Shadowing Practice: California wildfires latest: 50,000 flee as blaze spreads with “zero containment” BBC News - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Ferocious wildfires are ripping through suburbs around Los Angeles,
⏸ Paused
169 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Ferocious wildfires are ripping through suburbs around Los Angeles,
2
killing at least two people and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
3
The city's fire chief said the conditions are unprecedented,
4
unpredictable, and that there was no possibility of bringing them under control until the strong winds subside.
5
A thousand buildings were destroyed in one area alone,
6
the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighbourhood,
7
which is home to many Hollywood stars.
8
The first fire around the Palisades between Santa Monica and Malibu started last night,
9
driven by fierce winds.
10
A state of emergency was declared after the blaze first took hold.
11
It spread with terrifying speed,
12
fanned by those hurricane-force winds and tinder-dry conditions.
13
Within a matter of hours,
14
the region of blaze had doubled in size.
15
Well, our North America correspondent,
16
Emma Vardy, is in the Pacific Palisades area for us now.
17
Emma.
18
Los Angeles has never really seen anything like this before with fires burning in all directions
19
and emergency services have become overwhelmed as homes and businesses are being destroyed.
20
For those people who haven't yet evacuated,
21
they're being urged to conserve water as fire crews are battling hard but haven't managed to contain these fires yet.
22
As dawn broke, LA awoke to an apocalyptic sight.
23
Smoke blocking out the skies over Santa Monica Beach after a terrifying 24 hours.
24
The fire grew at an extraordinary speed,
25
flames raging out of control as hurricane-force winds battered the coast.
26
And the fire continues to grow with 0% containment.
27
We have over 500 personnel assigned,
28
And unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians.
29
L.A.
30
County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster.
31
There are not enough firefighters in L.A.
32
County.
33
Along this coastal road, we've been seeing the fires destruction.
34
There's power lines down, patches still smoldering and the air is
35
so thick with smoke that we can barely see more than a few meters in front of us.
36
This was the moment two residents found their house engulfed by flames.
37
Just be okay?
38
You're gonna be okay?
39
Hi?
40
You're gonna be okay?
41
You gonna be okay?
42
You gonna be okay?
43
LA's governor watched as the fire spread across thousands of acres in hours.
44
Thousands made homeless, a state of emergency called and the situation out of control.
45
Some abandoning their cars to the mercy of the flames.
46
Others made attempts to stay and save their homes.
47
Fire crews struggled against a terrifying inferno, causing utter destruction.
48
As flights continued to land into LA's main airport,
49
passengers witnessed the frightening scenes below.
50
Emergency services have been stretched to their limit,
51
battling the unpredictable fires on multiple fronts.
52
At least a thousand buildings have been destroyed as the situation took many people by surprise.
53
My sister called and she's like, are you okay?
54
And at that moment, a helicopter flew over my house and just dropped water.
55
And I was like, oh, it's raining.
56
She's like, oh, no, it's not raining.
57
Your neighborhood is on fire.
58
You need to get out.
59
In one of the worst hit areas,
60
a reporter described the carnage.
61
We're here at the heart of the Pacific Palaszczuk days in a neighborhood that is a total loss.
62
You've got a home here.
63
I'm going to flip over here.
64
Another home lost.
65
When we go over this way,
66
home's down this street gone.
67
As the second fire broke out,
68
elderly residents of a care home huddled in a car park.
69
A lot of these people are terrified and they don't have a blanket.
70
They don't have a wrap.
71
They have nothing.
72
In some of LA's most exclusive neighborhoods,
73
Hollywood stars left their homes to the flames.
74
None of the fires have yet been brought under control.
75
Some returned to their neighbourhoods, now turned to ash.
76
I'm OK.
77
I'll be OK.
78
I'm tough and we'll start over.
79
Even though I'm 91 years old, I'll start over again.
80
This afternoon, President Biden visited teams on the ground to get an update.
81
We're prepared to do anything and everything as long as it takes contain these fires and help reconstruct,
82
make sure they're going to get back to normal.
83
It's going to be a hell of a long way.
84
Many people are still unsure where to go in this fast changing situation.
85
Look at this.
86
Beyond comprehension.
87
A dark day for Los Angeles.
88
The Californian dream becoming a nightmare.
89
Emma Vardy, BBC News, Los Angeles.
90
Well, Tanner Charles is a filmmaker and was in Los Angeles to document the fires.
91
He was trying to help save someone's house when he and his companion had to save themselves.
92
Oh.
93
All right, dude.
94
Yeah, let's get out of here.
95
We tried.
96
We tried, bro.
97
We just, you know, did everything that we could do to prepare that house,
98
to make sure it was as fireproof as possible, you know.
99
But it proved to be too much,
100
and we had to get out of there.
101
I'm sorry, bro.
102
And we just ran out of there and drove away as fast as we could.
103
I've never seen anything like this before.
104
Holy shit!
105
Is that true?
106
You know, we just saw on the news and everything is destroyed.
107
It's crazy.
108
Gotta get out of here.
109
Well, let's go back to Emma Vardy now.
110
And Emma, this area is no stranger to wildfires,
111
but nothing could have prepared them for this.
112
That's right.
113
Wildfires are common at this time of year.
114
But what makes this so different is that there are
115
so many fires burning at once and they're burning so close to residential areas.
116
Now, emergency crews on the ground have admitted they just don't have enough people to deal with this developing situation.
117
And some of those fires are still growing in size.
118
Now, down here underneath Pacific Palisades,
119
the hillsides are still burning behind us.
120
And every time the winds blow,
121
there's a gust of wind.
122
We're just seeing flames up on the hillside.
123
They're burst back into life.
124
a reminder of how unpredictable this fire is
125
and how much the winds have been driving it and making life
126
so difficult but those winds are predicted now to decrease
127
which may help the emergency services at last start to get
128
a handle on this now we have also been hearing about
129
some serious injuries to residents who did not evacuate their homes choosing to stay behind for various reasons to try
130
and protect their homes or simply leaving it too late
131
so emergency services are continuing to warn people to take evacuation orders very seriously
132
because this is a day like Los Angeles has not seen before and it's not even close to being over yet.
133
Emma Vardy reporting from Los Angeles.
134
Thank you very much.
135
Well, as you've been hearing,
136
Los Angeles has been hit by devastating wildfires before,
137
but weather experts say that it's being hit by the most destructive windstorm in decades,
138
with winds of between 80 and 100 miles an hour.
139
So how much of a role has climate change played in this extreme weather?
140
Here's our climate editor, Justin Rolat.
141
Still images show the fury and the horror of the fires engulfing parts of California.
142
Wildfires are a year-round threat in the state,
143
but this year it experienced its hottest summer on record.
144
We know climate change is making the kind of hot,
145
dry weather California has experienced in recent months more likely.
146
And scientists say that is increasing the number of what are known as fire weather days.
147
Now, this graph shows the increase in the area burnt by fires in the US since 1983.
148
As you can see, it appears to have been growing steadily over the years.
149
And there's another factor this year.
150
The winter rains that normally reduce the fire risk in California didn't come.
151
In fact, downtown Los Angeles has only received 0.16 inches of rain since October.
152
That is more than four inches below average.
153
The California Governor Gavin Newsom believes the pattern of wildfires is changing.
154
We were here not too long ago, the Franklin Fire.
155
A few weeks prior to that, the Mountain Fire.
156
November, December, now January.
157
There's no fire season, it's fire year, it's year round.
158
And look how the wind has been blowing the fires.
159
These Santa Ana, or devil winds as they're sometimes called,
160
are a normal part of California weather caused by cool,
161
dry air blowing from the interior of the state to the coast.
162
Climate change doesn't appear to have altered the pattern of the Santa Ana winds,
163
but as our world warms,
164
the dangerous combination of strong winds with very dry vegetation is becoming more likely.
165
And just look at the scenes on the other side of the country.
166
The east coast and parts of central US are experiencing icy cold weather
167
and snowstorms that have killed five people and left 60 million under extreme weather warnings.
168
The contrast could hardly be more stark.
169
Justin Rowlatt, BBC News.

