Shadowing Practice: What If Megalodon Met the Biggest Snake Ever - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This is going to be a very unusual match, but I bet it'll also be spectacular and intense.
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In the left corner, we have Megalodon.
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This species went extinct about 3 million years ago, but there are good reasons why it's now a legendary animal.
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It's the biggest shark that ever existed, and it was a super powerful predator in its time.
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And a round of applause for our contender in the right corner, Titanoboa.
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This one's way bigger than any other snake.
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It lives in the swamps of Colombia, and it's the real boss of the area.
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Titanoboa can eat absolutely any animal it decides to hunt, and it faces no competition.
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It can swallow a giant turtle or even a crocodile.
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It looks like a modern boa but behaves like an anaconda, and that's a very scary mix!
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But can it stop a giant shark?
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Let's start by looking at their sizes.
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We still don't know about Megalodon's exact size, because the only remains of them that have survived are just fossilized backbones and teeth.
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But scientists generally think this monster was about 50 feet long.
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So it wasn't just the biggest shark that ever existed, but also one of the biggest fish of its time.
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Its closest rival is the modern whale shark, but they're only about 40 feet.
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The giant Titanoboa got so big thanks to a lucky coincidence since.
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Snakes are cold-blooded animals, so they need a warm climate to live and grow in.
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Northeastern Colombia is perfect.
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It was about 90 degrees when Titanoboa was alive.
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This helped it grow to an incredible 42 feet in length.
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Titanoboa could easily swallow the longest snake registered in the Guinness Book of Records, which is only about 25 feet long.
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And that's a big gulp!
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So we have 50 feet versus 42.
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The first point goes to Megalodon.
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What about weight?
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Titanoboa is about 2,500 pounds.
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That's heavier than a small car, including the passengers.
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But it might be even heavier if you run into Titanoboa after it's had lunch.
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In that case, you can add a few hundred pounds more from the turtle or the alligator that it just swallowed.
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If you put Titanoboa on some very large scales, you'd need 5 giant anacondas on the other side to balance them out.
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But Megalodon is an incredible 50 times heavier than Titanoboa.
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The average adult female weighs between 27 and 59 tons.
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That's as much as an empty Boeing 737 airplane.
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And that's without carry-on luggage, either.
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Luckily enough, Megalodon can't fly.
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So obviously, Megalodon wins in the weight category.
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That's one more point to the ancient shark.
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Although having such a large weight makes it difficult for the shark to move and also means it's a little clumsy.
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Which leads us to our next category, speed and agility.
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Megalodon can swim at about 16 feet per second.
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That's enough to make it the ultimate predator.
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But it's still slower than plenty of other species.
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If Megalodon was swimming in a pool and Usain Bolt was running along next to it, he would be twice as fast.
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His top speed is almost 40 feet per second.
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Now a sailfish, which is the fastest sea creature, can reach about 100 feet per second.
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Giant size and weight make it turn really slowly, just the same as a large truck.
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So when it attacks, the shark has only one chance to strike.
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If it misses, it has to go around for a second attempt.
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This gives its prey more than enough time to run away.
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Titanoboa isn't that fast either, especially on land.
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But when the giant snake is in the water, it can swim at a speed of up to 12 miles per hour.
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Not much, but enough for it to escape from Megalodon if it needs to.
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It's learned to swim so well because water is its main hunting ground.
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And because Titanoboa is a snake, duh, it also has incredible mobility.
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It can wriggle around and change direction very quickly.
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So it can easily dodge Megalodon's bite.
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So here's the first point for Titanoboa.
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The score is 2-1 in favor of megalodon.
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Next section, fighting skills.
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Megalodon is incredibly smart.
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It can change tactics depending on what kind of prey it's hunting.
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Scientists have found teeth markings from megalodon on some whale fossils.
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These show that the giant sharks aim their bites at their prey's vital body parts to take them out quickly.
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Other remains of Megalodon's victims have multiple fractures.
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This is because Megalodon performs a super-powerful ram attack that can knock almost anything out.
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In fact, this 50-ton beast can easily smash through concrete walls.
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So, Megalodon's opponents don't really stand a chance.
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Some of them prefer to first damage the tails and fins of the whale they're hunting.
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This stops it from escaping, letting the huge predator finish off its defenseless victim.
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Now, what can Titanoboa do in response?
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The giant snake isn't poisonous, but this doesn't stop it from hunting prey up to 4 meters long.
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Its bite has a very special design.
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The structure of its teeth and jaws lets Titanoboa really clamp down on the body of its prey, so there's no escape.
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When hunting, Titanoboa uses similar tactics to an anaconda or a boa.
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By that, I mean it uses its powerful muscles and weight to stop its prey from moving.
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It deploys all of its strength to take away the animal's energy, making it helpless.
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So Titanoboa is not only really speedy and agile, it can also fight its corner pretty well.
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It's definitely earned a point in the fighting skills section.
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The score is now 2-2!
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That's a tie going into the final round!
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We've got one more section before we find out which of these ancient monsters will win!
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Up now is Fighting Tools!
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Apart from its ramming power, Megalodon has something else up its sleeve, even though it really doesn't have arms or wears a coat.
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Let's take a look at its jaw.
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Its teeth are about 7 inches long.
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an absolute record for all known shark species in the world.
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Megalodon has about 250 of these deadly pointy things arranged in 5 rows.
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They're also really sharp, which helps it penetrate the thick skin of big animals like whales.
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Megalodon's jaws are 6.5 feet wide, and it has one of the strongest bites of any animal on the planet.
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Not only are Are they super dangerous?
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Megalodon's teeth are also really valuable.
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One of these ancient incisors was once found in Western Australia.
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The location where it was dug up was kept secret, but this didn't stop intruders from stealing it.
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It's probably in someone's private collection by now, and sadly, scientists missed the chance to learn something new about Megalodon.
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Titanoboa also has a mean set of teeth.
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They're thin and pointed like needles.
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They bend inwards in the snake's jaw like fishing hooks.
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This little feature helps Titanoboa get a grip on its prey and prevent the slightest chance of it running or swimming away.
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If the animal tries to pull itself free, it will only hurt itself even more.
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And remember that Titanoboa is incredibly agile, so it can strike with that bite at an incredible speed.
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Now it's time for the fight itself!
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but never swims in the open sea.
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But here Megalodon has gotten lost and ended up in a shallow swampy area off the coast of Colombia.
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In water like this, Megalodon finds it even harder to move around.
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It could bite Titanoboa just once and the fight would be over.
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But because the shark moves so much slower than the snake, for now, he doesn't get the chance to snap those enormous jaws.
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Titanoboa starts attacking Megalodon, but it can't do much damage to that thick skin with its sharp but very short teeth.
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Eventually, Megalodon gets its chance and ends the fight with a single bite.
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It turns out that those huge teeth were what really mattered in this competition.
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Chew on that for a while.
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That's 3 to 2 and a victory to the giant shark!

