Shadowing-Übung: Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir? - Englisch Sprechen Lernen mit Video

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These are shade balls.

They're being dumped into this water reservoir in Los Angeles.

And contrary to what you may have heard, their main purpose is not to reduce evaporation.

So what are they really for?

To find out, I'm visiting the largest collection of these balls anywhere on Earth at LA Reservoir.

96 million shade balls.

That's correct.

96 million.

It's very rare for you to see 96 million of anything.

This is your life vest which you are required to wear.

All right.

Throw a leg over and climb on in any way you can.

There you go.

Looking at this, I had so many questions.

Like, why are they black?

Are they safe to have in drinking water?

How much do they cost?

Do they actually reduce evaporation?

And what is their real purpose?

Is it hard to drive in Shade Bowls?

It is very hard.

Why is that?

These are actually partially filled with water.

And the reason they're filled with water is that at LA Reservoir we have some really high winds.

And so, you know, if we didn't put water in these things, there'd be balls bouncing down the five freeways people would drive down.

They'd be all over the place.

So these keep the balls in the reservoir, and if they do start to roll, they kind of wobble because the water makes them uneven.

But that makes them significantly more difficult to push out of the way, especially when they form close -packed crystal -like structures.

come together in our wake.

And some, close to the motor, are pulled along with the boat.

Wow.

- Did you - what did you think the first time they suggested doing this or when it first came in?

Yeah, it was a little out there.

Did you think they were nuts?

No, not nuts.

Well, it just - it like - it looks absurd.

It's like we're in the world's biggest ball pit.

Right.

Yeah, that's what it looks like.

Yeah, you wouldn't you can't tell by standing here that we're actually floating over.

I think it's probably 40 40 feet right here 40 50 feet deep below us.

Oh Thank you and you can't even see any water.

Uh...

You'd think it was a joke.

Right?

Like if you didn't know, you'd be like, no, you're not.

That's...

like green screen or something, right?

Yeah, it's fake.

So like when I switch on my tap at home, is the water coming from here?

Yes.

Sometimes. Or always.

Most of the time.

Most of the time the water's coming from here.

Absolutely nuts.

So why is LA Reservoir covered in shade balls?

Well, the problem all started with bromide.

Bromide is a naturally occurring substance.

associated with salt water.

And so normally places like the California aqueduct that comes down from the delta, you get some salt water intrusions, you have some bromide in the water.

Bromide's harmless and it's almost impossible to remove.

But when you disinfect the water with ozone, that bromide becomes bromate.

And bromate's carcinogenic.

And so around the year 2000, they wrote regulations regulating bromate.

And the regulations basically said, if you have a treatment plant that uses ozone, then you have to watch your bromate formation and be careful not to form too much.

So the only place we ever measured bromate was at our filter plant.

And the results were always within the 10 micrograms per liter limit set by regulators.

So they were confused when they got a call from one of their customers, a beverage company in LA.

They said, "We have some really high levels of bromate showing up.

Are you aware of this?" And we said, "Well, we don't show anything." But between the filtration plant and the customer was the reservoir.

So they did some tests.

Almost immediately upon coming into this open reservoir, the bromate levels jumped.

It turned out that bromide with chlorine, which was supposed to be safe in bright sunlight, formed bromate even more than ozone.

And so we made this unfortunate scientific discovery that actually was not part of any regulatory scheme.

And so here we are at the reservoir.

We have water source that's got bromide in it, harmless.

We have chlorine, we have to have the disinfected water.

sunlight because it's open the only choice we have is to remove sunlight

so we looked at all sorts of things we looked at floating tarps across the water

and normally you put a floating cover on the water

but that's a multi -year project and

so we said well can we manufacture these kind of trampolines with poly like PVC pipe

and we said well they're just gonna become bird perches it'll have a big water quality problem

and so then we knew we had high -density polyethylene pipe

which is used in the water industry and we know that it the surface.

Well that's hard to do and very expensive because it's a lot of material.

So maybe we could take some pipe and run into a chipper

and we can make a debris field across the surface like the back corner of a lake somewhere.

But then they have all this mushy warm water with plastic floating on the top.

That looks like a petri dish.

And so lo and behold Dr. Brian White did some research and he found the shade ball.

Except they weren't called Shade Balls at the time.

This product existed and they were called bird balls.

And they used it on ponds that had mine tailings where they didn't want waterfowl to go and get poisoned.

And also around airports where there were ponds

and they wanted to keep the waterfowl off so that they didn't take off and get into jet engines.

Bye.

I'm sorry.

You know they've actually done wind tunnel testing

100

and we had you know blue you know 50 60 mile hour winds across to see how they behave.

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But they were really made to deter birds and wildlife from sitting on the water.

102

Did there used to be birds landing here more?

103

Absolutely.

104

Yeah?

105

Once we deployed these balls all the birds were gone.

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They used to just hang out right loiter at the curbs.

107

Yeah they'd be all over the top of the dam.

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They'd be down at the outlet tower they'd be everywhere but we don't get them anymore like we used to.

109

But before being added to the reservoir, the shade balls had to be tested.

110

would they actually reduce the formation of bromate?

111

And we bought three kiddie pools, three little inflatable kiddie pools, and we filled them all with reservoir water.

112

One was in the sunlight, one we put a tarp on, one we put shade balls on.

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And amazingly, the shade balls knocked out the problem immediately.

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So the reason shade balls are black is to block all light from reaching the water and triggering the bromate reaction.

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The black pigment is also safe for contact with drinking water, and it's stable, even exposed to the elements for years.

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They're black for a reason.

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So, you know, they're made out of high -density polyethylene.

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It's the same material that like a gallon milk jug is made out of.

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It's a food -grade plastic, and they would be clear like a milk carton, except that they wouldn't last in the sun.

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And so they have a material called carbon black in there, and that's what makes the plastic last for at least 10 years out in the sun.

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And so it's that carbon black, the magic powder in this, that really makes this product last in the sunlight.

122

One of the concerns that people raised to me when we first put these on was that, are they going to get hot and then leach material out?

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And they don't.

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They're totally inert.

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I mean, theoretically, you can cut off a piece of this ball and you can chew it.

126

No harm comes to you.

127

This is totally food grade.

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Nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

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What's it like driving through these things?

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It's difficult.

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As you can see, we've been sitting here for, I don't know how long, quite a while.

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there's a breeze and we haven't moved.

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I mean anybody that knows that's been on a boat in a lake

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if there's a slight breeze and you're on a boat you're drifting right?

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Not here this thing they're just stable.

136

It's interesting when you try to pilot the boat through these things it's difficult.

137

It's like driving through peanut butter or something.

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Something I guess yeah.

139

Not that I've ever done that but.

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Blocking sunlight from the reservoir also provided additional benefits.

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You know one of the reasons we put so much chlorine in was to control the algae growth

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There were times years ago in the summer where if we had an algae outbreak you might actually, if you filled a bathtub up, it might have a slight change of green.

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I mean it may be healthy to drink but it might have a slight change of green from the algae.

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You see a bit of algae.

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Yeah, and it's just coloring the water.

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That no longer occurs.

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So with the sunlight gone, the algae problem is gone.

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We put in basically no chlorine.

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We've only had a few times since the shade balls went on L .A reservoir that we've added any chlorine at all.

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And we used to do half the chlorine in the whole water system went into that reservoir just to control algae growth.

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But the big concern I had was evaporation.

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When I first heard about these black plastic balls reducing evaporation, it didn't seem to make any sense.

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I mean, wouldn't they absorb more energy and so heat up the water, leading to faster evaporation?

154

It turns out the answer is no for a number of reasons.

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In an open reservoir, there is more exposed surface area where water molecules can escape into the air.

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Plus, there is greater airflow over the water surface, continually removing the layer of moist air and replacing it with drier air, increasing evaporation.

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Now the shade balls do absorb more energy and get hotter on top, but the bottom of the balls stays cool.

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It's almost like a double pane window.

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You get that air gap in there and the air acts as an insulator.

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And so the sun never hits the water.

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Matter of fact, we've actually done some measurements

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and it's actually cooler under the shade balls even though they're

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black than it is without the balls just with the sun itself.

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So the balls actually have a slight cooling effect.

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So for all of these reasons, shade balls reduce evaporation by 80 to 90 percent.

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That's pretty significant for a dry climate like Los Angeles.

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How much do they cost?

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These run about around three for a dollar.

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I think we paid 33, 34 cents a piece, something in that range.

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And they actually have a salvage value, not that much, but if we go to remove them, they're recyclable material.

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But we figured that over the life of the balls, between the savings in chlorination, the chemical savings, and the savings in evaporation,

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probably at least half the cost of the balls will be paid for.

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And so, I mean, of course, the water quality benefit is immeasurable.

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but even the balls themselves will save money doing what they do.

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Do you ever bring people out here for tours?

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You're the first one.

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Why am I the first one to get to go on a tour here?

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To get this level of detail tour, yes.

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This is so cool.

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I've heard something about hexagonal balls.

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Have you heard anything about hexagonal balls?

182

Oh my gosh.

183

So we had the shade balls and of course, everyone in the world came up with another product.

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I have ones I call the ravioli, it's a small hex.

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We had large hexes.

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We had all sorts of pieces and people say, well, they lock together.

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is they need to not stack up and they need to not sit on the bank of the reservoir.

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The reservoir is going to go up and down and

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so it's really the shape of the ball that

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that makes them not not perch on the side

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because we need to make sure that these when the water goes up

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and down that they spread up or they you know spread out completely to cover the water as best possible.

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I mean, I just can't get over what I'm seeing.

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It's just so nuts.

195

I'm waiting for you to say it looks like a pool of boba.

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I feel like that's the line that'll go in, but you got it.

197

Like, that is...

198

That's awesome. Do you like boba?

199

I love boba.

200

I might get some after this.

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Wortschatz und Sprechhinweise zu dieser Lektion

Diese Sprechübung auf Niveau B2 basiert auf dem Video „Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir?“. Diese Wörter kommen am häufigsten vor: ball, reservoir, shade, bromate. Dieses Video enthält 200 Sätze und 2146 Wörter zum Nachsprechen. Der gesprochene Teil dauert 12:03. Der Sprecher spricht in natürlichem Tempo, etwa 178 Wörter pro Minute, ähnlich wie im Alltagsgespräch. 84 % der Wörter gehören zu den 3.000 häufigsten im Englischen; den Rest solltest du dir vor dem Üben ansehen.

Wichtiger Wortschatz in diesem Video

Die 15 anspruchsvollsten Wörter aus dem Video, mit Aussprache und Bedeutung:

Wort	Aussprache	Bedeutung
reservoir Substantiv	/ˈɹɛz.ə(ɹ).vwɑɹ/	Reservoir, Behälter
shade Substantiv	/ʃeɪd/	Schatten
evaporation Substantiv	/ɪˌvæpəˈɹeɪʃən/	Verdunstung, Verdunsten
sunlight Substantiv	/ˈsʌnˌlaɪt/	Sonnenlicht
alga Substantiv	/ˈæl.ɡə/	Alge
bromide Substantiv	/ˈbɹoʊ.maɪd/	Bromid
chlorine Substantiv	/ˈklɔɹin/	Chlor
float Verb	/fləʊt/	treiben, schwimmen
ozone Substantiv	/ˈoʊzoʊn/	Ozon
disinfect Verb	/dɪs.ɪnˈfɛkt/	desinfizieren
hexagonal Adjektiv	/hɛkˈsæɡ.ə.nəl/	hexagonal, sechseckig
perch Substantiv	/pɝt͡ʃ/	Barsch
polyethylene Substantiv		Polyäthylen, Polyethylen
waterfowl Substantiv		Wasservogel
harmless Adjektiv	/ˈhɑɹmləs/	harmlos, unschädlich

Phrasal Verbs, die du hören wirst

Wort	Aussprache	Bedeutung
go up Verb		hinaufgehen, steigen
turn out Verb		sich herausstellen als/dass, sich erweisen als
come up with Verb		ausdenken
cut off Verb	/ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf]	abschneiden
find out Verb		herausfinden, erfahren
get over Verb		überwinden
heat up Verb		erhitzen, aufheizen
show up Verb		auftauchen, erscheinen

Sätze zum Wiederholen

Kurze, vollständige Sätze aus dem Video, die du im Alltag wiederverwenden kannst:

Did you think they were nuts?
It's like we're in the world's biggest ball pit.
You'd think it was a joke.
Do you ever bring people out here for tours?
Have you heard anything about hexagonal balls?

Grammatik in diesem Video

Die Strukturen, die der Sprecher am häufigsten verwendet, mit den genauen Worten aus dem Video:

Struktur	Im Video
„Used to“ used to + Verb – eine frühere Gewohnheit oder ein Zustand, der nicht mehr gilt	used to be · used to just hang · used to do
Bedingungssätze if + Satz, will/would + Verb – eine Bedingung und ihre Folge	if you didn't know, you'd be
Passiv be + Partizip Perfekt – wichtig ist, was geschieht, nicht wer es tut	being dumped · are required · are actually partially filled
Present Perfect have/has + Partizip Perfekt – eine vergangene Handlung, die jetzt noch wichtig ist	they've actually done · haven't moved · that's been

Aussprache, auf die du achten solltest

Der Sprecher verwendet 53 Kurzformen und abgeschwächte Formen, zum Beispiel they're, didn't, don't. Sprich sie in der kurzen Form, so wie du sie hörst.

Die Laute „sh“ und „zh“: shade /ʃeɪd/, evaporation /ɪˌvæpəˈɹeɪʃən/, chlorination /ˌklɒ.ɹɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, filtration /fɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/, immeasurable /ɪˈmɛʒəɹəbəl/
Lange Wörter – auf die Betonung achten: evaporation /ɪˌvæpəˈɹeɪʃən/, hexagonal /hɛkˈsæɡ.ə.nəl/, carcinogenic /ˌkɑː(ɹ)sɪnəˈd͡ʒɛnɪk/, chlorination /ˌklɒ.ɹɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, immeasurable /ɪˈmɛʒəɹəbəl/

Laute, die Deutschsprachigen schwerfallen:

/w/ — mit runden Lippen, nicht wie das deutsche „w“ (/v/): reservoir /ˈɹɛz.ə(ɹ).vwɑɹ/, aqueduct /ˈæk.wəˌdʌkt/, wobble /ˈwɑbl̩/, freeway /ˈfɹiː.weɪ/, whatsoever /ˌ(h)wʌtsoʊˈɛvɚ/
Stimmhafter Auslaut — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ am Wortende nicht verhärten: shade /ʃeɪd/, bromide /ˈbɹoʊ.maɪd/, absorb /æbˈsɔɹb/, breeze /bɹiːz/, pond /pɑnd/
/æ/ — offener als „ä“: evaporation /ɪˌvæpəˈɹeɪʃən/, alga /ˈæl.ɡə/, hexagonal /hɛkˈsæɡ.ə.nəl/, absorb /æbˈsɔɹb/, aqueduct /ˈæk.wəˌdʌkt/

So übst du mit diesem Video

Höre dir das ganze Video einmal an, ohne zu sprechen, und notiere die Wörter, die du nicht kennst.
Beginne mit 0,75-facher Geschwindigkeit, sprich Satz für Satz nach und wechsle zur normalen Geschwindigkeit, sobald es leichtfällt.
Nimm dich auf und vergleiche mit dem Original; achte dabei auf Wörter wie reservoir, shade, evaporation.

Was ist die Shadowing-Technik?

Shadowing ist eine wissenschaftlich fundierte Sprachlerntechnik, die ursprünglich für die professionelle Dolmetscherausbildung entwickelt und durch den Polyglotten Dr. Alexander Arguelles populär gemacht wurde. Die Methode ist einfach aber wirkungsvoll: Du hörst englisches Audio von Muttersprachlern und wiederholst es sofort laut — wie ein Schatten, der dem Sprecher mit nur 1–2 Sekunden Verzögerung folgt. Anders als passives Hören oder Grammatikübungen zwingt Shadowing dein Gehirn und deine Mundmuskulatur, gleichzeitig echte Sprachmuster zu verarbeiten und zu reproduzieren. Studien zeigen, dass es Aussprachegenauigkeit, Intonation, Rhythmus, verbundene Sprache, Hörverständnis und Sprechflüssigkeit signifikant verbessert — was es zu einer der effektivsten Methoden für die IELTS Speaking-Vorbereitung und reale englische Kommunikation macht.

Shadowing-Technik: die vollständige Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung lesen →

Shadowing-Übung: Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir? - Englisch Sprechen Lernen mit Video

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Wortschatz und Sprechhinweise zu dieser Lektion

Wichtiger Wortschatz in diesem Video

Phrasal Verbs, die du hören wirst

Sätze zum Wiederholen

Grammatik in diesem Video

Aussprache, auf die du achten solltest

So übst du mit diesem Video

Was ist die Shadowing-Technik?