Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Crash Course for IELTS 12: Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century

(Crash Course for IELTS)



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IELTS Part 3 Questions: docs, pub
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Writing Homework: docs, pub

#12—Crash Course World History Fall of the Roman Empire Byzantine Empire
Answer each question with no more than 2 words or a number


How and when Rome fell remains the subject of considerable historical debate—but today I’m going to argue that the Rome didn’t really fully fall until the middle of the (1)_____________ century.  Technically the city of Rome was conquered by (2)_____________ in 476 CE.


Rome was doomed to fall as soon as it spread outside of Italy because the further the territory is from the capital, the harder it is to (3)_____________.


Thus imperialism itself sowed the seeds of destruction in Rome.  This was the argument put forth by the Roman historian Tacitus, "To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a desert and call it (4)_____________.”


There are two ways to overcome this governance problem: First, you rule with the proverbial iron (5)_____________.  Regardless, the Romans couldn’t do this because their whole identity was wrapped up in an idea of justice that precluded indiscriminate (6)_____________.  The other strategy is to try to incorporate (7)_____________ people into the empire more fully: In Rome’s case, to make them Romans.  This worked really well in the early days of the Republic and even at the beginning of the Empire. But it eventually led to Barbarians inside the Gates.


The decline of the Roman legions started long before Rome started getting sacked.  It really began with the extremely bad decision to incorporate Germanic (8)_____________ into the Roman Army. By the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, though, the empire had been forced to allow the kind of riffraff into their army who didn’t really care about the idea of Rome itself. They were only (9)_____________ to their commanders.


This was of course a recipe for (10)_____________, and that’s exactly what happened with general after general after general declaring himself (11)_____________ of Rome.


There was very little stability in the West. For instance, between 235 and 284 CE, (12)_____________different people were either emperor or claimed to be emperor.


So remember when I said the Roman Empire survived until the 15th century? Well that was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire.  So while the Western empire descended into chaos, the eastern half of the Empire had its capital in Byzantium, a city on the Bosporus Strait that Constantine would later rename Constantinople when he moved his capitol east.


As the political center of the Roman Empire shifted east, Constantine also tried to re-orient his new religion, (13)_____________, toward the east, holding the first Church council in Nicaea in 325.  The idea was to get all Christians to believe the (14)_____________-that worked [he said sarcastically]- but it did mark the beginning of the emperor having greater control over the Church.


Although the Byzantines spoke Greek not Latin, they considered themselves Romans. There was a lot of continuity between the old, Western Roman Empire, and the new, Eastern one. Politically, each was ruled by a single ruler who wielded absolute (15)_____________ power.


War was pretty much constant as the Byzantines fought the Persian Sassanian Empire and then various Islamic empires.


Trade and valuable agricultural land that yielded high (16)_____________ meant that the Byzantine Empire was like the Western Roman Empire, exceptionally rich, and it was slightly more compact as a territory than its predecessor and much more (17)_____________, containing as it did all of those once independent Greek city states, which made it easier to administer.


Like their Western counterparts, the Byzantines enjoyed spectacle and (18) _____________.  Chariot races in Constantinople were huge, with thousands turning out at the Hippodrome to cheer on their favorites.


Perhaps the most consistently Roman aspect of Byzantine society was that they followed Roman (19)_____________.


The Eastern Roman Empire’s codification of Roman laws was one of its greatest achievements. Much of the credit for that goes to the most famous Byzantine Emperor, Justinian.  He was born a (20)_____________ somewhere in the Balkans and then rose to became emperor in 527.  He ruled for almost 30 years and in addition to (21) _____________ Roman law, he did a lot to restore the former glory of the Roman Empire. He took Carthage back; he even took Rome back from the Goths, although not for long.  He’s responsible for the building of one of the great churches in all of time— which is now a mosque—the Hagia Sophia or Church of Saint Wisdom.


Maybe the most interesting thing Justinian ever did was be married to Theodora who began her career as an (22)_____________, dancer, and possible prostitute before become Empress. And she may have saved her husband’s rule by convincing him not to flee the city during riots between the Blues and the (23) _____________.


