SHORT HISTORY, LONG ECHOES · A2/B1 · 50 min

Angkor

A huge city, built of stone and water — then taken back by the forest.

Want more detail? Read this lesson at B2/C1 level →

Today: tell the story of Angkor, a huge old city built around water, and learn to talk about big events like "the rise of" and "the fall of" an empire.
Warm up — five words to remember. Each one comes from an earlier story in the series. Do you know it? Say what it means and use it in a sentence. Is it new? Good — learn it now. Click Reveal to check, and follow a link to read the story.
to escape — from Pompeii
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about danger.
to escape — to run away from danger to a safe place.
to rescue — from Shackleton
What does it mean? Use it in a sentence about helping people.
to rescue — to save someone from danger or trouble.
treasure — from Tutankhamun
What does it mean? Say where you might find some.
treasure — gold, money and valuable things, often old or hidden.
an empire — from The Romanovs
What does it mean? Name one empire from history.
an empire — a large group of countries or lands ruled by one country or one leader.
a ruin — from Machu Picchu
What does it mean? Say one place where you can see some.
a ruin — an old building that is broken and falling down.

Now — the words for today's story

These are the new words for Angkor. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.

Words

  1. a temple
  2. a king
  3. a jungle
  4. to build
  5. a river
  6. dry
  7. to abandon
  8. powerful

Meanings

  • A. a thick forest in a hot country, full of trees and plants
  • B. the man who rules a country, often the son of the last king
  • C. with no water; the opposite of wet
  • D. a building where people pray to a god
  • E. long water that flows across the land to the sea
  • F. to make something, like a house or a city
  • G. very strong; able to control other people or lands
  • H. to leave a place and never come back

1 = D (a temple) · 2 = B (a king) · 3 = A (a jungle) · 4 = F (to build)

5 = E (a river) · 6 = C (dry) · 7 = H (to abandon) · 8 = G (powerful)

Now talk — out loud

Before we read:
  • Which words are about water and nature? Which word is about the end of the story?
  • Use three of the words to guess: what do you think happens in this story?

The story, in three parts

Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.

Part 1 — A city built on water

More than a thousand years ago, in a country we now call Cambodia, a powerful people called the Khmer began to build an empire. In the year 802, a Khmer king said he was the great ruler of the land. This was the start of the Khmer Empire.

Over many years, the Khmer built a huge city called Angkor. It was very, very big — maybe the biggest city in the world at that time. Hundreds of thousands of people lived there, in wooden houses, with markets, palaces and temples.

But there was a problem. For half the year, heavy rain fell every day. For the other half, almost no rain came, and the land was dry. So the Khmer did something clever. They dug enormous lakes to hold the rain water. Then they sent the water through long, thin channels out to the fields. With this water, farmers could grow rice all year. Angkor was a city built on water.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What happened in the year 802?

2. Why did the Khmer need to dig enormous lakes?

1. A Khmer king said he was the great ruler of the land. This was the start of the Khmer Empire.

2. For half the year there was almost no rain and the land was dry. The lakes held the rain water, so farmers had water all year and could grow rice.

Talk about it:
  • Angkor's power came from one thing: water. What is the most important thing for a big city today?

Part 2 — The great temple and the kings

The Khmer kings were very powerful, and they showed their power in stone. About 900 years ago, a king called Suryavarman started to build a temple. It took about 37 years to finish. This temple was called Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat was huge. Around it was a wide lake of water, like a big square ring. On the walls, workers carved pictures of gods, soldiers and dancers. Even today, it is the biggest religious building in the whole world.

Later, enemies came up the river and attacked the city. But a strong new king, Jayavarman, pushed them away. Then he built even more — a new city with high walls, and a temple with giant stone faces that looked out in every direction. He built temples, roads, and many places to help sick people. The Khmer Empire was now at its strongest.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What is Angkor Wat, and why is it special?

2. What did the king Jayavarman do after the enemies attacked?

1. It is a huge temple, built by King Suryavarman in about 37 years. It is the biggest religious building in the world.

2. He pushed the enemies away, then built a new walled city, a temple with giant stone faces, and many roads, temples and places to help sick people.

Talk about it:
  • The Khmer kings built huge temples to show how powerful they were. How do powerful people or countries show their power today?

Part 3 — The forest takes it back

No empire lasts forever. The big water system was the key to Angkor — but it was also a weakness. The channels filled up with mud, and walls broke. A system this big needed lots of work and a strong government to keep it going.

Then the weather changed. For many years there was not enough rain, and then suddenly too much. This was very bad for the water system. At the same time, a new kingdom from the west grew strong and attacked Angkor in 1431. The Khmer kings left the old city and moved away, nearer to the sea.

Slowly, the great city died. The wooden houses fell down, and the jungle grew over everything. Trees grew up through the temples, and roots broke the stone. For hundreds of years, most of the world did not know Angkor was there. But some Buddhist monks never left Angkor Wat, so that one temple stayed alive. Today, Angkor Wat is on the flag of Cambodia, and more than a million people visit every year. An empire can disappear from the map — and still never be forgotten.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Give two reasons why the Khmer left Angkor.

2. Why did Angkor Wat stay alive when the rest of the city died?

1. Any two of: the water channels filled with mud and broke; the weather changed, with too little rain and then too much; a new kingdom from the west attacked Angkor in 1431.

2. Some Buddhist monks never left it, so that one temple stayed in use and was never fully abandoned to the jungle.

Talk about it:
  • The Khmer built an amazing city, but the weather still beat them. Do you think people today are safe from big changes in the weather?

Grammar: noun phrases for events

This story is full of big events: an empire grows, a city falls, people build a temple. When we want to talk about a big event, English often makes it into a noun phrase with "the … of …".

The idea: take a simple verb sentence and turn the action into a thing.
• They built the temple. → the building of the temple
• The empire fell. → the fall of the empire
• The empire rose (grew strong). → the rise of the empire
• They left the city. → the abandonment of the city
Three you will use a lot: the rise of… (when something grows strong), the fall of… (when something ends), and the building of… (when people make something). They sound a little more formal, and they are great for telling history.

1. Make the noun phrase

Change each sentence into a noun phrase. The first word is given to help you.

1. They built the temple. → the of the temple

2. The empire fell. → the of the empire

3. The Khmer Empire rose (grew strong). → the of the Khmer Empire

4. They built the city. → the of the city

1. the building of the temple

2. the fall of the empire

3. the rise of the Khmer Empire

4. the building of the city

2. Choose: rise, fall or building?

Fill each gap with rise, fall or building. Then read the sentences out loud.

1. The of Angkor Wat took about 37 years.

2. The of the Khmer Empire began in the year 802, when it grew strong.

3. The of Angkor came in 1431, when the kings left the city.

1. building (they built it)

2. rise (it grew strong)

3. fall (it ended)

3. Tell the story with noun phrases

Change each sentence into a noun phrase. Begin with the words given.

1. They built the great lakes. → The of the great lakes gave the city water.

2. The empire rose. → The of the empire took many years.

3. The city fell. → The of the city was slow and sad.

1. The building of the great lakes gave the city water.

2. The rise of the empire took many years.

3. The fall of the city was slow and sad.

Keep these phrases ready — you will use them in the Speak tab to tell about the rise and fall of something.

Listen

There is a real podcast about Angkor. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.

🎧 Heard it already? Good — use this lesson as your recap, and listen for new details next time. Haven't? No problem — you now know the story and the key words, and that makes a fast podcast much easier to follow. The podcast is optional; this lesson works on its own.

Short History Of… Angkor

From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Angkor" on Spotify.

Play on Noiser →
While you listen:
  • Write down three words you hear and know from today's lesson (temple, king, empire, river, jungle…).
  • Can you hear the names Angkor and Angkor Wat?
  • Find one new thing the podcast says, and tell me about it next time — even just one sentence.

Speak

Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.

Useful language: use the new noun phrases — the rise of…, the fall of…, the building of… To give an opinion: "I think…", "In my opinion…", "For me, the reason is…".
Time remaining: 3:00
Task A · Tell the story (3 minutes)

Tell the story of Angkor in your own words. Use these steps to help you: the Khmer build an empire in 802 → a huge city built on water → the building of the great temple, Angkor Wat → strong kings → the weather changes and enemies attack → the kings leave → the jungle takes the city back.

Try to use some key words (temple, king, empire, river, jungle, build, dry, abandon, powerful) and the noun phrases (the rise of…, the fall of…, the building of…).

Task B · Amazing places (3 minutes)

Angkor Wat is an amazing old building. What is the most amazing old place you have seen, or want to see? Where is it? Why do you like it? What can you do there?

Task C · A rise and a fall (3 minutes)

Tell a story about something that grew strong and then ended. Use the noun phrases the rise of… and the fall of… to help you.

Not sure what to talk about? Choose one:

  • An old city or kingdom from your country — how it grew strong and how it ended.
  • An old building or place near you that is now empty or broken.
  • A company or shop that was very big, and then closed.
  • A team or a sports star who was the best, and then stopped winning.
  • A place that people forgot, and then found again.

To finish

  1. The Khmer built one of the greatest cities in the world, but the weather still beat them. What does this tell us about people and nature?
  2. Most of the world forgot Angkor for hundreds of years, but local people always knew it was there. Why do you think the world forgot it?
  3. From memory: say one sentence about Angkor with the rise of… and one with the fall of…