Shadowing Practice: C14 | Test 1 | Section 4 | 31-40 | Completion Notes | IELTS Listening Test | Learn English with Hang - Learn English Speaking with Video
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IELTS 14 Test 1 Section 4
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You will hear part of a lecture on renewable energy that uses the power of the sea.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
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Thank you.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
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Producing enough energy to meet our needs has become a serious problem.
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Demand is rising rapidly because of the world's increasing population and expanding industry.
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Burning fossil fuels, like gas, coal and oil, seriously damages the environment, and they'll eventually run out.
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For a number of years now, scientists have been working out how we can derive energy from renewable sources,
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such as the sun and wind, without causing pollution.
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Today I'll outline marine renewable energy, also called ocean energy, which harnesses the movement of the oceans.
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Marine renewable energy can be divided into three main categories – wave energy,
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tidal energy and ocean thermal energy conversion.
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And I'll say a few words about each one.
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First, wave energy.
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Numerous devices have been invented to harvest wave energy with names such as wave dragon,
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the penguin, and mighty whale.
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And research is going on to try and come up with a really efficient method.
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This form of energy has plenty of potential, as the source is constant, and there's no danger of waves coming to a standstill.
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Electricity can be generated using onshore systems, using a reservoir or offshore systems.
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But the problem with ocean waves is that they're erratic, with the wind making them travel in every direction.
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This adds to the difficulty of creating efficient technology.
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Ideally, all the waves would travel smoothly and regularly along the same straight line.
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Another drawback is that sand and other sediment on the ocean floor might be stopped from flowing normally,
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which can lead to environmental problems.
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The second category of marine energy that I'll mention is tidal energy.
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One major advantage of using the tide, rather than waves as a source of energy, is that it's predictable.
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We know the exact times of high and low tides for years to come.
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For tidal energy to be effective, the difference between high and low tides needs to be at least 5 metres,
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and this occurs naturally in only about 40 places on Earth.
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But the right conditions can be created by constructing a tidal lagoon,
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an area of seawater separated from the sea.
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One current plan is to create a tidal lagoon on the coast of Wales.
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This will be an area of water within a bay at Swansea, sheltered by a U-shaped breakwater, or dam, built out from the coast.
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The breakwater will contain 16 hydro turbines, and as the tide rises, water rushes through the breakwater,
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activating the turbines, which turn a generator to produce electricity.
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Then, for three hours as the tide goes out, the water is held back within the breakwater,
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increasing the difference in water level until it's several metres higher within the lagoon than in the open sea.
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Then, in order to release the stored water, gates in the breakwater are opened.
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It pours powerfully out of the lagoon,
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driving the turbines in the breakwater in the opposite direction and again generating thousands of megawatts of electricity.
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As there are two high tides a day, this lagoon scheme would generate electricity four times a day,
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every day, for a total of around 14 hours in every 24.
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And enough electricity for over 150,000 homes.
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This system has quite a lot in its favour.
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Unlike solar and wind energy, it doesn't depend on the weather.
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The turbines are operated without the need for fuel, so it doesn't create any greenhouse gas emissions, and very little maintenance is needed.
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It's estimated that electricity generated in this way will be relatively cheap,
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and that manufacturing the components would create more than 2,000 jobs, a big boost to the local economy.
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On the other hand, there are fears that lagoons might harm both fish and birds,
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for example by disturbing migration patterns and causing a build-up of silt, affecting local ecosystems.
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There are other forms of tidal energy, but I'll go on to the third category of marine energy, ocean thermal energy conversion.
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This depends on there being a big difference in temperature between surface water
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and the water a couple of kilometres below the surface, and this occurs in tropical coastal areas.
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The idea is to bring cold water up to the surface using a submerged pipe.
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The concept dates back to 1881.
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That is the end of Section 4.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: energy, wave, breakwater, lagoon, tidal. This video has 59 sentences and 755 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:59. The speaker talks slowly, about 94 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| breakwater noun | /ˈbɹeɪkˌwɔːtə/ | A construction in or around a harbour designed to break the force of the sea and to provide shelter for vessels lying inside. |
| lagoon noun | /ləˈɡuːn/ | A shallow body of water separated from deeper sea by a bar. |
| tidal adjective | /ˈtaɪ.d(ə)l/ | Relating to tides. |
| tide noun | /taɪd/ | The daily fluctuation in the level of the sea caused by the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun. |
| turbine noun | /ˈtɜː.baɪn/ | Any of various rotary machines that use the kinetic energy of a continuous stream of fluid (a liquid or a gas) to turn a shaft. |
| renewable adjective | /ɹɪˈnu.ə.bl̩/ | Able to be renewed; capable of renewal. |
| metre noun | /ˈmiːtəɹ/ | The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in… |
| thermal adjective | /ˈθɜːməl/ | Pertaining to heat or temperature. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| drawback noun | /ˈdɹɔˌbæk/ | A disadvantage; something that detracts or takes away. |
| erratic adjective | /ɪˈɹætɪk/ | Unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent. |
| hydroelectric adjective | /ˌhʌɪdrəʊɪˈlɛktrɪk/ | That generates electricity by converting the energy of moving water, or of steam escaping under high pressure. |
| kilometre noun | /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/ | An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km |
| megawatt adjective | Exceptionally powerful, intense, or enormous in impact. | |
| onshore verb | /ˈɒnʃɔː/ | To relocate production, services or jobs to lower-cost locations in the same country. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| hold back verb | To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power. | |
| run out verb | To use up or consume all | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be divided · have been invented · can be generated |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has become · have been invented |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, doesn't, they'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thermal /ˈθɜːməl/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: onshore /ˈɒnʃɔː/, emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/, offshore /ɒfˈʃɔː(ɹ)/, migration /maɪˈɡɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, pollution /pəˈluʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: hydroelectric /ˌhʌɪdrəʊɪˈlɛktrɪk/, kilometre /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/, ideally /aɪˈdi.ə.li/, predictable /pɹəˈdɪktəbləl/, ecosystem /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like breakwater, lagoon, tidal.
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.