Theodora fought to expand the rights of (24)_____________ in divorce and property ownership, and even had a law passed taking the bold stance that adulterous women should not be executed.


So, in short, the Byzantines continued the Roman legacy of empire and war and law for almost (25)_____________ years after Romulus Augustus was driven out of Rome.


The Byzantines followed a different form of Christianity, the branch we now call Eastern or sometimes Greek (26)_____________.


How there came to be a split between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions is complicated – In the West there was a Pope and in the East there was a Patriarch.  The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He sort of serves as God’s (27)_____________ on earth and he doesn’t answer to any secular ruler.  In the Orthodox Church they didn’t have that problem because the Patriarch was always appointed by the (28)_____________.  So it was pretty clear who had control over the church, so much that they even have a word for it- Caesaropapism: Caesar over Pope.
The fact that in Rome there was no (29)_____________ after 476 meant there was no one to challenge the Pope, which would profoundly shape European history over the next, like, (30)_____________ years.
Answers:


How and when Rome fell remains the subject of considerable historical debate—but today I’m going to argue that the Rome didn’t really fully fall until the middle of the (1)15th century.  Technically the city of Rome was conquered by (2)barbarians in 476 CE.


Rome was doomed to fall as soon as it spread outside of Italy because the further the territory is from the capital, the harder it is to (3)govern.


Thus imperialism itself sowed the seeds of destruction in Rome.  This was the argument put forth by the Roman historian Tacitus, "To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a desert and call it (4)peace.”


There are two ways to overcome this governance problem: First, you rule with the proverbial iron (5)fist.  Regardless, the Romans couldn’t do this because their whole identity was wrapped up in an idea of justice that precluded indiscriminate (6)violence.  The other strategy is to try to incorporate (7)conquered people into the empire more fully: In Rome’s case, to make them Romans.  This worked really well in the early days of the Republic and even at the beginning of the Empire. But it eventually led to Barbarians inside the Gates.


The decline of the Roman legions started long before Rome started getting sacked.  It really began with the extremely bad decision to incorporate Germanic (8)warriors into the Roman Army. By the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, though, the empire had been forced to allow the kind of riffraff into their army who didn’t really care about the idea of Rome itself. They were only (9)loyal to their commanders.


This was of course a recipe for (10)civil war, and that’s exactly what happened with general after general after general declaring himself (11)Emperor of Rome.


There was very little stability in the West. For instance, between 235 and 284 CE, (12) 41 different people were either emperor or claimed to be emperor.


So remember when I said the Roman Empire survived until the 15th century? Well that was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire.  So while the Western empire descended into chaos, the eastern half of the Empire had its capital in Byzantium, a city on the Bosporus Strait that Constantine would later rename Constantinople when he moved his capitol east.


As the political center of the Roman Empire shifted east, Constantine also tried to re-orient his new religion, (13)Christianity, toward the east, holding the first Church council in Nicaea in 325.  The idea was to get all Christians to believe the (14)same thing-that worked [he said sarcastically]- but it did mark the beginning of the emperor having greater control over the Church.


Although the Byzantines spoke Greek not Latin, they considered themselves Romans. There was a lot of continuity between the old, Western Roman Empire, and the new, Eastern one. Politically, each was ruled by a single ruler who wielded absolute (15)military power.


War was pretty much constant as the Byzantines fought the Persian Sassanian Empire and then various Islamic empires.


Trade and valuable agricultural land that yielded high (16)taxes meant that the Byzantine Empire was like the Western Roman Empire, exceptionally rich, and it was slightly more compact as a territory than its predecessor and much more (17)urban, containing as it did all of those once independent Greek city states, which made it easier to administer.


Like their Western counterparts, the Byzantines enjoyed spectacle and (18) sport.  Chariot races in Constantinople were huge, with thousands turning out at the Hippodrome to cheer on their favorites.


Perhaps the most consistently Roman aspect of Byzantine society was that they followed Roman (19)law.


