Shadowing Practice: CONTEMPORARY TOPICS 2 UNIT 12 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RISK MANAGEMENT - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The topic of today's class is reducing risks from natural hazards.
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Notice I said natural hazards, not natural disasters.
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Natural hazards are events in nature like hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
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We know they can be dangerous, but not all are.
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There are many small tsunamis and earthquakes we don't even notice, and hurricanes that just die out.
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By the same token, we know they can create terrible disasters in which many people die and widespread damage is sustained.
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Three prime examples of this are the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Hurricane Katrina in the US in the same year,
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and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.
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Now all of you remember those, don't you?
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Well, today we'll examine ways to reduce our risks from natural hazards so they don't become natural disasters.
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We can't stop earthquakes or hurricanes or tsunamis, but there are things we can do to try to minimize or limit their impact.
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So, I'm going to divide this lecture into two parts.
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First, we'll look at some of the factors that go into designing an emergency plan.
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You may be familiar with some of this based on what's in place in your own communities.
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Then I want us to turn to the role of education in reducing risks to people in disaster-prone regions.
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But first, let's go over the terms we'll be using.
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The first is disaster preparedness.
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To prepare means to get ready, right?
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Preparedness is the state of being ready.
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Another term is mitigation.
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To mitigate means to make less severe, not as bad.
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We use the phrase disaster preparedness and mitigation to talk about what to do to prepare for natural disaster,
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so that the impact will be less severe and people will suffer less.
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We can try to lessen or mitigate the damage so that people can quickly return to their normal lives.
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Now I'll present some factors involved in generating an emergency response plan.
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First, government officials need to identify the risks.
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What are the natural hazards?
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For example, in Japan there are earthquakes and typhoons.
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In the US, hurricanes and fires.
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There are several natural hazards in every country.
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Second, the government needs to establish a channel of communications with scientists.
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Scientists must be able to share information regularly with the government as they collect data about risks.
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Third, government officials need to work out a process for briefing the public on what scientists tell them.
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The problem is, experts can't predict natural hazards with 100% accuracy.
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For example, they may know a hurricane is forming, but can't say exactly when or where it will go.
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Despite this, public officials still have to decide what to tell the public and when.
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They can wait and say nothing, or they can tell people to evacuate.
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If they wait too long, lots of people might get hurt.
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But if they tell people to evacuate and then nothing happens, people may get angry.
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In the future, they may not cooperate.
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Communicating with the public is a huge challenge for officials.
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Here's an example.
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In 2005, before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, people were told to evacuate.
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But 61% of them didn't.
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We know some stayed because they had no transportation, no choice.
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But of the 61% who didn't leave, 37% said they simply ignored the order to evacuate.
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Why?
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Because they didn't want to leave their homes.
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Scientific information doesn't do much good if it's ignored.
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Yet ultimately, officials must try to keep people safe.
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A fourth factor is evaluating what services are needed.
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For example, are there sufficient numbers of police, firefighters and emergency workers who are trained to respond to a natural disaster?
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Is there a network in place for emergency workers to distribute supplies, such as bottled water, food, blankets and medicine?
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Is there a way to inform the public about the emergency plan
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so that they know where to go and what to do before, during and after a natural disaster?
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Related to this evaluation is the fifth and final factor, setting spending priorities.
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Countries have to decide whether to spend money for things they need now, like new schools and roads,
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or to allocate money to prepare for a natural disaster that may never happen.
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Now let's turn to the role of education in emergency planning.
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Experts agree that educating the public, especially children, about the risks is essential.
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Here's one way.
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The United Nations group UNESCO has launched an international campaign called Disaster risk reduction begins at school.
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In turn, many schools in countries like Turkey, France, Mexico and Cuba now have disaster preparedness and safety programs.
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The logic behind this UNESCO program is education will help children understand the risks where they live.
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They'll know specific things to do before, during and after a natural disaster to make everyone in their communities safer.
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The hope is that as more children are educated, there will be fewer victims of natural disasters.
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For example, in Turkey, earthquakes threaten the safety of about 5 million children.
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So there is now an earthquake education program targeted at students countrywide.
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And in Cuba recently, with more school programs about hurricanes, there have been fewer hurricane victims.
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That's great news.
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So let's review what we've covered today.
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I mentioned five factors in an emergency plan and how education of children is considered vital to disaster preparedness and mitigation.
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I feel a lot of hope now because so many countries see how important a good emergency plan is.
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Well that's all for today.
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We'll see you next time.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “CONTEMPORARY TOPICS 2 UNIT 12 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RISK MANAGEMENT”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: disaster, natural, hurricane, emergency, risk. This video has 75 sentences and 919 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:55. The speaker talks at a steady 133 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hazard noun | /ˈhæzəd/ | The chance of suffering harm; danger, peril, risk of loss. |
| preparedness noun | /pɹɪˈpɛɹ(ə)dnəs/ | The state of being prepared. |
| tsunami noun | /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/ | A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a… |
| evacuate verb | /ɪˈvæk.ju.eɪt/ | To leave or withdraw from; to quit; to retire from. |
| mitigation noun | /mɪtɪˈɡeɪʃən/ | A reduction or decrease of something harmful or unpleasant. |
| mitigate verb | /ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ | To reduce, lessen, or decrease and thereby to make less severe or easier to bear. |
| educate verb | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | To instruct or train. |
| allocate verb | /ˈæl.ə.keɪt/ | To set aside for a purpose. |
| countrywide adverb | /ˌkʌn.tɹiˈwaɪd/ | Throughout a country. |
| firefighter noun | /ˈfaɪ.ɚˌfaɪ.tɚ/ | A person who has been trained to put out fires. |
| lessen verb | /ˈlɛsən/ | To make less; to diminish; to reduce. |
| typhoon noun | /taɪˈfun/ | A severe tropical cyclone; an intense, rotating storm. |
| distribute verb | /dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/ | To divide into portions and dispense. |
| cooperate verb | /kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/ | To work or act together, especially for a common purpose or benefit. |
| minimize verb | /ˈmɪn.ɪˌmaɪz/ | To make (something) smaller or as small as possible; shrink; reduce. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| die out verb | To become extinct. | |
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. | |
| 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 | is sustained · were told · are needed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has launched · have been · we've covered |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, can't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: preparedness /pɹɪˈpɛɹ(ə)dnəs/, evacuate /ɪˈvæk.ju.eɪt/, mitigation /mɪtɪˈɡeɪʃən/, firefighter /ˈfaɪ.ɚˌfaɪ.tɚ/, cooperate /kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/
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 hazard, preparedness, tsunami.
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.