Shadowing Practice: Why Beautiful Things Make us Happy – Beauty Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video
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A lot of things can be beautiful.
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Landscapes, faces, fine art, or epic architecture; stars in the sky.
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Or simply the reflection of the sun on an empty bottle.
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Beauty is nothing tangible, it only exists in our heads as a pleasant feeling.
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If we have to define it, we perceive something as beautiful if its color, shape, form, or proportion somehow are appealing or delightful to us.
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Beauty is a very human experience that's been with us for millions of years.
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Even our first tools were trimmed to a symmetrical shape.
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Researchers have tried to find practical reasons why our ancestors invested the time to make their tools look nice, but couldn't really identify any.
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It seems that early humans shaped their tools into teardrops, simply because they liked them better that way.
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Throughout our history, the definition of beauty has changed a lot.
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Ideals have shifted or turned into their opposites.
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But beyond individual and contemporary tastes some things have never really gone out of fashion.
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The golden ratio, symmetry, or fractal patterns can be found in the art and architecture of cultures from our beginnings, to today.
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Humans seem to be in mysterious, inherent agreement about the beauty of certain things.
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The patterns that keep coming up are all rooted in nature.
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They became part of our biology because they helped our ancestors survive.
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Fractal patterns for example, occur all over nature.
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In snail shells, flower heads; waves or clouds Identifying and assessing these things and phenomena correctly used to be vital.
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Do those clouds mean rain will come soon? Are these waters safe to swim through? Can I eat this?
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Another pervasive thing is symmetry.
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In nature it means everything is as it should be Stems and trees and leaves and blossoms all grow symmetrically A deer with impressive antlers is probably a source of nutritious meat.
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A deformed wheat hair may not be safe to eat.
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A symmetrical face is more likely to belong to a healthy and fertile mating partner.
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Because symmetry is so common in fauna and flora, it's extremely familiar to our brain.
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It helped our ancestors evaluate their environment more easily, and react quickly to danger.
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Things that helped us survive activate the reward center in our brain.
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recognising signals of safety and nutrition, triggered nice feelings in us.
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So our sense of beauty probably evolved from pattern recognition, but it goes way beyond that now.
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Humans seem to have evolved an instinct for beauty that is deeply hardwired into us.
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It remain even after other processes in our brain stop working.
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Alzheimer's patients were asked to rank the beauty of several paintings Then the experiment was repeated two weeks later The patients have long since forgotten the paintings, but still ranked the beauty of the paintings in the same order.
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One could argue that this doesn't say much. So what if people stick to their personal preferences?
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But other research has shown that we have a sort of lowest common denominator when it comes to beauty.
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In different experiments, people were asked to distinguish real from fake abstract paintings.
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Some were originals by Mondrian and Pollock that were painted based on strict rules like fractal patterns, while the imitations were not.
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The majority picked out the original artworks.
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This worked for paintings from both artists, even though their arts are very different.
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Another experiment also used abstract artworks but, asked people to pick them out among similar paintings made either by children or animals.
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Again, the test subjects pointed out the legit paintings whose patterns were carefully planned and not random So while we have a hard time pinning down what beauty is or what it's based on, we somehow recognize it when we see it Humans don't navigate nature trying to survive day by day anymore We left the natural world behind and created our own.
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We made the objects that surround us the things we wear and use and look at.
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As we spread over the planet and our numbers grew, we shaped a completely man-made environment.
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In the process of doing so, we often neglected beauty in favor of functionality cost or efficiency.
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We built rows and rows of concrete housing blocks that nobody wants to live in.
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We have ugly underground subway stations, shabby public service buildings, and sprawling malls.
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One bland, standardized box beside the next.
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Humans, don't like monotony.
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Eye tracking software has shown that people keep focusing on details and ornaments of architecture while brushing quickly over blank walls And not only are they no fun to look at, they actually make us miserable.
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Experiments with skin sensors showed that looking at vast, dull facades makes us feel bored and uncomfortable.
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This kind of boredom has been linked to raised heart rates and stress levels and the opposite seems to be true, too.
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Over the last decades more and more studies have found that surroundings that are actually aesthetically pleasing to us can improve our well-being, our behavior, cognitive function, and mood.
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Our bodies and brains react measurably and visibly to everything that surrounds us Beauty in particular has such a strong impact on our well-being that making useful things beautiful can actually make them better.
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In 2017, a hospital examined recovery factors through observation and interviews with patients and found that visual art in their lounge areas made them more comfortable and happier about their stay in general.
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Another study looked at how well patients recovered in a hospital that had two wards.
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A very old and rather ugly one, and a newly renovated ward.
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To the researchers' surprise, the patients that stayed in the new, renovated environment, needed less pain medication and were released on average, two days earlier than patients recovering in the old ward.
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More beautiful surroundings made them feel better, physically.
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Beauty also has an effect on us on a daily basis.
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It can improve our general happiness.
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A study that looked at the main factors influencing the happiness of adults revealed an unexpected result.
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Besides things like good health in a harmonious family life, individual happiness is affected by how beautiful you find the city you live in.
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Beauty scored even higher than cleanliness or safety.
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So what can we learn from all of this?
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We know that we humans have been fine-tuned for millions of years to process visual input and assess our surroundings.
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It's just what we're programmed to do and we're starting to learn more about how much beauty as a property is really influencing us.
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Beauty meets an inherent need for meaningful information.
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Maybe it would be worth giving it more space in this man-made world we have created.
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This video was a collaboration with the creative agencies, Sagmeister and Walsh as a contribution to their upcoming beauty exhibition.
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The exhibition will be shown at the Mak Vienna from Oct. 23, 2018 - Mar. 31, 2019 and a Mak Frankfurt from May 01, 2019 - Sept. 30, 2019 If you want to learn more about the impact of beauty and see tons of gorgeous installations and multimedia objects, go check it out!
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel C1 se basa en el vídeo “Why Beautiful Things Make us Happy – Beauty Explained”. Las palabras que más se repiten: beauty, paintings, pattern, patients, beautiful. Este vídeo tiene 69 frases y 1188 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 7:32. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 158 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 79 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| ancestor sustantivo | /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/ | ancestro, antepasado |
| fractal sustantivo | /ˈfɹæk.təl/ | fractal |
| symmetry sustantivo | /ˈsɪm.ɪ.tɹaɪ/ | simetría |
| surroundings sustantivo | /səˈɹaʊndɪŋz/ | entorno |
| renovate verbo | /ˈɹɛn.ə.veɪt/ | renovar, remozar |
| symmetrical adjetivo | /səˈmɛtrək(ə)l/ | simétrico |
| surround verbo | /səˈɹaʊnd/ | envolver, cercar |
| evolve verbo | /ɪˈvɑlv/ | desarrollar |
| inherent adjetivo | /ɪnˈhɪəɹənt/ | inherente |
| researcher sustantivo | /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ | investigador, investigadora |
| assess verbo | /əˈsɛs/ | evaluar, estimar |
| aesthetically adverbio | estéticamente | |
| antler sustantivo | /ˈænt.lɚ/ | cornamenta, cornadura |
| boredom sustantivo | /ˈbɔɹ.dəm/ | aburrimiento, tedio |
| cleanliness sustantivo | /ˈklɛn.li.nᵻs/ | limpieza |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| come up verbo | salir a relucir |
| pin down verbo | inmovilizar, atrapar |
| point out verbo | señalar, apuntar |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | have tried · has changed · have shifted |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | were trimmed · can be found · were asked |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 6 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, we're, couldn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: imitation /ɪmɪˈteɪ̯ʃən/, nutritious /nuːˈtɹɪʃəs/, shabby /ˈʃæbi/, distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: symmetrical /səˈmɛtrək(ə)l/, denominator /dɪˈnɒmɪneɪtə(ɹ)/, harmonious /hɑɹˈmoʊni.əs/, imitation /ɪmɪˈteɪ̯ʃən/, monotony /məˈnɑtəni/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: sprawl /spɹɔːl/, snail /sneɪl/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: renovate /ˈɹɛn.ə.veɪt/, evolve /ɪˈvɑlv/, pervasive /pəˈveɪ.sɪv/, visibly /ˈvɪz.ə.bli/, navigate /ˈnæv.ɪ.ɡeɪt/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: surroundings /səˈɹaʊndɪŋz/, visibly /ˈvɪz.ə.bli/, miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como ancestor, fractal, symmetry.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.