Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 8 - Test 2 - Section 3 - Honey Bees in Australia - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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section three you will hear part of a seminar in which a researcher called grant freeman discusses his work on australian
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section three you will hear part of a seminar in which a researcher called grant freeman discusses his work on australian
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honeybees with a group of students first you have some time to look at questions 21-24
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now listen carefully and answer questions 21-24
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good morning everyone uh in today's seminar grant freeman a biologist who specializes in identifying insects and who works for the australian quarantine
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service has come to talk to us about his current research work right well uh over to you grant good morning everyone i'm sure that you know that the
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quarantine service regulates all food brought into australia well obviously they want to protect australia from diseases that might come
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in with imported goods but they also want to prevent insect pests from being introduced into the country and that's where i have a part to play
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anyway my current research involves trying to find a particular type of bee the asian honey bee and finding out
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whether there are any of them around in various states of australia we discovered a few of them in queensland once and eradicated them
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now we're pretty keen to make sure that there aren't any more getting in particularly to new south wales and other states what's wrong with asian honey bees are
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they so different from australian bees well in fact they look almost the same but they are infested with mites
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microscopic creatures which live on them and which can seriously damage our own home-grown bees or could even wipe them
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out well what would happen if australian bees died out well the honey from australian bees is of excellent quality much better than
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the stuff the asian bees produce in fact australia exports native queen bees to a large number of countries because of this
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when the european honey bee was first discovered out in the bush we found they made really unpleasant honey and they were also too big to pollinate many of
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our native flowers here in australia that must have had a devastating effect on the natural flora did you lose any species
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no we managed to get them under control before that happened but if asian bees got in there could be other consequences
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we could lose a lot of money because you might not be aware but it's estimated that native bees pollination of flower
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and vegetable crops is worth 1.2 billion dollars a year so in a way they're the farmer's friend
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oh and another thing is if you're stung by an asian honey bee it can produce an allergic reaction in some people so they're much more dangerous than native
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bees
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before you hear the rest of the seminar you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
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now listen and answer questions twenty five to thirty
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how will you know if asian bees have entered australia we're looking at the diet of the bird called the rainbow bee eater
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the bee eater doesn't care what it eats as long as they're insects but the interesting thing about this bird is that we are able to analyze
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exactly what it eats and that's really helpful if we're looking for introduced insects how come because insects have their skeletons
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outside their bodies so the bee eaters digest the meat from the inside then they bring up all the indigestible
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bits of skeleton and of course the wings in a pellet a small ball of waste material which they cough up that sounds
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a bit unpleasant so how do you go about it in the field we track down the beaters and find their favorite feeding spots you know the places where the birds
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usually feed it's here that we can find the pellets we collect them up and take them back to the laboratory to examine the contents
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how do you do that the pellets are really hard especially if they've been out in the sun for a few days so first of all we treat them by
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adding water to moisten them and make them softer then we pull them apart under the microscope everything's all scrunched up but we're
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looking for wings so we just pull them all out and straighten them then we identify them to see if we can find any asian bee wings and how many have you
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found so far our research shows that asian bees have not entered australia in any number it's a good result and much
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more reliable than trying to find live ones as evidence of introduced insects well that's fascinating thank you grant for those insights i hope that you might
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inspire some of our students here to conduct some similar experiments
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that is the end of section three you now have half a minute to check your answers
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Context & Background

In this segment of the seminar, researcher Grant Freeman discusses his fascinating work on Australian honey bees. As a biologist with the Australian Quarantine Service, Freeman emphasizes the importance of regulating food imports to protect native species from invasive insects, specifically the Asian honey bee. The seminar not only sheds light on the vital role of bees in pollination and the economy but also highlights the potential dangers of introducing non-native species into Australia’s delicate ecosystem. This context serves as a rich backdrop for learners aiming to improve their English listening and speaking skills, especially in scientific environments.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "What would happen if...?" - A useful phrase for discussing hypothetical situations.
  • "In fact, they look almost the same..." - A phrase that can introduce a clarification or correction in conversation.
  • "How do you go about it?" - A common inquiry to invite detailed explanations, especially useful in discussions about processes.
  • "That sounds a bit unpleasant..." - A way to express feelings about a topic politely, useful in conversational contexts.
  • "That's a good result..." - A phrase that acknowledges positive outcomes, appropriate in both personal and professional discussions.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively enhance your speaking skills using the shadowing technique with this video, follow these structured steps:

  1. Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the segment without any text. Focus on Grant Freeman’s pronunciation and intonation. Note how he emphasizes key phrases, particularly those related to his research.
  2. Transcribe Key Portions: Write down important dialogues or phrases that resonate with you. This practice helps with retention and understanding of vocabulary used in academic settings.
  3. Practice Shadowing: Play the video again, and this time, attempt to repeat what Freeman says, syncing your speech with his. Pay close attention to the rhythm and flow of his speech, mimicking his tone and delivery.
  4. Identify Differences: Record your voice while shadowing. Compare it with the original audio to identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and fluency.
  5. Engage in Discussions: To reinforce your learning, discuss what you've learned about honey bees and their significance. Engaging in conversation will help solidify your understanding and provide real-world practice.

Utilizing resources like this video to learn English with YouTube can significantly enhance your English skills. By practicing the shadow speech from the seminar, you will not only improve your speaking abilities but also gain confidence to excel in contexts like IELTS speaking practice.

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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