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze video bevat 112 zinnen en 1339 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 8:42. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 154 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. Slechts 79% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

15 woorden uit de video die het leren waard zijn, met uitspraak en betekenis:

WoordUitspraakBetekenis
bite werkwoord/baɪt/bijten
snake zelfstandig naamwoord/sneɪk/slang, serpent
swim werkwoord/swɪm/zwemmen
prey zelfstandig naamwoord/pɹeɪ/prooi
whale zelfstandig naamwoord/ˈweɪl/walvis
scientist zelfstandig naamwoord/ˈsaɪəntəst/wetenschapper, wetenschapster
jaw zelfstandig naamwoord/d͡ʒɔː/kaak
swallow werkwoord/ˈswɑ.loʊ/slikken, doorslikken
predator zelfstandig naamwoord/ˈpɹɛd.ə.tɚ/roofdier n roofvis, predator
sharp bijvoeglijk naamwoord/ʃɑɹp/scherp, puntig
thick bijvoeglijk naamwoord/θɪk/dik, dikke
skill zelfstandig naamwoord/skɪl/bekwaamheid, vaardigheid
tactics zelfstandig naamwoord/ˈtæktɪks/tactiek
turtle zelfstandig naamwoord/ˈtɝtl̩/schildpad
earn werkwoord/ɝn/verdienen

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

WoordBetekenis
find out werkwoordontdekken, onderzoeken
run away werkwoordvluchten, weglopen
turn out werkwoorduitvallen, resulteren

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 18 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals they're, doesn't, can't. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

  • De “th”-klanken: thick /θɪk/, thin /ˈθɪn/, northeastern /ˌnorˈθiː.stɚn/
  • De klanken “sh” en “zh”: sharp /ʃɑɹp/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, smash /smæʃ/, shallow /ˈʃæloʊ/, sailfish /ˈseɪlˌfɪʃ/
  • Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, legendary /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənˌdɛɹ.i/, spectacular /spɛkˈtæk.jə.lɚ/, mobility /mə(ʊ)ˈbɪlɪti/

Zo oefen je met deze video

  1. Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
  2. Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
  3. Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als bite, snake, swim.

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

StructuurIn de video
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telthave survived · have found · has gotten
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doetare just fossilized · was dug
Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of dingRecords, which is · sailfish, which is

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →