Shadowing-Übung: 358. History of Rome (English Vocabulary Lesson) - Englisch Sprechen Lernen mit Video
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When you imagine the city Rome, what comes to mind?
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Maybe the Colosseum?
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The Vatican?
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One of the largest empires in history?
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Or delicious pasta?
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Rome isn't just Italy's capital, it's also one of the most influential cities in human history.
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In today's Thinking in English episode, we are going to take a journey through time, From the mythical founding of the city by Romulus and Remus,
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through the Roman Republic and Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and finally to modern Rome.
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I'm not an expert on Italian history, but I loved researching this episode, and I think this is such an interesting topic.
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You'll discover its myths, politics, art and language, and of course, plenty of useful English vocabulary along the way.
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You can find a version of this episode with no advertisements or sponsors on Thinking in English's Patreon, both in audio and video.
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Here is today's vocabulary list.
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Republic.
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Republic.
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A system of government where the country is ruled by representatives rather than a king or queen.
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For example, ancient Rome became a republic after the people removed their last king.
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Emperor.
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Emperor.
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The ruler of an empire.
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As in, Augustus was the first Roman emperor.
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Conquer.
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Conquer.
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To take control of a place or people using military force.
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For example, the Romans conquered many regions of Europe, including modern-day France and Spain.
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Decline.
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Decline.
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A gradual loss of strength, power or importance.
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For example, the decline of the Roman Empire took several centuries and was caused by many problems.
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Renaissance, a period in European history marked by a renewed interest in art,
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science and learning, beginning in the 15th century.
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For example, during the Renaissance, artists like Michelangelo and Raphael worked in Rome.
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Influence, the power to affect or change people or situations.
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For instance, Roman law has had a strong influence on modern legal systems.
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Modernisation.
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Modernisation.
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The process of improving or updating something to make it modern.
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As in, Rome faces challenges in balancing modernisation with preserving its ancient history.
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Like many ancient civilizations, Rome's story begins with a legend.
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According to Roman mythology, the city was founded by twin brothers called Romulus and Remus.
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The brothers were said to be the sons of the god Mars, but were abandoned as babies,
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put in a basket which was then released into a river and left to die.
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However, they were famously rescued and saved by a she-wolf.
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A she-wolf is a female wolf.
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As adults, the brothers decided to build a city, but after an argument over where they should build the city,
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Romulus killed his brother Remus and named the new city after himself, Rome.
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The traditional founding date of Rome is the year 753 BCE.
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Interestingly, the legend of Romulus and Remus is relatively similar to many other kings and leaders in the ancient world.
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It seems quite common for a legend to describe a child being put into a basket,
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released into a river, before being rescued and becoming a great leader.
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Before Rome became the great empire we know today, it was influenced by its neighbours,
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especially the Etruscans to the north and the Greek settlers in southern Italy.
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In its earliest centuries, Rome was a kingdom.
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Actually, the early years of Rome are the years we know the least about.
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We don't have many surviving documents from the period, and the Greeks, who were writing a lot at the time,
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didn't really pay attention to Rome until much later.
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According to legend, Rome was ruled by a series of seven kings, beginning with its founder Romulus.
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While historians don't believe Romulus really existed, it's thought he was invented to explain the name Rome,
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they do believe that the other six kings of the Roman kingdom were real.
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These kings of Rome were powerful but were apparently elected by the people of Rome.
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There are many stories describing how these kings contributed to Roman culture, religion, and traditions.
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However, the truth is we know very little about the early kings of Rome apart from their names.
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But under these kings, Rome developed from a small settlement on the river Tiber into a growing and organised city.
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The last three kings of the Roman kingdom are thought to be Etruscan in origin.
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The Etruscans were the civilisation that was north of Rome,
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and they introduced important innovations that transformed Rome into a city-state.
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However, by the late 6th century BCE, there was a dramatic change.
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The last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus,
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was apparently overthrown after a revolt led by aristocrats who resented his tyranny.
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In 509 BCE, Rome abolished its monarchy and established a new system of government, now known as the Roman Republic.
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Of course, as with much of the information so far, this story is probably a legend or myth.
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The fall of the Roman kings is quite a similar story to an ancient Greek story about Athens.
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Modern historians have suggested a few different theories about the end of the Roman kingdom,
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including a suggestion that Rome may have been involved in a war, losing its king in the process,
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and then creating the opportunity for a new form of government.
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The Romans created a new political system called the Roman Republic.
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This government was designed to prevent any single person from gaining too much power.
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Instead, power was divided among different places.
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The Senate, made up of the wealthy and influential citizens.
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Two consuls, who served as elected leaders for one year.
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and also various assemblies which represented the Roman people.
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This structure was supposed to balance power between the elite and the public, at least in theory.
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During the Republic, Rome expanded rapidly.
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It conquered nearby Italian territories, then spread across the Mediterranean, defeating rivals like Carthage in the Punic Wars.
