PTE Academic Speaking Retell Lecture Online Practice Material Sample 1

Retell Lecture – You will hear a lecture first. After which you will have to retell the lecture in your own words. You will have 40 seconds to give your response. These type of questions in PTE integrates listening and speaking skills. Here is PTE Speaking Retell Lecture 1.

PTE Speaking Retell Lecture 1

1. – Listen to the following audio and retell lecture in your own words.

NOTE: (Transcript is given for reference and practice purpose only, it will not be given in PTE Academic test)

Most of what the general public knows about daily life in ancient Rome comes from art, architecture and literature, which tells us more about the elites, especially… urn… the goings-on of the emperors… but how much do we know about the lives of ordinary Romans? Read Full Transcript
Did they have a voice, apart, that is, from what we can gather from graffiti? The usual picture is one of time spent at festivals, baths and, typically, the games. However, for many Romans, terrible living conditions, poverty, debt and the chance of being sold into slavery at any moment-that is, if they weren’t slaves already-left no time or energy for such forms of entertainment, or for any interest in politics, for that matter. Indeed, after the death of Augustus, executive power was taken from the elected assemblies of the Roman people. Now it was the emperor’s job to look after the people, and his generosity often depended on the mood and behaviour of the people on how often and how violently they protested and rioted. One example would be Clauctius ensuring a steady grain supply, even in winter, after rioters pelted him with stale crusts of bread. There is an anecdote about, urn, Hadrian. While touring the provinces, an old lady approached him with a complaint; he made excuses and tried to get away. She said that if he wouldn’t give her a hearing, he shouldn’t be emperor. She got her hearing.

Sample Answer is Here

The lecture is about daily life in ancient Rome. The speaker says that what we know is mostly about the aristocracy, but we know much less about the lives of ordinary people and how much say they had politically and socially. Most people lived very difficult lives. The speaker points out that it was the duty of the emperor to take care of ordinary people. He gives the examples of Claudius and Hadrian, both of whom had to be reminded of their duty.

Source: (PTE Retell Lecture)

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