Marco Polo and The Court of the Great Kublai Khan
Dan Snow's History Hit

Marco Polo and The Court of the Great Kublai Khan

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 13, 202636 min
  • History

No throne on Earth came close to rivalling it. The court of Kublai Khan stood at the centre of an empire that threw every other power of its age into shadow. Vast and wealthy beyond comprehension, it seemed a world away from medieval Europe. Yet one young Venetian made the staggering 4-year journey, and wrote down everything that he saw. His name was Marco Polo. Today, Dan draws on Marco's extraordinary diary to take you on a journey across deserts, mountains and oceans, to glimpse the splendour and spectacle of this medieval superpower. ...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 6 of 12 · 0:54

ending up in China at the court of the Emperor.

, , , , .

And at the heart of a world that Europe barely understood.

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B20:54

    Tap for the meaning

  • B26:46

    Tap for the meaning

  • B213:02

    Tap for the meaning

  • B215:38

    Tap for the meaning

  • B221:08

    Tap for the meaning

  • C126:20

    Tap for the meaning

  • B229:17

    Tap for the meaning

  • B234:24

    Tap for the meaning

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 19%A2 43%B1 27%B2 10%C1 2%
  • 88% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 162 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 244 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:30

It was the greatest gap year of all time. In the 13th century, a Venetian 17-year-old set out across Eurasia, along trade routes which we now call the Silk Road. He crossed empires and deserts and vast steppe grasslands,

0:49

ending up in China at the court of the Emperor. Shizu of Yuan, founder of the Great Yuan, Kagan of the Mongol Empire, son of heaven, Kublai Khan. And at the heart of a world that Europe barely understood. 25 years later, a bedraggled, middle-aged dude staggered back into Venice.

1:16

He brought with him a story so astonishing that many, then and now, have doubted its veracity. Tales of mighty empires that simply seem too incredible to be true. We had one of the greatest stories ever told, one that has obsessed people at the time and ever since. It's definitely an exciting story but there is a little bit of a problem with it.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (35 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy