Shadowing Practice: My thoughts on the first round of UFO files - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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The Department of Defense has released hundreds of never-before-seen files on UFOs.
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The Department of Defense has released hundreds of never-before-seen files on UFOs.
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NASA transcripts from four years later are also part of this release.
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After all the speculation, the hearsay, are we any closer to the truth?
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I'm a little disappointed with the press, how they've treated this subject, because they're not doing their homework in ways they should
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if they're going to be a responsible press reporting on things not previously known, at one time perhaps mysterious,
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but upon being known, I'd expect to hear that and I don't.
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So I thought I'd jump in.
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The Pentagon files that were released included documents, of course not only from the US military, but also from NASA.
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NASA spends time in space.
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And if aliens are gonna come from anywhere, it's probably gonna be from space.
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I get that, but those NASA documents were never classified.
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A. B.
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What the astronauts were seeing would have a complete,
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full, rational explanation, but you have to read the transcript to see and understand why, which I'll detail in a moment.
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But the fact that they were released, juxtaposed, with other files, where people see unidentified anomalous phenomena, don't know what it is,
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then it's almost guilt by association.
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So I thought that was a little misleading.
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A little misleading.
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So what were these flashes that the astronauts saw?
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In modern astrophysics, we know that there are phenomena in the universe
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that accelerate particles and cast them out into space at near the speed of light.
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These are called cosmic rays.
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These move through space, they come from the center of our galaxy, they come from the center of other galaxies, they come from supernovae, wherever they are in the universe.
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When they impinge upon our atmosphere, they bust open atoms and molecules,
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creating a cascade of other particles that slowly work their way down to Earth's surface.
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How do I know this?
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Other than that there are research papers on it, I've worked on mountaintops where I got most of my PhD thesis data observing through telescopes
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and You always had to take multiple exposures of your target object.
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Why?
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Because cosmic rays will hit your digital detector and light up Pixels within it,
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but it doesn't do it to the same pixel for all of your pictures
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So you want to take at least three images of your object.
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You look through the three images and
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If any one of those pixels was blown out You don't use
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that pixel from that image and then you average the rest
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or take the median of the rest and this way you Systematically remove the effects of cosmic rays on your data.
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This is routine.
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We do this all the time Every observation at a telescope
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has a built-in system to free the image of cosmic rays that have hit it.
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The particles that hit my detector?
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Those are much lower energy particles after the original particle got all divided up
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and scattered and cascaded to become many many more lower energy particles by the time it hits the ground.
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When you've left Earth there's no atmosphere to provide such protection for you.
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We would learn among the Apollo astronauts who were the first astronauts to leave Earth for a destination.
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They would see flashes of light.
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They would just see it with their eyes open and with their eyes closed.
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Evidence that something is getting triggered on their retina.
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Just like what was happening in my CCD photos at the telescope on mountaintops.
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So it's evidence that something's happening internal to the eye But you still want to know what's causing it
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So they decided let's create a helmet for you
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That has detectors on it for cosmic rays and if a cosmic ray
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Triggers your helmet at the same time you see a flash.
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There's hard evidence
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That you are seeing the interaction of cosmic rays with your retina and not some
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mysterious Cosmic alien force trying to get inside your head sure enough.
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That's exactly what was observed the Apollo light flash moving emulsion device Alfmed did I get that right?
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I think I did
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Alfmed the emulsion by the way would be the detector
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so Alfmed gave convincing evidence that when their helmet detected a flash of light So did their eyes.
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It's one thing for it to trigger flashes of light, but that's not the real concern here.
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These particles are entering their bodies and could mess with your DNA.
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You can break apart complex molecules within your body, within your brain.
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So yeah, it's one thing to see flashes of light, but we really want to get to the bottom of this medically.
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What is the long-term effects of being out there exposed in space?
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So the transcripts reveal rather explicitly that You have the astronauts constantly reporting on these flashes.
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By the way, there is some adjectives in there.
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Bright as a headlight.
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Bright as a headlight, that sounds like there's some craft that's out there.
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And if you just take that comment out of context, it's like, what are they experiencing?
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But in the framing of the sentences that precede it and follow it,
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It is clear that it is simply more communication with Mission Control about flashes of light.
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These looked a little different from other flashes of light, so that they can be corroborated, or not, with the ALF-Med experiment that's happening on their helmets.
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They would even take pictures of themselves wearing the helmet,
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orienting the helmet, to verify with Mission Control that the data taking was happening as expected and as instructed.
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There were other lights, for example.
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One report was that there were lights outside of the craft that reminded them of the 4th of July.
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I'm presuming fireworks on the 4th of July, though fireworks were not explicitly stated in the transcript.
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What's going on there?
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Well, first of all, the Apollo capsule is not completely clad with transparent windows.
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They're only windows sticking out in, like, one direction, okay?
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Ahead of them from where they're seated, but you don't have a 360 couple of view the way they do in the space station
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when they added this bubble glass that enables you to see in all directions.
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They would learn that these flashes of light were the product of the third Saturn V stage going off.
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That third stage is what takes you from orbit around Earth on a trajectory to reach the moon.
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It's called a Translunar Injection, a TLI.
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You're separating from a previous stage, engines are starting, There's the fuel that was in the tank that was kept at sub-zero temperatures
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because we're using liquid oxygen and liquid methane to liquefy those two gases at the very, very cold temperatures.
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And when you're that cold and you launch from Florida, you've got frost on the outside, and that stuff finally jiggles off.
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That flies off.
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Paint chips fly off.
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Who knows what the hell else flies off?
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And there it is, right about at that time, they see these flashes of light outside their capsule.
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Not in their eyes, outside.
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Notice you can't photograph flashes of light that are on your retina, because the camera is not your retina.
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But you can do them outside the capsule, and they did.
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They communicated expressly to Mission Control which frame in the camera that photo would be.
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You could look in the files and find the photo yourself.
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It's a very findable thing if you want to sort of check it.
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I lived through the Apollo era, a great time in the history of America and of the world.
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I spoke with many moonwalkers, never Michael Jackson though, never met the guy, but the other moonwalkers in the world.
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And when they toured the world, they were received by other nations, parades and things.
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They would go up to him and say, we did it.
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They didn't say you did it.
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They said we did it.
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The we, of course, is humanity reaching the moon.
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And when you do things that have never been done before, like going to the moon, you will experience things that no one had experienced before you.
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And that's what science is all about.
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And that's exactly what happened on those missions.
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Many more files will be released, surely with NASA transcripts mixed in among them and I don't know
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if any NASA transcripts were once secret or top secret and then sort of crossed over into the release of files, maybe.
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And if they were kept secret, it would have surely been only for national security reasons.
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Remember, we went to the moon because we were scared witless that the godless commies, the Russians, might beat us there and display to the world
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that their system of life and economy and government would be better than ours.
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So the whole thing was a military construct.
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You want further evidence of that?
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Every astronaut who went to the moon served in the military, and were either officers in the military, or one or two might have been enlisted.
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They all served in the military, except for one who was the scientist, Jack Schmidt.
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So I wouldn't be surprised if many NASA files were top secret now getting released.
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If there's something we really can't explain, and you want to think they're aliens, because you're alien adjacent, or that's your first thought instead of your hundredth thought.
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I'm a scientist, and in the history of science, the correct explanation has never been magic or aliens, ever.
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The verified explanation for a phenomenon we didn't understand.
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So, aliens are kind of low on my list as a likelihood for what could be happening, But I don't want to put him to zero. Could be.
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I'll just reiterate what I've been saying all along.
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We are at a stage right now.
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We have sufficient reason to think there are aliens in the back shed because of testimonies from whistleblowers and insiders,
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former security officials and ex-military. So, okay.
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I'm just sitting back, waiting for you to walk out the alien.
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That's kind of what I need right now.
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And then we're good.
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At which point nobody has to ask, do you believe in alien?
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So other than my telling you my life experience dealing with cosmic rays, obtaining data from the universe for my PhD thesis,
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everything else I'm describing for you here with the astronauts, it's not a matter of you taking my word for it.
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Go to the transcripts if you like.
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There's the astronauts talking about the flashes of light, interwoven with discussions about the ALF-Med experiment.
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Constant back and forth with mission control.
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Bypass the media report, go straight to the file.
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And I think you'll see what I'm talking about.
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Maybe everything else is aliens in the file, but not the NASA documents.
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Until next time, keep looking up.
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What would you do if an alien actually showed up?
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Would you shake its hand or run?
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Does it even have a hand to shake?
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In my latest book, Take Me to Your Leader, I explore not only how they might have gotten here, but what they might want and how you should respond.
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Because the real question is not, are we alone?
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It's, are we ready?
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By the way, I also narrated Take Me to Your Leader.
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And I'm duly informed that you can get a copy of that book or the audiobook now.
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Wherever books are sold.
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You should probably get the book sooner rather than later.
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You don't want to have a first alien encounter and not be ready for it.
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I'm just saying.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing speaking English through this video on UFO files offers several benefits. Firstly, the content presents a unique and engaging topic that can spark conversations in your IELTS speaking practice. The speaker articulates complex ideas about unidentified flying objects and the scientific basis behind them, which can help you learn how to discuss intricate subjects in English. Additionally, by focusing on the speaker’s expressive delivery and varied intonation, you can enhance your own speaking skills through active listening and imitation. Using a shadowing app allows you to repeat phrases and sentences right after hearing them, reinforcing your language retention and fluency. Engaging with this content will not only improve your vocabulary, but it will also boost your confidence in discussing scientific topics.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
This video features several key grammatical structures and phrases that can enrich your English speaking practice:
- Conditional clauses: "If aliens are gonna come from anywhere..." This structure emphasizes cause and effect, crucial for logical reasoning in conversations.
- Present perfect tense: "NASA has released hundreds of never-before-seen files..." This tense is vital for discussing past actions with relevance to the present.
- Comparisons: "It's almost guilt by association." This expression is useful for highlighting similarities or misunderstandings, which can be common in discussions.
- Embedded questions: "What were these flashes that the astronauts saw?" This form is essential for effective questioning in spoken English.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you practice speaking, pay attention to specific pronunciation challenges presented in the video:
- “NASA” - Ensure you pronounce each syllable clearly, as it can easily be miscommunicated.
- “UFOs” - The abbreviation should be pronounced as individual letters or as “you-foe,” depending on context, which can affect clarity.
- “Phenomena” - This term can be difficult; focusing on syllable stress (phe-NOM-e-na) will make it sound more fluent, which is essential in shadow speech.
Incorporating these aspects into your practice will help you overcome common pronunciation traps and enhance your overall speaking proficiency. By actively listening, shadowing, and repeating phrases from this video, you can significantly improve your English speaking abilities.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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