The Eastern Roman Empire’s codification of Roman laws was one of its greatest achievements. Much of the credit for that goes to the most famous Byzantine Emperor, Justinian.  He was born a (20)peasant somewhere in the Balkans and then rose to became emperor in 527.  He ruled for almost 30 years and in addition to (21) codifying Roman law, he did a lot to restore the former glory of the Roman Empire. He took Carthage back; he even took Rome back from the Goths, although not for long.  He’s responsible for the building of one of the great churches in all of time— which is now a mosque—the Hagia Sophia or Church of Saint Wisdom.


Maybe the most interesting thing Justinian ever did was be married to Theodora who began her career as an (22) actress, dancer, and possible prostitute before become Empress. And she may have saved her husband’s rule by convincing him not to flee the city during riots between the Blues and the (23) Greens.


Theodora fought to expand the rights of (24)women in divorce and property ownership, and even had a law passed taking the bold stance that adulterous women should not be executed.


So, in short, the Byzantines continued the Roman legacy of empire and war and law for almost (25)1,000 // a thousand  years after Romulus Augustus was driven out of Rome.


The Byzantines followed a different form of Christianity, the branch we now call Eastern or sometimes Greek (26)Orthodox.


How there came to be a split between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions is complicated – In the West there was a Pope and in the East there was a Patriarch.  The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He sort of serves as God’s (27)regent on earth and he doesn’t answer to any secular ruler.  In the Orthodox Church they didn’t have that problem because the Patriarch was always appointed by the (28)emperor.  So it was pretty clear who had control over the church, so much that they even have a word for it- Caesaropapism: Caesar over Pope.


The fact that in Rome there was no (29)emperor after 476 meant there was no one to challenge the Pope, which would profoundly shape European history over the next, like, (30)1200// twelve-hundred years.


INTRODUCTION


John: Hi there, my name's John Green, this is CrashCourse World History and today we're gonna talk about the fall of Rome.


Past John: Mr Green, Mr. Green, Mr. Green! Who’s that pretty lady?


Present John: That "lady," me-from-the-past, is Emperor Justinian. We’ll get to him in a minute.


How and when Rome fell remains the subject of considerable historical debate — but today I’m going to argue that the Rome didn’t really fall until the middle of the 15th century.


But first, let me introduce you to the traditional view: Barbarians at the Gates. My, don’t you look traditional? If you want to be really technical about it, the city of Rome was conquered by bar-bar-bar-barbarians in 476 CE. There was a last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus, who ruled the empire for less than a year before being deposed and sent into exile by Odoacer, who was some kind of barbarian- we don’t know for sure. Ostrogoth, Hun, Visigoth, Vandals; they all looked the same to the Romans. Rome had been sacked by barbarians before, most notably by Alaric the Visigoth in 410- Is it Uh-lar-ick or Uh-lair-ick? The dictionary says Uh-lair-ick but The Vampire Diaries say Uh-lar-ick so I’m going to go with Uh-lar-ick.


But anyway, after 476, there was never again a “Roman” emperor in Rome. Then there’s the hipper anti-imperialistic argument — that’s nice, but if you really want to go full hipster you should probably deny that you’re being hipster-- right, exactly — which goes like this: Rome was doomed to fall as soon as it spread outside of Italy because the further the territory is from the capital, the harder it is to govern. Thus imperialism itself sowed the seeds of destruction in Rome. This was the argument put forth by the Roman historian Tacitus, although he put it in the mouth of a British chieftain. That sounded dirty, but it’s not, it’s all about context here on Crash Course. "To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a desert and call it peace.”


There are two ways to overcome this governance problem: First, you rule with the proverbial topaz fist — that’s not the proverb? Really, Stan? It’s an iron fist? But topaz is much harder than iron. Don’t these people know their Mohs scale of mineral hardness? Regardless, the Romans couldn’t do this because their whole identity was wrapped up in an idea of justice that precluded indiscriminate violence.


The other strategy is to try to incorporate conquered people into the empire more fully: in Rome’s case, to make them Romans. This worked really well in the early days of the Roman Republic and even at the beginning of the Empire, but it eventually led to barbarians inside the gates. The decline of the Roman legions started long before Rome started getting sacked. It really began with the extremely bad decision to incorporate Germanic warriors into the Roman Army.


Rome had a long history of absorbing people from the empire’s fringes into the polity, first by making them allies and then eventually by granting them full citizenship rights. But usually these foreign citizens had developed ties to Rome itself; they learned Latin, they bought into the whole idea of the aristocratic republic. But by the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, though, the empire had been forced to allow the kind of riffraff into their army who didn’t really care about the idea of Rome itself. They were only loyal to their commanders. And as you no doubt remember from the historical examples of Caesar, Pompey, Marius, contemporary Afghanistan... this is not a recipe for domestic bliss.


So here is Rome, stuck with a bunch of expensive and bloody wars against Germanic peoples who were really good at fighting and then they had a great idea: Why not fight with these guys? So they essentially hired them and soon the Roman Legions were teeming with these mercenaries who were loyal mostly to gold, secondarily to their commanders, and not at all to Rome which is a place that very few of them ever even saw. I mean, why would they give a crap about the health and well-being of the Roman Empire? Am I allowed to say crap, Stan? [ding ding ding] Nice.


This was of course a recipe for civil war, and that’s exactly what happened with general after general after general declaring himself Emperor of Rome. So there was very little stability in the West. For instance, between 235 and 284 CE, 41 different people were either emperor or claimed to be emperor. And after the year 200, many of the generals who were powerful enough to proclaim themselves emperors weren’t even Roman. In fact, a lot of them didn’t speak much Latin. Oddly enough, one of the best symbols of the new face of the Roman Empire was sartorial. Instead of the traditional tunic and toga of the glory days of the Senate, most of the new general-emperors adopted that most practical and most barbaric of garments: pants. Oh, which reminds me, it’s time for the Open Letter.


OPEN LETTER


An Open Letter to Pants.


But first, let's see what's in the Secret Compartment.Oh look, it's Rosie the Riveter. And she's wearing pants!


Dear Pants,
Although you eventually became a symbol of patriarchal oppression, in your early days you were worn by both men and women. And in the days of the Roman Republic, they hated you. They thought you barbarous. They thought that people wearing you was the definition of people lacking civilization. They ventured north and the wind blew up through their togas and lo and behold, they adopted pants. And there’s a history lesson in that, pants, which is that when people have to choose between civilization and warm genitals, they choose warm genitals.


Best wishes,
John Green


THE EAST AND WEST ROMAN EMPIRES


And now a note from our sponsor: Today’s episode of crash course is brought to you by the all-new Oldsmobile Byzantium, mixing power and luxury in a way that's ne- Really? Oldsmobile isn’t a company anymore? And Byzantium is a place? Are you sure?


So remember when I said the Roman Empire survived 'til the 15th century? Well that was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire (although not by the people who lived in it who identified themselves as Romans). So while the Western Roman Empire descended into chaos, the eastern half of the Empire had its capital in Byzantium, a city on the Bosporus Strait that Constantine would later rename Constantinople, thereby paving the way for They Might Be Giants only mainstream hit.


Constantine moved his headquarters, and thereby the headquarters of the Roman Empire to Constantinople in 324 C.E. Constantine had lots of reasons to move his capitol east. For one thing he was born in modern-day Croatia. Also he probably spoke better Greek than Latin, and plus the eastern provinces were a lot richer than the Western provinces and from a looting perspective, you just want to be closer to where the good warring is. The enemies in the East, like the Persian Parthians and the Persian Sassanians, were real empires, not just bands of warriors. And no matter who you were in world history, if you wanted to make a name for yourself in terms of war, you really needed to be up against the Persians. EVEN IF you were — the Mongols. Not this time, friends. [Mongoltage]


As the political center of the Roman Empire shifted east, Constantine also tried to re-orient his new religion, Christianity, toward the east, holding the first Church council in Nicaea in 325. The idea was to get all Christians to believe the same thing- that worked- but it did mark the beginning of the emperor having greater control over the Church. That trend would of course later lead to tensions between the church centered at Constantinople and the one centered in Rome. But, more on that in a bit.


To give you a sense of how dramatic this shift was, by the 4th century CE, Constantinople’s population had soared while Rome’s had gone from 500,000 to 80,000. And although the Byzantines spoke Greek not Latin, they considered themselves Romans and if they did then we probably should too. Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.


THOUGHT BUBBLE


There was a lot of continuity between the old, Western Roman Empire, and the new, Eastern one. Politically, each was ruled by a single man (sometimes there were two, and once there were four– but let’s forget about that for now) who wielded absolute military power. War was pretty much constant as the Byzantines fought the Persian Sassanian Empire and then various Islamic empires.


Trade and valuable agricultural land that yielded high taxes meant that the Byzantine Empire was, like the Western Roman Empire, exceptionally rich, and it was slightly more compact as a territory than its predecessor and much more urban, containing as it did all of those once independent Greek city states, which made it easier to administer.


Also like their Western counterparts, the Byzantines enjoyed spectacle and sport. Chariot races in Constantinople were huge, with thousands turning out at the Hippodrome to cheer on their favorites. Big bets were placed and there was a huge rivalry, not just about sports, but also about political affiliations between the two main teams, the Blues and the Greens- Thanks for putting us on the Greens, Thought Bubble. That rivalry was so heated that riots often broke out between them. In one such riot, an estimated 30,000 people were killed. Thanks, Thought Bubble.


JUSTINIAN


But perhaps the most consistently Roman aspect of Byzantine society was that they followed Roman law. The Romans always prided themselves on being ruled by laws, not by men, and even though wasn't actually the case after the second century BCE, there’s no question that the Eastern Roman Empire’s codification of Roman laws was one of it’s greatest achievements. And much of the credit for that goes to the most famous Byzantine Emperor, at least after Constantine, Justinian. I like your brooch, sir.


In 533 Justinian published the Digest, an 800,000-word condensation of 1,528 Latin law books. And to go along with this he published the Institutes, which was like a curriculum for the Roman law schools that existed all through the Empire.


Justinian, incidentally, was by far the most awesome of the Byzantine emperors. He was like the David Tennant of Doctors. He was born a peasant somewhere in the Balkans and then rose to become emperor in 527. He ruled for almost 30 years and in addition to codifying Roman law, he did a lot to restore the former glory of the Roman Empire. He took Carthage back, he even took Rome back from the Goths, although not for long. And he’s responsible for the building of one of the great churches of all of time — which is now a mosque — the Hagia Sophia or Church of Saint Wisdom.


So after one of those sporting riots destroyed the previous church, he built this, which with its soaring domes became a symbol for the wealth and opulence of his empire. The Romans were remarkable builders and engineers and the Hagia Sophia is no exception: a dome its equal wouldn’t be build for another 500 years.


But you would never mistake it for a Roman temple; it doesn’t have the austerity or the emphasis on engineering that you see in, for instance, the Coliseum. And this building in many ways functions a symbol for the ways the Eastern Roman Empire was both Roman and not.


But maybe the most interesting thing Justinian ever did was be married to his controversial Theater Person of a wife, Theodora. Hey Danica, can we get Theodora up here? Wow that is perfect. It’s funny how married couples always look like each other. Theodora began her career as an actress, dancer, and possible prostitute before becoming Empress. And she may have saved her husband’s rule by convincing him not to flee the city during riots between the Blues and Greens. She also mentored a eunuch who went on to become a hugely important general — Mentoring a eunuch sounds like a euphemism, but it’s not. And she fought to expand the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, and even had a law passed taking the bold stance that adulterous women should not be executed.


So, in short, the Byzantines continued the Roman legacy of empire and war and law for almost 1000 years after Romulus Augustus was driven out of Rome. The Byzantines may not have spoken Latin, and few of their emperors came from Rome, but in most important ways they were Romans.


SO WHAT MADE THEM DIFFERENT?


Except one REALLY IMPORTANT way. The Byzantines followed a different form of Christianity, the branch we now call Eastern or sometimes Greek Orthodox. How there came to be a split between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions is complicated – you might even call it Byzantine. What matters for us are the differences between the churches, the main doctrinal one being about the dating of Easter, and the main political one being about who rules whom. Did I get my whom right there, Stan? YES!


In the West there was a Pope and in the East there was a Patriarch. The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He sort of serves as God’s regent on Earth and he doesn’t answer to any secular ruler. And ever since the fall of Rome, there has been a lot of tension in Western Europe between Popes and kings over who should have the real power. But in the Orthodox church they didn’t have that problem because the Patriarch was always appointed by the Emperor. So it was pretty clear who had control over the church, so much that they even have a word for it- caesaropapism: Caesar over Pope. But the fact that in Rome there was no emperor after 476 meant there was no one to challenge the Pope, which would profoundly shape European history over the next, like, 1200 years.


So I would argue that in some important ways, the Roman Empire survived for a thousand years after it left Rome, but in some ways it still survives today. It survives in our imagination when we think of this as east and this as west, it survives in football rivalries that have their roots in religious conflicts, and it survives in the Justinian law code which continues to be the basis for much of civil law in Europe.


Next week we'll talk about the emergence of Islam over here... How'd I do, Stan? Well, you can’t win 'em all. Thanks for watching.


CREDITS


Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller, our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself and our graphics team is Thought Bubble.


Last week's Phrase of the Week was “Aristotelian logic”. You can guess this week’s Phrase of the Week or suggest new ones in Comments, where you can also ask questions that our team of historians will endeavor to answer. Thanks for watching. And as we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome.

Crash Course World 12: History Fall of the Roman Empire... in the 15th Century
https://quizlet.com/_2fvte3

Crash Course World 12: History Fall of the Roman Empire... in the 15th Century
https://quizlet.com/_2fvte3

Crash Course World 12: History Fall of the Roman Empire... in the 15th Century
https://quizlet.com/_2fvte3

Crash Course World 12: History Fall of the Roman Empire... in the 15th Century

https://quizlet.com/_2fvte3


IELTS Speaking Part 3

“To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire;
they make a desert and call it peace.”

Why is this quote still so popular today?
What do you think it means?
Can you think of any situations that it applies to?

When and how do you think the American Empire will end?
Will it be in 50 years, or 100 years, or 500 years?
Will it be because of a war, or because of corruption, or because of laziness, or sickness, or economics?
(Nobody can know for sure, so there are no right or wrong answers.  Use your imagination.)
After the American Empire falls, what power do you think will replace it?

What should be the relationship between the government and religion?
Should the church be able to control the government?
(Or should Buddhism, or Islam, or Hinduism, etc be able to control the government)
How much control should the government have over religion?
When religion and government are in conflict, who should win?
Should the government have the power to make sure that the religions obey the law?
Should religious people be able to use government positions to support their religious beliefs?
Think about your country: What is the relationship between religion and government in your own country?

How do you feel when you watch sports?  Do you get emotional?
Think about people you know who get really excited about sports.  How do they act when they are watching a game?
Why do you think people get so excited about sports?
Why do people get so excited when someone else wins or loses?  
(Why do people care so much even though they aren’t the ones playing?)
How do you feel when watching the Olympics?
Do you get excited when your country wins?
Do you feel bad when your country loses?
Or do you not care?
And why do you feel the way you do?
Can you think of any friends who feel differently than you?
Talk about your country:
In your country, what sports do people get really passionate about?
Can you think of any sports-related events in your country’s history that had a really big impact on people?



Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


Discuss this question with a partner
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?





Below are two different sample answers.  What is the difference between them?

International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended the 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. To a large extent, these types of events help ease international tensions and give people the opportunity to show their patriotism safely.

First of all, despite occasional fights between opposing supporters at international matches, sports events can improve international relations. For instance, the 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany, was regarded as a success in this respect. Supporters from all over the world visited Germany on this occasion and interacted with supporters of traditional rivals in a positive way. For example, the followers of the US and Russian teams were able to enjoy this event together, without concern for the political differences between the two countries. This shows that major international sporting events can reduce tensions between rival nations.

Additionally, although patriotic displays sometimes incite violence, international sports events also allow patriotism to be demonstrated in a harmless way. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, supporters of various nations arrived at the stadium decked out in their national colours. This display of patriotism added to the spectacle of the Games and their enthusiastic cheering gave each event a very exciting atmosphere. The same kind of thing has happened at events in my country. For example, Cambodia held the Asian National Football Qualifiers in 2008. At this event, many of my compatriots cheered for the national team at the stadium, but did so in a friendly manner. The above examples make it clear that international sports events do allow people to behave safely in a patriotic way.       

In conclusion, sport can help improve relations between people of different nationalities significantly and allow people to show their patriotic emotions safely.

International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended the 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. Some people feel that these types of events can lead to violence and increase international tensions, while others believe they improve relations between countries and allow people to express their patriotic feelings safely. 

First of all, some sports events can make international relations worse. For instance, tensions sometimes overflow during football or baseball games between Korea and Japan. Sometimes, after the matches, the supporters of each team fight. This is an example of displaying patriotism in a dangerous way. Another disturbing scenario is that some Korean players who play for Japanese club sides may suffer subtle discrimination after international games. For example, a player may have to sit on the bench, while a less skilful Japanese player is given game time.
On the other hand, the World Cup, Olympics and other international games can help ease tensions among different nations. For example, South and North Korea have football games regularly which give the two nations a chance to improve relations.  In the mid 1990s, hundreds of North Korean supporters came to South Korea with to support their national football team. Many South Koreans were quite surprised to see North Koreans displaying a lot of emotion in supporting their team. South Koreans all realized that their counterparts were ordinary people, just like them. Games such as this help the two divided nations to reduce their political and ideological tension and enable fans to display patriotism safely.
In conclusion, despite occasional problems, international sporting occasions usually help ease international tensions and give people the opportunity to show their patriotism safely.


Which essay is two sided?  Which essay is one sided?

Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

“To what extent do you agree or disagree?” 

  • This question can be answered with a two-sided or one-sided essay.
·         If you choose a one-sided format, use modals (and make concessions) so that you don’t overstate your argument.

Paragraph 1:

State the degree to which you agree / disagree (not 100%)


Paragraph 2:
Can ease international tensions…For example, 







Paragraph 3:
Release patriotic emotions in a safe way …. For example, 










Conclusion:
Generally agree

International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended the 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. To a large extent, these types of events help ease international tensions and give people the opportunity to show their patriotism safely.

First of all, despite occasional fights between opposing supporters at international matches, sports events can improve international relations. For instance, the 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany, was regarded as a success in this respect. Supporters from all over the world visited Germany on this occasion and interacted with supporters of traditional rivals in a positive way. For example, the followers of the US and Russian teams were able to enjoy this event together, without concern for the political differences between the two countries. This shows that major international sporting events can reduce tensions between rival nations.

Additionally, although patriotic displays sometimes incite violence, international sports events also allow patriotism to be demonstrated in a harmless way. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, supporters of various nations arrived at the stadium decked out in their national colours. This display of patriotism added to the spectacle of the Games and their enthusiastic cheering gave each event a very exciting atmosphere. The same kind of thing has happened at events in my country. For example, Cambodiaheld the Asian National Football Qualifiers in 2008. At this event, many of my compatriots cheered for the national team at the stadium, but did so in a friendly manner. The above examples make it clear that international sports events do allow people to behave safely in a patriotic way.       




In conclusion, sport can help improve relations between people of different nationalities significantly and allow people to show their patriotic emotions safely.

Word count: 296
                                     
Making a concession to another point of view:
  • First of all, despite occasional fights between opposing supporters at international matches, sports events can improve international relations.

  • Additionally, although patriotic displays sometimes incite violence, international sports events also allow patriotism to be demonstrated in a harmless way.
IELTS Writing Task 2:   (Completely edited)
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Write at least 250 words.

“To what extent do you agree or disagree?” 
  • This question can be answered with a two-sided or one-sided essay.
·         If you choose a two-sided format:
1.    Introduce both sides in the introduction.
2.    Write about the side you agree with less in P2.
3.    Write about the side you agree with more in P3.
4.    State your opinion clearly in the conclusion.