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By the 1st century BCE, Rome controlled parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
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Society in the Roman Republic was divided between patricians,
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the aristocratic ruling class, and plebeians, normal citizens.
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In times of crisis, the Republic could also choose a dictator to help solve any problems.
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You have probably heard of some of the powerful and ambitious figures from the late Roman Republic including Cicero and Julius Caesar.
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Caesar was a great military leader.
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He conquered the territory of Gaul, which spread across modern-day France,
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Belgium and Switzerland, and he began preparing for a full invasion of Britain.
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His military conquests made him immensely popular, but his power and popularity threatened the traditional republican system.
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In the year 44 BCE, Caesar was assassinated by senators who believed they were saving the republic,
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but instead his death pushed Rome further into chaos.
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This chaos, the chaos of the late Roman Republic,
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ended when Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, became Rome's first emperor.
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He took the new name Augustus in 27 BCE and established the Roman Empire.
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This was a new system where one man held ultimate authority or power, but kept some republican traditions,
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or I guess pretended to keep some traditions.
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Over the next few centuries, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent and prosperity.
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Trade boomed, cities grew, and Roman culture spread across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
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The Romans became famous for their engineering.
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They built roads, aqueducts and monumental architecture like the Colosseum.
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Roman law and language, Latin, became the basis of Western civilisation and still influences modern legal systems,
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governments and European languages.
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However, managing such a large empire was increasingly difficult.
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In the year 285, the empire was split into eastern and western halves to make running everything easier.
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The Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, would survive for nearly a thousand more years.
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If you want to know more, I have an episode on the history of Istanbul from a few months ago.
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Istanbul was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
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The Western Roman Empire, however, had major problems.
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In 476, the last Western Roman Emperor was overthrown by a Germanic general.
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Historians mark this event as the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the end of ancient Rome's dominance.
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After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Rome, the city, entered a new era.
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On the one hand the city's political power quickly declined but on the other hand it became an incredibly influential religious city.
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Rome became the centre of the Christian world.
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It was no longer ruled by emperors but by popes.
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The Catholic Church played a crucial role in keeping Rome powerful.
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Much of Western Europe spent the Middle Ages fighting each other and forming new kingdoms and alliances and city-states,
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but the Catholic Church kept Rome as influential across the continent.
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Despite this, Rome was repeatedly invaded, most notably by various tribes and later by foreign powers too.
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Many of its monuments, its buildings fell into ruin and its population decreased.
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Yet due to the presence of popes and the presence of the Catholic Church, Rome did experience periods of renewal.
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After centuries of decline, Rome experienced a spectacular rebirth during the Renaissance.
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The Renaissance was a period of interest in art, science and the classical world, the ancient world.
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Beginning in the 15th century, magnificent buildings were constructed in Rome, and artists created incredible paintings and sculptures.
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Some of the greatest artists in history worked in Renaissance Rome.
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For example, Michelangelo designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
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and Raphael decorated the papal apartments with his frescoes.
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In the Baroque period of the 17th century, Rome became even more impressive.
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Artists and architects such as Gian Lorenzo Bonini and Francesco Borromini reshaped the city with fountains, piazzas and churches.
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By the end of this period, Rome had once again become one of Europe's most magnificent cities.
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In the early 19th century, during the Napoleonic era, Rome was shaken.
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Napoleon invaded Italy and temporarily weakened the power of the Pope.
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Throughout the mid-1800s, revolution and nationalism spread across Italy.
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Actually, it's probably important to point out Italy didn't exist as a country yet.
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Instead, there were many different states and kingdoms across the area of modern-day Italy.
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A movement in the 1800s aimed to unite the separate states and kingdoms of Italy into one nation.
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And finally, in 1871, after centuries of control by the Catholic Church,
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Rome became the capital of the new country, the unified Italy.
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In the 20th century, the ancient Roman Empire took on a new meaning, a new symbolism in Italy,
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under Benito Mussolini's fascist regime.
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Mussolini used Roman imagery and architecture to connect his dictatorship with the glory of the ancient empire.
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However, the fall of fascism during World War II left Rome politically unstable and very damaged.
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After the war, Rome had to change again.
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For example, in the 1950s and 60s, we saw the rise of Italian cinema,
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and Rome became deeply connected to fashion and culture.
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Today, Rome is the capital of modern Italy.
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Like many of Europe's capitals, Rome is both a modern city and an incredibly historic location.
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Ancient ruins, Renaissance palaces and Baroque fountains exist alongside busy streets, modern apartments and businesses.
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Inside Rome, there is actually an independent city-state, an independent country.
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Vatican City is not part of Italy and is considered to be an independent state, but it is completely inside the city of Rome.
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It's the home of the Catholic Church and the Pope and attracts millions of pilgrims and tourists each year.
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Yet Rome faces challenges like all modern cities.
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For example, balancing history and modernisation is a constant struggle.
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How can you update and develop Rome for the 21st century while preserving ancient monuments and architecture.
