Shadowing Practice: Cheetah Facts - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Wildlife Crystal.
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Hello and welcome to another episode of Wildlife Crystal.
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I'm your host, Wildlife Crystal, a wild animal specialist.
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As you know, on this show Wildlife Crystal,
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we are going to be learning fun facts about one animal and their environment every episode.
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I'm here with my very special co-host,
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the one and only Kaya the Koala.
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Oh, hey guys!
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I was thinking, can we talk about an animal that has broken a world record?
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You know, because I've broken the world record of being one of the cutest hosts on the planet.
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Oh, yes, you are extremely cute.
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The cutest in the world?
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I love your confidence, Kaya,
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and I think it's a great idea.
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Let's discuss an animal who has a world record-breaking skill.
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I have just the animal in mind.
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Try and guess.
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The animal we are going to discuss today is the fastest land animal on Earth.
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Hmm, is it a horse?
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That's a great guess, but nope.
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The fastest land animal in the world is the cheetah.
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I knew that.
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How fast do they run?
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Cheetahs can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour.
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To put that in perspective,
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the fastest human in the world ran 28 miles per hour.
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So cheetahs are really fast.
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They can accelerate from 0 to 68 miles per hour in just 3 seconds.
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And cheetahs are the only big cat that can turn in midair while sprinting.
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Also, another fun fact, when cheetahs are running full speed,
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their stride, which is the length between their steps, is 21 feet.
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That's like jumping over the length of two small cars.
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Their feet only touch the ground twice during each stride.
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That's incredible!
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Cheetahs are really amazing.
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And I heard their bodies are built for speed.
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Is that true?
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Oh, yes.
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For many reasons.
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First, the cheetah has a long muscular tail that is flat-shaped.
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The tail is like a rudder on a boat
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because they use it to help control their steering and keep their balance when they're running very fast.
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Second, the cheetahs have special cleat feet.
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The cheetah has what's called semi-non-retractable claws,
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a lot like a dog's claws
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that work like cleats on a football shoe to give the cheetah lots of traction while running.
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The pads on most cats' paws are very soft,
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but the cheetah's pads are hard,
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kind of like rubber tires.
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This also helps them grip the ground when they're running super fast.
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These cats sound cool.
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Do you think they would ever hang out with me?
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Well, maybe male cheetahs.
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Male cheetahs live in small family groups of two to three brothers called coalitions.
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But female cheetahs are solitary.
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That means that they spend most of their life alone.
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If they're not alone, they are living with their babies,
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also known as cubs.
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Yay!
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Tell us about cheetah cubs.
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Like I was saying before,
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male cheetahs don't remain with the females after mating and do not help take care of the cheetah babies either.
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Female cheetahs, on the other hand,
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are caring, affectionate and dedicated mothers.
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Female cheetahs give birth to a litter of 2-8 cubs in a secluded spot like a hidden rocky area
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or a marshy area with tall grass.
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They do this because the cubs are very vulnerable to predators and many do not survive their first year.
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When the baby cubs are very young,
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the mother cheetah will leave her cubs hidden while she hunts for food.
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But around six weeks old,
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mom will start teaching the essential survival skills like hunting.
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But don't worry, the young cubs do have some traits
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that help them camouflage in with their surroundings when mom is off hunting.
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Cheetah cubs have long hair
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that runs down the back of their neck all the way down to the base of their tail called the mantle.
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The The mantle helps the cheetah cubs blend into the tall grass,
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which helps keep them safe from threats like lions or hyenas.
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Very interesting, and I love cheetah moms.
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They're the best.
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What do cheetahs hunt for?
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Cheetahs are carnivores, which means they need meat mainly to survive.
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Their diet is made up of primarily smaller mammals such as antelopes, gazelles, and impalas.
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They will also feed on wildebeest calves,
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babies, and sometimes smaller animals like rabbits and birds.
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Did you know that while lions and leopards usually do their hunting at night,
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cheetahs hunt for food during the day?
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Here's an interesting fact about cheetahs.
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Because they live in an environment where water is hard to come by,
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cheetahs can survive on one drink of water every three or four days.
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Not humans.
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We need to constantly be drinking water every day.
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Wow, that's interesting.
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Tell us more fun facts about cheetahs.
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Let's talk about their beautiful spotted fur.
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Cheetah's fur is covered in solid black spots,
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and so is their skin.
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The black fur actually grows out of the black spots of their skin.
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And if you're curious, cheetahs have about 2,000 to 3,000 spots,
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which help them camouflage themselves.
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Also, like football players, cheetahs have built-in sun glare protection around their eyes.
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The cheetah's tear mask is made of black fur,
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and it runs from the inside corners of their eyes down the outside edges of their mouth.
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These marks help reflect the glare of the sun when they're hunting during the day.
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They work just like the black marks that football players put under their eyes during their games.
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Super cool!
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Where do cheetahs live?
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Before, cheetahs were widespread across Africa and Asian continents,
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but now they are confined mostly to dry,
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open grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa,
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with the majority living in natural reserves or parks.
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This leads me to my next topic, which is very sad.
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Did you know that there are fewer than 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild,
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making the cheetah Africa's most endangered big cat?
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Years ago, cheetahs were hunted for their beautiful spotted fur, which is awful.
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And today, one of the biggest threats to their survival is loss of habitat.
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As we've learned in previous episodes of Wildlife Crystal,
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this means humans are building homes and roads where cheetahs and other animals live and hunt for survival.
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While humans need these things,
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it's important to build them where animals are not already living.
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Another thing you and your family can do right now to help cheetahs
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and all animals with fur is to never buy clothing that is made out of the fur of another animal.
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There is no humane way to take fur from an animal.
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Animals like cheetahs will suffer very painful death if they're killed for their own fur.
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Humane means having sympathy and consideration for people and animals.
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You are amazing if you are a humane person.
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The fur of an animal belongs to them, not us.
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Let's all work together to make sure that animals and humans live in harmony.
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Let's always be kind and respectful to every creature on this planet.
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And now it's question time!
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Yes, yes, yes.
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Kaya, are you as excited as I am to put the knowledge we just learned today to the test?
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I sure am!
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What traits make the cheetah built for speed?
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Is it A, their cleat-like semi-retractable claws,
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B, their strong flat tail that helps them balance,
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C, the thick rubber-like pads on the bottom of their feet,
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or D, all of the above?
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The correct answer is D, all of the above.
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Cheetahs are definitely built for speed.
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True or false, cheetahs are the fastest land mammal on earth.
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The answer is true, cheetahs can run up to 70 miles per hour.
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What is a baby cheetah called?
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Is it A, a puppy?
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B, a cub?
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C, a kit?
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Or D, a calf?
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The correct answer is B, a cub.
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You guys did perfect.
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Kaya and I have to go,
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but we will be learning fun facts about another animal next week.
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See you next time on Wildlife Crystal.
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Bye.
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Thanks, guys.
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Thanks for coming.
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Toodles.
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Bye.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, we will explore fascinating facts about the cheetah, the fastest land animal on Earth. By engaging with this content, learners will practice their listening and speaking skills while learning new vocabulary related to wildlife and animal characteristics. This activity is especially useful for those preparing for the IELTS speaking test. You will learn how to articulate fun facts about animals, which can enhance your conversation abilities and overall fluency.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • fastest land animal - Refers to the cheetah, which can run at incredible speeds.
  • world record - An achievement that is recognized as a record globally, such as the cheetah's speed.
  • stride - The length of a single step taken while running; for a cheetah, this is 21 feet.
  • muscular tail - Cheetahs have strong tails that help with balance during high-speed chases.
  • semi-non-retractable claws - A feature of cheetah paws that aids in traction while running.
  • traction - The grip that allows animals to run quickly without slipping.
  • accelerate - To increase in speed; cheetahs can go from 0 to 68 miles per hour in just 3 seconds.
  • rubber-like pads - The hard pads on cheetah paws that help them grip the ground while running fast.

Practice Tips

To make the most out of this lesson, utilize the shadowing technique. Listen carefully to the video and try to imitate the speaker’s pronunciation and tone, especially given the playful and enthusiastic tone of Wildlife Crystal and Kaya the Koala. Since the video has a moderate pace, focus on repeating phrases right after hearing them to improve your English pronunciation and fluency.

Start by pausing after each sentence, repeating it aloud, and gradually speeding up as you gain confidence. This method is particularly effective for IELTS speaking practice, as it gets you accustomed to various speaking styles and speeds. Additionally, as you learn English with YouTube, consider creating your own sentences using the key vocabulary listed above. This will further embed the words in your memory and prepare you for real-life conversations.

Remember, practice makes perfect! The more you engage in shadowspeak activities like this, the more fluent you will become. So dive in, and enjoy the wonder of learning English through captivating topics like animal facts!

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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