Shadowing Practice: Hurricane Lala Pummels Hawaii, Causing Widespread Damage - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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This morning, emergency crews across Hawaii pushed to the brink.
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Lala passing by just south of the island as a Category 1 hurricane, unleashing drenching rains and damaging winds.
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This driver capturing a frightening close call as the storm toppled a tree right onto her car.
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The governor confirming more than 100 homes damaged or destroyed, prompting officials to issue a major disaster declaration.
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The storm, which weakened to a tropical storm overnight, dumping more than three feet of rain over the weekend.
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Hawaii's National Guard saving two paramedics trapped inside their own truck before it, too, was washed away.
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All that water wreaking havoc island-wide.
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Oh, my God.
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Swift currents washing out roads, water and debris overpowering highways.
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In Hilo, floods churning and drone video capturing roads completely submerged.
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The highest rainfall total from this storm, more than 42 inches along the Big Island's northeast coast.
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Winds there reaching more than 70 miles an hour, ripping roofs off buildings.
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And thousands remain without power.
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Back on the Big Island, Wendell Causey spent Sunday clearing down trees.
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After riding out the storm alongside his granddaughters, Kylia and Kella.
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What were you telling the grandkids as this one moved in?
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Yeah, they kept asking, is this the storm?
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Is this the storm?
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Yes.
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But trying to keep it so that it's not so scary.
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Did you take care of the baby with the storm?
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That's great.
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After losing their home to Hurricane Imiiki back in 1992, the family, grateful to have survived a rare second Hawaiian hurricane.
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And this morning, officials say that they are grateful
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that the path of Lala has shifted and spared a direct hit on the islands.
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However, they're urging residents to steer clear of flooded areas until crews can get back into those hard hit spots
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and get a full assessment of the damage here.
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Greg.
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All right.
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Morgan Chesky for us there on the big island in Hawaii.
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Morgan, thank you.
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All right.
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Let's bring in Dylan, who's in for Al this morning.
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Good morning.
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Good morning, guys.
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We'll get to the remnants of Lala in just a second.
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But we do have some more heavy rain moving out of Indiana and moving into northern parts of Kentucky.
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Lots of clouds of ground, lightning, torrential downpours, too.
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And also some spotty showers and storms peppered across the interior parts of New York and into Pennsylvania, too.
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We have flood watches in effect because as this rain moves eastward, the ground is pretty saturated.
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That could lead to more flooding.
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The flooding we're seeing is mostly river flooding at this point, especially all across Indiana where those red dots are.
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That's where the rivers are at moderate flood stage, so well above the banks.
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So anyone in low-lying areas along the banks of those rivers will end up still dealing with that flooding.
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It takes a while for that flooding to recede.
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We also have a couple of areas where we'll see some stronger storms today, one in the upper Midwest, one in the southeast.
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Damaging winds up to 60 miles per hour, some large hail, too.
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Tomorrow that shifts over into Iowa and northern Missouri.
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Some heavier storms move just north of Chicago tomorrow, too.
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Additional rainfall about one to three inches.
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Again, with the ground already saturated, that could lead to more flooding.
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Here is Lala.
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Now back to a tropical storm.
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It's going to continue to move to the west.
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It is no longer a threat to Hawaii.
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Even though it should strengthen back into a Category 1 hurricane, it will stay out over the water.
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So we will see improvements as the surf starts to calm down, too, around Hawaii.
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So things are improving there.
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Okay.
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All right, Dylan, we'll come back to you in just a few moments.
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Hey, thanks for watching.
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And don't forget, you can catch The Today Show every morning on NBC or take today when you're on the go.
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Just follow The Today Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 63 sentences and 670 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:44. The speaker talks at a natural 179 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| flood noun | /flʌd/ | An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water. |
| hurricane noun | /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/ | A severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye. |
| wash verb | /wɑʃ/ | To clean with water. |
| capture verb | /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/ | To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem. |
| morgan noun | /ˈmɔɹɡən/ | A unit for expressing the relative distance between genes on a chromosome. |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
| tropical adjective | /ˈtɹɑ.pɪ.kəl/ | Of or pertaining to the tropics, the equatorial region between 23 degrees north and 23 degrees south. |
| rainfall noun | The amount of rain that falls on a single occasion | |
| saturated adjective | Full; unable to hold or contain any more. | |
| assessment noun | /əˈsɛsmənt/ | The act of assessing or an amount (of tax, levy or duty etc) assessed. |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| alongside | /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/ | Side by side with. |
| confirm verb | /kənˈfɝm/ | To strengthen; to make firm or resolute. |
| disaster noun | /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ | An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent… |
| resident noun | /ˈɹɛzɪdənt/ | A person, animal or plant living at a certain location or in a certain area. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| calm down verb | To become less excited, intense, or angry. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| wash away verb | To eliminate or destroy by fast-moving water, such as a flood or a high sea. |
| wash out verb | To wash the inside of something. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: southeast /sawˈθɪjst/, northeast /noːˈθɪjst/, strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: wash /wɑʃ/, capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, unleash /ʌnˈliʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, overpower /oʊ.vɚˈpaʊ̯.ɚ/, paramedic /ˌpæɹəˈmɛdɪk/
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 flood, hurricane, wash.
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.