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That's not easy.
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Rome is also a major tourist attraction.
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Tourism brings economic benefits but also strains public spaces and transportation and local life.
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Over 2000 years ago, a Roman poet described Rome as the eternal city.
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The idea was that Rome was going to exist forever.
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I guess we will have to wait to see if this is the case, but so far the city has survived nearly 3,000 years of revolutions,
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empires, kingdoms, republics, wars, decline and growth.
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So here is today's final thought.
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Rome's story is extraordinary.
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The influence of the city of Rome has shaped the history, politics, art, religion and language of much of the world.
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From the legend of Romulus and Remus through to the power of the Republic and the Empire,
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the art of the Renaissance and then the challenges of the modern era,
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Rome has continuously reinvented itself while never losing its Roman identity.
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It has survived invasions, revolutions and centuries of change.
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And it still today stands as one of the most influential cities in the world.
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But what do you think?
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Have you ever visited Rome?
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Or are you from Rome?
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And what city or civilization should I explore next on Thinking in English?
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We've looked at Istanbul, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
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New York City from the USA, London and Japan's Nagasaki.
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What city should I look at next?
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This is currently one of my most popular series within Thinking in English and I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
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It was really fun to research it.
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As I said at the beginning, I'm not an Italian historian.
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I had to read quite a lot to learn about the Roman Empire.
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I'm sure I made some mistakes or pronounced a few names wrong.
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But I think it's really interesting to learn some history and practice English listening at the same time.
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And hopefully you picked up some vocabulary as well.
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If you want to support Thinking in English and support the show, the best thing you can do is to like this podcast episode wherever you're listening,
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follow the podcast, share it with a friend, leave a comment, and if you really want to support me, go to Patreon and subscribe.
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We have conversation clubs.
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We have bonus episodes.
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You can listen to this episode ad free.
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There's a monthly film club which you can attend for free.
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There's lots of discounts and your support just means the world to me.
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I love talking with you guys.
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I love meeting you guys and if you join you have that opportunity.
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So thank you all so much for listening and I will speak to you next time.
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Goodbye.
Über diese Lektion
In dieser Lektion nehmen wir Sie mit auf eine Zeitreise durch die Geschichte Roms, einer der einflussreichsten Städte der Menschheitsgeschichte. Sie werden nicht nur interessante Fakten über die Gründung Roms und seine Entwicklung zur Republik und zum Imperium erfahren, sondern auch nützliches Englischvokabular lernen. Diese Lektion bietet eine großartige Gelegenheit, Ihr Englisch sprechen üben zu vertiefen und sich mit wichtigen geschichtlichen Begriffen vertraut zu machen, die Ihnen helfen werden, Ihre Sprachkenntnisse zu erweitern. Wenn Sie Englisch lernen mit YouTube, können Sie diese Lektion auch als Unterstützung zur Verbesserung Ihrer Hör- und Sprechfähigkeiten verwenden.
Wichtige Vokabeln & Phrasen
- Republic - Republik: Ein Regierungssystem, in dem das Land von Vertretern und nicht von einem König oder einer Königin regiert wird.
- Emperor - Kaiser: Der Herrscher eines Imperiums, wie zum Beispiel Augustus, der erste römische Kaiser.
- Conquer - Erobern: Die Kontrolle über einen Ort oder Menschen durch militärische Gewalt übernehmen.
- Decline - Rückgang: Ein allmählicher Verlust von Stärke oder Bedeutung, wie der Rückgang des römischen Imperiums.
- Renaissance - Renaissance: Ein Zeitraum in der europäischen Geschichte, der von einer erneuten Konzentration auf Kunst und Wissenschaft gekennzeichnet ist.
- Influence - Einfluss: Die Macht, das Verhalten oder die Meinungen von Menschen zu ändern.
- Modernisation - Modernisierung: Der Prozess, etwas zu verbessern oder zu aktualisieren, um es modern zu machen.
Übungstipps
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Was ist die Shadowing-Technik?
Shadowing ist eine wissenschaftlich fundierte Sprachlerntechnik, die ursprünglich für die professionelle Dolmetscherausbildung entwickelt und durch den Polyglotten Dr. Alexander Arguelles populär gemacht wurde. Die Methode ist einfach aber wirkungsvoll: Du hörst englisches Audio von Muttersprachlern und wiederholst es sofort laut — wie ein Schatten, der dem Sprecher mit nur 1–2 Sekunden Verzögerung folgt. Anders als passives Hören oder Grammatikübungen zwingt Shadowing dein Gehirn und deine Mundmuskulatur, gleichzeitig echte Sprachmuster zu verarbeiten und zu reproduzieren. Studien zeigen, dass es Aussprachegenauigkeit, Intonation, Rhythmus, verbundene Sprache, Hörverständnis und Sprechflüssigkeit signifikant verbessert — was es zu einer der effektivsten Methoden für die IELTS Speaking-Vorbereitung und reale englische Kommunikation macht.