own ideas.
  4. Though massive, the Mongol Empire lasted a relatively short time (~100 years). Why do you think the Mongol Empire collapsed so quickly?
  5. How are Genghis Khan and the Mongols used as a symbol in the modern world? (What do they symbolize?) How are they viewed in your country or culture? How do you think modern Mongolians view this history?
  6. Some studies have suggested that 0.5% of the world's population are descendants of Genghis Khan. Do you believe it? Do you think you are related to Genghis Khan?
  7. The man suggests that the Mongol Empire was very open and tolerant of different cultures and religions. Do you think this was a common or unique trait for most empires in history?
  8. What countries today do you think are the most tolerant in this way? Why?

triangle Script 대본 Roteiro Texto


It was an amazing rise to power really for the Mongols from virtually nowhere, wasn't it? Because at the time, it is basically, what, feuding clans? How did they unite into this great force, and was that partly due to the leadership of Genghis Khan?

Well, I think we think of the Mongols as sort of appearing from nowhere, but actually it's not quite the case. In fact, across the spine of Asia, tribal groups would quite often form big umbrella groups and prove incredibly successful like the Huns, for example. Atilla, the greatest leader of the Huns in the third and fourth centuries.

So it's not unusual. There's normally a series of different triggers that allow for a big grouping to emerge like the Mongols do. And that's normally linked to some form of change in climate across the steppe lands, where the nomads keep their flocks. It's usually linked to a particularly charismatic and able military leader, as Genghis Khan clearly was. And then a series of sort of gateways that allow conquest to happen very quickly.

And I think when we when we think about the Mongols today, we think of savage, barbaric, ultra-violent warriors. But actually the Mongol world was one that was incredibly sophisticated, incredibly tolerant actually, particularly when it comes to things like religio. And the Mongols were extraordinarily good administrators.

The Mongols were very very good at integrating people within the tribal structures. They were very conscious of the fact that with lots of identities in play you could either suppress and force everyone to become like yourself, or you allow for as much oxygen to air in the system as possible.

And so the Mongols, they were spectacularly violent on occasion, but it was highly selective. It was intended to teach a very bloody moral. Cities like Nishapur and Merv in modern Turkmenistan were absolutely destroyed and leveled.

But those single acts, those cities that were that were savaged, opened up gateways because, by and large, people then didn't want to resist the Mongols as they spread across Asia And the Mongols that they did build an empire that was the biggest land empire that's ever been seen in history.

So we should probably think about what they did that was right and how that happened rather than to sort of think of the Mongols as sort of purely as barbarians who appeared from nowhere and went berserk.