Download App

AI scoring for every sentence you speak

Scan To Download
Scan To Download
Download on theApp Store
Get it onGoogle Play
TRENDING

Popular

About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will practice speaking and comprehension skills through a real-life news report about the devastating wildfires in California. This topic not only provides an opportunity to learn about an urgent environmental issue but also enhances vocabulary related to emergencies, disaster management, and the natural world. Through analyzing the spoken content, learners will utilize the shadowing technique to imitate pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm, thereby improving their spoken English fluency. This practice will be especially beneficial for those preparing for IELTS speaking practice, as it focuses on real-world English used in tense situations.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Ferocious wildfires - extremely intense fires that spread quickly and can cause great destruction.
  • Zero containment - a situation in which fire is completely uncontrolled; no part of the fire is under control.
  • Unprecedented conditions - situations that have never occurred before, often leading to unexpected challenges.
  • State of emergency - a declaration that allows authorities to respond quickly to a disaster.
  • Power lines down - describes electric lines that have fallen, often due to the effects of a disaster.
  • Tinder-dry conditions - an environment so dry that it easily catches fire, increasing the risk of blaze.
  • Emergency services overwhelmed - when first responders cannot cope with the number of incidents occurring.

Practice Tips

To make the most of this lesson using the shadowing technique, set aside some focused time for your practice. As you listen to the video, pay particular attention to the speaker's pace and emotional intonation, especially during moments of urgency describing the wildfire. Try to mimic not just the words, but also the shadowspeak or the feeling behind the words. Begin by repeating short segments before gradually increasing the length as you gain confidence.

The tone of the transcript conveys seriousness and urgency, making it important to reflect that emotion in your shadow speech. Record yourself to evaluate how closely you match the original speaker’s tone and pace. This will greatly enhance your fluency and ensure you're prepared for high-pressure speaking situations, such as those you might encounter in the IELTS exam. Incorporating this expressive element into your practice will help you communicate more effectively in real-life conversations.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee