speakingcorePTE Speaking
Re-tell LectureQ3/2026Difficulty 5/5

Re-tell Lecture - moi truong & do thi

PTE Speaking questions reported by recent test-takers, compiled each quarter. Cambridge does not publish the active list, so this is a compilation of reports, not official material.

Questions

Question 110s to prepare · 40s to speak

Read the lecture ONCE, then re-tell it in your own words in 40 seconds without looking back. Why coastal cities flood more often Three factors combine. First, sea level rise adds a baseline. Second, cities have paved over the wetlands that used to absorb surges. Third, groundwater extraction makes the land itself sink - in some cities faster than the sea is rising. The lecturer stresses the third point is the one most often left out of news coverage, yet in Jakarta and parts of Ho Chi Minh City it contributes more than sea level rise does. (De thi that cho NGHE bai giang. O day de dang chu - phan duoc cham la kha nang tom y va dien dat lai.)

Model answer

Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.

RE-TELL LECTURE — CHU DE MOI TRUONG & DO THI Chu de nay ra rat nhieu o PTE, va no dung mot bo tu vung co dinh. Hoc bo nay thi bat duoc phan lon bai giang moi truong. TU VUNG BAT BUOC: emissions · subsidence · absorb · surge · mitigate · offset · runoff · resilience KHUNG chuan cho bai giang moi truong: "The lecturer discussed [van de] and outlined [so] causes. The first was [nguyen nhan tu nhien]. The second was [nguyen nhan do con nguoi]. He noted that the two interact — [giai thich ngan]. Overall, he argued that [giai phap] would be more effective than [giai phap khac], because [ly do]." VI DU: "The lecturer discussed urban flooding and outlined three causes. The first was sea level rise. The second was the loss of wetlands to construction, which removed the land's ability to absorb surges. The third, which he said is usually overlooked, was groundwater extraction causing the ground to sink. He noted that the three interact: sinking land makes a given sea level far more damaging. Overall, he argued that restoring wetlands would be more cost-effective than building sea walls." Y BAI GIANG MOI TRUONG HAY DUNG — nho san de doan truoc: * nguyen nhan tu nhien + nguyen nhan con nguoi, roi chung cong huong * giai phap re bi bo qua vi khong "hien dai" * mot yeu to bi truyen thong bo sot

Vocabulary you can use today

subsidence
sự sụt lún đất
absorb surges
hấp thụ các đợt nước dâng
mitigate
làm giảm nhẹ
offset
bù trừ lại
resilience
khả năng chống chịu
more cost-effective than
hiệu quả về chi phí hơn là

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

Chủ đề môi trường ra rất nhiều ở PTE và dùng một bộ từ vựng cố định. Học tám từ trong bộ này thì bắt được phần lớn bài giảng môi trường mới. Bài giảng môi trường hay theo một khuôn: nguyên nhân tự nhiên + nguyên nhân do người, rồi hai thứ cộng hưởng. Biết khuôn thì bạn đoán được ý tiếp theo trong lúc đang nghe. Cụm "which he said is usually overlooked" đáng học riêng — bài giảng học thuật gần như luôn có một yếu tố bị bỏ sót, và nói được cụm đó là ghi điểm cấu trúc.

/s/ trong subsidence, surges — hai tu de doc saiâm cuối /d/ trong outlined, removed, argued/θ/ trong three, third, growthtrọng âm subSIDence, resILience, miTIgate

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Related topics

Re-tell Lecture — Bài giảng ngắn