Paragraph 1:

Introduce both  sides








Paragraph 2:
Negative side
  • International  tensions
  • Patriotic emotions 









Paragraph 3:
Positive side
  • International  tensions
  • Patriotic emotions 










Conclusion:
Generally agree
 International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended the 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. Some people feel that these types of events can lead to violence and increase international tensions, while others believe they improve relations between countries and allow people to express their patriotic feelings safely. 

First of all, some sports events can make international relations worse. For instance, tensions sometimes overflow during football or baseball games between Korea and Japan. Sometimes, after the matches, the supporters of each team fight. This is an example of displaying patriotism in a dangerous way. Another disturbing scenario is that some Korean players who play for Japanese club sides may suffer subtle discrimination after international games. For example, a player may have to sit on the bench, while a less skilful Japanese player is given game time.





On the other hand, the World Cup, Olympics and other international games can help ease tensions among different nations. For example, South and North Korea have football games regularly which give the two nations a chance to improve   relations.  In the mid 1990s, hundreds of North Korean supporters came to South Korea with to support their national football team. Many South Koreans were quite surprised to see North Koreans displaying a lot of emotion in supporting their team. South Koreans all realized that their counterparts were ordinary people, just like them. Games such as this help the two divided nations to reduce their political and ideological tension and enable fans to display patriotism safely.



In conclusion, despite occasional problems, international sporting occasions usually help ease international tensions and give people the opportunity to show their patriotism safely.
Word Count: 285

Writing Task 2:

Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Grammar in Practice:  Articles

All of the articles ( a  //  an  //  the) have been removed form the following answer.
  1. Place articles where required to correct this answer. (You need 20 articles).
  2. Highlight and underline each article you insert.

International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. To large extent, these types of events help ease international tensions and give people opportunity to show their patriotism safely.

First of all, despite occasional fights between opposing supporters at international matches, sports events can improve international relations. For instance, 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany, was regarded as success in this respect. Supporters from all over world visited Germany on this occasion and interacted with supporters of traditional rivals in positive way. For example, the followers of US and Russian teams were able to enjoy this event together, without concern for political differences between two countries. This shows that major international sporting events can reduce tensions between rival nations.

Additionally, although patriotic displays sometimes incite violence, international sports events also allow patriotism to be demonstrated in harmless way. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, supporters of various nations arrived at the stadium decked out in their national colours. This display of patriotism added to spectacle of Games and their enthusiastic cheering gave each event a very exciting atmosphere. same kind of thing has happened at events in my country. For example, Cambodia held Asian National Football Qualifiers in 2008. At this event, many of my compatriots cheered for national team at stadium, but did so in friendly manner. above examples make it clear that international sports events do allow people to behave safely in patriotic way.       

In conclusion, sport can help improve relations between people of different nationalities significantly and allow people to show their patriotic emotions safely.

Answer:

International sporting events have become extremely popular in recent years. For instance, millions of people either attended the 2006 Football World Cup or watched it on television. To a large extent, these types of events help ease international tensions and give people the opportunity to show their patriotism safely.

First of all, despite occasional fights between opposing supporters at international matches, sports events can improve international relations. For instance, the 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany, was regarded as a success in this respect. Supporters from all over the world visited Germany on this occasion and interacted with supporters of traditional rivals in a positive way. For example, the followers of the US and Russian teams were able to enjoy this event together, without concern for the political differences between the two countries. This shows that major international sporting events can reduce tensions between rival nations.

Additionally, although patriotic displays sometimes incite violence, international sports events also allow patriotism to be demonstrated in a harmless way. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, supporters of various nations arrived at the stadium decked out in their national colours. This display of patriotism added to the spectacle of the Games and their enthusiastic cheering gave each event a very exciting atmosphere. The same kind of thing has happened at events in my country. For example, Cambodia held the Asian National Football Qualifiers in 2008. At this event, many of my compatriots cheered for the national team at the stadium, but did so in a friendly manner. The above examples make it clear that international sports events do allow people to behave safely in a patriotic way.       

In conclusion, sport can help improve relations between people of different nationalities significantly and allow people to show their patriotic emotions safely.

Word count: 296


Popular events like the football world cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?


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