Monologue on the Subject of Celts - IELTS Listening Sample Answer
IELTS Listening section examines a candidate’s ability to understand the audio recording, different question types, and correctly answer all of them. There is a total of four audio and 40 questions in IELTS listening section. This topic - A monologue on the subject of celts is IELTS listening section part 4. Candidates need to answer the following IELTS listening question types:
- Short answer questions
- Fill in the blanks
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Audio Transcript:
Welcome to this introductory lecture on the Celts. Who were the Celts? The Celts were an Indo-European group, that is, related linguistically to the Greeks, the Germanic peoples, certain Italic groups and peoples of the Indian subcontinent. They arose in central Europe at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and were an iron using and horse rearing peoples. By the end of the first millennium B.C. their cultural group had spread up and down the Danube and Rhine, taking in Gaul, Ireland and Britain, across central Europe, into northern Italy and northern Spain. Their roaming across Europe led some of the Celtic tribes to sack Rome in 390 B.C. creating a fear of the northern barbarians that was to haunt Romans for hundreds of years to come.
The Celts are defined archaeologically by the type-sites of Hallstatt and La Tene, the former being taken to relate to an earlier phase of cultural development. Hallstatt, an ancient salt mining area, was excavated from 1876 onwards by the Viennese Academy of Sciences and provided the first classification of the prehistoric Celts. In 1858, the waters of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland sunk to a low level, revealing a large prehistoric settlement with a huge number of surviving artifacts. The nearby town of La Tene gave its name to the second phase of Celtic cultural development. However, please note that these phases overlap through time, and are defined according to geographical area. Let’s look at each of these, taking the Hallstatt first.
Hallstatt culture is characterized in 4 stages. A & B were during the late Bronze Age, from about 1200 to 700 BC; C was in the Early Iron Age, from about 700-600 BC; D was from about 600 to 475 BC. The Hallstatt culture spanned central Europe, with its centre in the area around Hallstatt in Central Austria. There were two distinct cultural zones – the eastern and the western. At the start of the period, long distance trade was already well established in copper and tin – the basic requirements for manufacture of bronze. From about 700 BC, trade in iron also became established. The Hallstatt area also already controlled the trade in salt, crucial when there were few other means to preserve food. Control of these two crucial trade goods—iron and salt—provided the basis for the accumulation of wealth and influence. From 800 BC, some burials of rich people can be identified, in central Europe, with grave goods such as wheeled wagons and iron swords.
Hallstatt C saw the construction of fortified hilltop settlements to the North of the Alps. These had burial mounds holding very high quality goods, such as vehicles and expensive imported treasures. By the time of the Hallstatt D period, these increasingly extravagant burial mounds were clustered around a few major hill forts to the southwest of the region. This suggests a development and a concentration of wealth and social power, possibly based on the development of Massilia (present-day Marseilles) as a Greek trading port. The expansion of luxury trade brought greater opportunities for profit and helped to create an increasingly stratified society, with the development of a wealthy nobility. Over the period from 1846 to 1863, a thousand graves were found at Hallstatt, with an astonishing range of artefacts, including clothing and salt mining equipment as well as weapons, jewellery, pottery and imported bronze vessels in the “chieftains” graves.
The La Tene era was the time of Celtic expansion and migration and the time of formation of the myths, The La Tene culture is named after the site in Switzerland where it was first discovered. The La Tene people were those known to the Romans as Gaids. Originally found in an area from Eastern France to Bohemia, the La Tene culture spread rapidly from about 400 BC. The La Tene Celts settled in Spain in 450 BC, in Northern Italy in 400 BC, invaded Rome in 390 BC, invaded Greece in 279 BC, invaded Galatia (in modern Turkey) in 270 BC. By 200 BC, they occupied the lands that are now Britain, the Netherlands, Brittany, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.
There is much debate over how much of the expansion into Britain was achieved through invasion and settlement and how much was the expression of cultural transfer that accompanied trade and reflected the commonality of kinship and language of many tribes. There is little evidence for actual migration of La Tene people into Britain. Nevertheless, it does appear that the La Tene culture was more militarily than the Hallstatt one. The La Tene graves across Europe hold iron weapons – swords and spearheads – and wooden shields, as well as everyday items such as razors, yokes, cauldrons and jewelry.
Section 4
Questions 31-40
Questions 31-33
Complete the table below. Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN ONE WORD OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- Which metal was the Celts using at the beginning of the first millennium B.C.?
Answer: iron
Explanation: The Celts were Indo-European groups who used iron and were also horse-rearing people.
Also check:
- When did excavation at Hallstatt begin?
Answer: 1876
Explanation: Hallstatt was an ancient salt mining area whose excavation started in 1876.
- When were Celtic remains near La Tene uncovered?
Answer: 1858
Explanation: In 1858, the Neuchatel lake in Switzerland dried up and a large piece of historic settlement was uncovered. That was the Celtic remains found near La Tene.
Questions 34-37
Complete the table below. Answer the following questions about Hallstatt culture using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR AN NUMBER for each answer.
- How many periods of Hallstatt culture were there?
Answer: 4/four (stages)
Explanation: Hallstatt culture has four periods - A and B of the late bronze period, C of the early iron age, and D of the 600 - 700 time period.
- Which two items were traded over long distances at the beginning of the Hallstatt period?
Answer: copper and tin
Explanation: Long distance trade was already established of copper and tin during the period.
- There were settlements built during the Hallstatt C period?
Answer: hilltop
Explanation: Hallstatt C period saw the settlements of the fortified hilltop to the North of the Alps.
- What led to a stratified society?
Answer: luxury trade
Explanation: The trading of luxury goods led to profit making and more opportunities.
Questions 38-40
Complete the table below.Complete the following sentences about La Téne culture using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
- Celtic ____________ took place during the La Téne period.
Answer: expansion and migration
Explanation: The expansion and migration of the Celtic period happened during the La Tene period.
- After 400 B.C., the La Téne culture __________________
Answer: spread rapidly
Explanation: It was after 400 BC that the La Tene culture started spreading rapidly.
- Weapons and everyday items can be found in La Tene ____________ across Europe.
Answer: graves
Explanation: Across Europe, people can find the weapons and everyday items in the graves of La Tene.
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