Shadowing Practice: How America Found Bin Laden - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It's May 2nd, 2011.
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Two helicopters are traveling towards Badabad, Pakistan.
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On board are 24 Navy SEALs.
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Their target is the man behind the September 11th attacks, Bin Laden.
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The mission is top secret, known only to the highest ranks of the U.S government.
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After a decade of searching, the world's most wanted man has finally been located.
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The operation has three main steps.
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First, they must land undetected.
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Second, they must enter the compound.
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And finally, they must eliminate or capture the target.
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However, bin Laden is aware of every threat, so his building is heavily guarded.
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Twelve foot high walls surround the complex, made of solid concrete, reinforced with barbed wire.
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The main structure is a three-story building.
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Every window is blacked out.
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Balconies have privacy walls and shades, so high-altitude drones cannot see inside.
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The SEALs are going in blind.
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After 90 minutes flying across the feet of the Hindu Kush mountains, the compound is in sight.
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Now they must land without being detected, although they have a big problem.
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18 minutes to target.
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The White House deliberately withheld information from the Pakistani government, worried that bin Laden could be tipped off.
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If spotted, the SEAL team will be treated as hostile forces.
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To make matters worse, less than a mile away from the compound is a Pakistani military academy that is heavily armed.
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That's why this plan has been crafted by some of the world's greatest tactical minds.
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First, they must fly low en route to the compound, decreasing the chance of being tagged by Pakistani radar.
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Upon arrival, one helicopter is designated to hover over the roof, enabling SEALs to fast rope down and breach the building from above, taking the residents by surprise.
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The second helicopter is tasked with deploying another team at the front of the main building, ensuring the assault is conducted from multiple angles,
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preventing anyone inside from trying to escape to escape.
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Finally, three helicopters are waiting on standby in case backup is needed.
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As the men sit in the helicopter, President Obama observes from the comfort of the White House.
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Despite eight months of planning, they forgot one important detail.
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The first helicopter descends to drop seals off onto the compound's roof.
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While attempting to hover, the pilot loses control and nose dives into the central courtyard.
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The tail of the aircraft breaks into two.
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Seeing this, the second helicopter reacts and safely lands in the open field outside the compound.
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Luckily, none of the passengers are injured.
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The SEALs quietly assemble at the critical points of entry, unsure if they've already alerted everyone inside.
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The real test is about to begin.
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While on the ground, it's clear just how self-sufficient the complex is, allowing Osama bin Laden to minimize contact with the outside world.
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A greenhouse is located to the northeast.
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Here, vegetables are grown.
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Nearby are a couple of animals, both helping reduce the number of trips to grocery stores.
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In the same area, piles of trash are burnt instead of being left to the local rubbish collectors.
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The CIA had never observed bin Laden entering or leaving the building, allowing him to remain undetected with his family for over five years.
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That was until now.
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After last being sighted in 2001, it took the CIA nine years to find bin Laden.
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One team is tasked with breaching the gate that leads to the guesthouse.
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Multiple SEAL groups position themselves around various entrance points on the ground floor.
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The final team is posed outside the compound to ensure the neighbors can be controlled if they wake up.
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Three SEALs breach the entrance of the guesthouse.
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They enter to see a man with an AK-47.
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They radio to the rest of the team that the guesthouse is cleared.
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Three dead.
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One of which is Abu Ahmed Al-Kuwaidi.
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This is Bin Laden's messenger and one of his closest confidants, the man who unknowingly gave away their location.
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Many captured followers would frequently mention his alias during interrogations.
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After discovering his identity, the CIA tracked his whereabouts, leading to this compound in the city of Abbottabad, and coincidentally, Bin Laden.
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But of all places, why would Bin Laden choose to hide in the country of Pakistan?
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With heavy American occupation in Afghanistan, remaining would be too risky.
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Pakistan, being a neighboring country, made it simple to slip across the border undetected.
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At the same time, the proximity to his group allowed couriers to report progress and activities easily.
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Back on the ground, step two of the mission begins, breaching the inside of the compound.
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The team at the southern entrance carefully unlocks the door and enters the first floor.
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This area is where the family spends their free time.
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The first room is a typical sitting room with floor-level couches decorated with abstract floral patterns.
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The place is grungy, a far cry from what one might expect of a house in this affluent area.
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Opposite the kitchen is a room that serves as a makeshift classroom.
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Here, the many children of the house are homeschooled in Arabic.
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In the shadows, a man crosses the corridor.
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He leans out the doorway and the seals fire.
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They quickly push into the room.
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Inside, another man desperately reaches out to grab a rifle.
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The threat has been eliminated.
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Still weary that other armed house members might be on the first floor, the SEALs spread out and clear each room, but no one is present.
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The SEALs may have made it inside, but a solid metal door stands between them and the second floor.
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It's too strong for their standard charges to break through.
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High power explosives would be effective, but the noise would jeopardize the mission.
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Instead, they deploy precision breaching charges, small but focused blasts meant to disable the lock without drawing attention.
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They need another way in.
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The SEALs exit and radio to give the all-clear for the first level.
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But the mission is far from over, and getting to the second floor poses a complex and potentially deadly challenge.
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Six minutes to the target.
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The second SEAL team landed outside and arrived at the front of the compound.
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They see the entrance to the second floor with a staircase and security gate that need to be opened by force.
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After executing the charge, the team carefully climbs the stairs leading to the second floor.
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However, they hear footsteps above.
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Looking down is an individual with a white t-shirt, curious about what's happening.
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He is neutralized.
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It's Osama bin Laden's son, Khalid.
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The team sees inside the compound's second floor for the first time.
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Despite having no phones or internet, this is where the residents keep themselves up to date about the events of the outside world.
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The control center for high ranking group members consists of three rooms filled with critical information.
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Each setup contains multiple computers, hard drives, and storage devices full of secrets and operations.
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Bin Laden was clever in using a method of communication that made it nearly impossible for the CIA to track.
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He avoided using online messages and direct electronic communication, relying instead on a courier system to remain undetected.
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He preferred writing handwritten letters, although if he wanted to send messages over long distances, he would store them on a USB flash drive,
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and a courier would then travel to a location far from the compound and send the message.
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But relying on offline storage came with a risk.
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It had to be physically stored somewhere.
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And the team just uncovered his stash.
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This massive collection of intel could help America fight the war against terrorism.
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But they can't check now.
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First, each room must be cleared before heading to the third floor, completing the mission's final step.
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Two minutes to the target.
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Ten years ago, Osama bin Laden was trapped in the Tora Bora cave complex in northern Afghanistan, surrounded by US and Afghan forces.
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With a thousand of his men by his side, he faced relentless airstrikes and ground assaults.
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It was reported that he recorded a farewell message, convinced his capture or death was imminent.
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And yet, he escaped.
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Whether through a hidden tunnel or with the help of local tribes, he slipped through the grasp of US forces.
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The team cannot let this happen again.
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This is their one shot.
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Fail now, and he might be gone forever.
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The SEALs form a tight line and quietly walk up the staircase.
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They reach the third floor.
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It's pitch black.
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Even with night vision goggles, they can barely see.
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They listen and wait patiently for any movement.
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Suddenly, they see a quick glimmer passing in front of them.
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A shot is fired and they quickly move in.
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Five seconds to the target.
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As they rush the room, they see two women, Bin Laden's wives, in shock.
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In one corner of the room, children are crying and curled up.
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In front of them, a tall male with a grayish beard is on the floor.
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They've found him.
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Target eliminated.
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But the threat hasn't ended.
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Another high-ranking member could take his place.
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Intel on the second floor could be a game-changer.
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Hard drives and other information that could expose the entire organization, delivering a second devastating blow.
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Out of nowhere, a troubling message crackles over the SEAL's radio.
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The Pakistan military base nearby has ordered jets to take off for immediate action.
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They know something is going on.
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Time is running out.
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The team quickly starts putting bin Laden's body into a bag.
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They need to bring it back to the base for DNA testing.
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The SEALs are confident it's him, although they can't be sure.
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Few images of bin Laden existed.
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The most publicized one was taken 14 years ago in 1997.
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Meanwhile, other team members are on the second floor, securing as much intelligence as possible before the Pakistani military arrives.
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They take everything they can get their hands on – hard drives, laptops, and phones.
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With the clock ticking, final checks are made, ensuring nothing critical is left behind.
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Before leaving, the crash-landed helicopter is destroyed to prevent its state-of-the-art technology from falling into enemy hands.
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As the backup helicopter approaches, the team prepares for extraction.
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None of the SEALs were wounded or hurt, making it one of the most precise and successful missions.
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The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
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As President Obama announced bin Laden's death to the world, his burial was already underway.
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To prevent his grave from becoming a shrine for extremists, the decision was made against giving him a grave.
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Instead, his body was wrapped in a white shroud and placed into a weighted bag and lowered deep into the sea.
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The intel from the compound's hard drives proved invaluable.
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Alongside unexpected finds like Super Mario Brothers and Counter-Strike, the drives contained around 97,000 documents that have taken years to analyze.
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The information helped expose the inner workings of how his group operated, alongside future plans.
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It was around 3 a.m in Pakistan when the army chief was told about the details of the raid.
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It was reported that their nearby forces only arrived at the scene after the SEALs had departed.
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In the days and weeks after the raid, the compound would be visited by Pakistani intelligence agencies, locals, journalists and explorers.
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Nine months after the operation, local authorities destroyed the compound to prevent it from becoming a tourist attraction.
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Today, all that is left is a concrete foundation.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 166 sentences and 2103 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:48. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- seal /siːl/ (noun) — A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax.
- compound /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/ (noun) — Anything made by combining several things.
- helicopter /ˈheliːˌkɔptə(ɹ)/ (noun) — An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover, move in any direction including reverse, or land; and…
- entrance /ˈɛn.tɹəns/ (noun) — The action of entering, or going in.
- rank /ˈɹæŋk/ (noun) — A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers.
- capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/ (verb) — To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.
- eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/ (verb) — To completely remove, get rid of, put an end to.
- intel /ˈɪnt.ɛl/ (noun) — Intelligence (secret information).
- gate /ˈɡeɪ̯t/ (noun) — A doorlike structure outside a house.
- carefully /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ (adverb) — With care; attentively, circumspectly.
- alongside /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/ — Side by side with.
- concrete /ˌkɑnˈkɹit/ (adjective) — Real, actual, tangible.
- grave /ɡɹeɪv/ (noun) — An excavation in the earth as a place of burial.
- rely /ɹɪˈlaɪ/ (verb) — To trust; to have confidence in; to depend.
- slip /ˈslɪp/ (verb) — To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- break into (verb) — To enter illegally or by force, especially in order to commit a crime.
- break through (verb) — To gain popularity.
- come with (verb) — To join and come along.
- fall into (verb) — To go into something by falling.
- give away (verb) — To make a gift of (something).
- go in (verb) — To become obscured by clouds.
- go on /ˈɡoʊˌɒn/ (verb) — To continue in extent.
- leave behind (verb) — To abandon.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, they've, hasn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, shock /ʃɔk/, flash /flæʃ/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/
- Long words — get the stress right: helicopter /ˈheliːˌkɔptə(ɹ)/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, terrorism /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like seal, compound, helicopter.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been sponsored · has finally been located · has been crafted |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | has been sponsored · been located · is blacked |
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.