Shadowing Practice: IELTS Listening Podcast Tháng 8 Số 2 | ASMR | IELTS Test 2025 | Luyện Nghe tiếng Anh #ib8 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Teacher and a Friend I can't save any He's green
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Teacher and a Friend I can't save any He's green
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Section 1.
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You will hear a man inquiring about joining a wildlife conservation society.
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Wildlife Conservation Society.
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Good afternoon.
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Can I help you?
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Oh, hello.
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Yes, I'd like to join, please.
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Oh, yes, certainly.
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I'll just get some details from you.
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Could I have your name?
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Michael Jones.
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Right.
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And can I ask where you heard about us?
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Was it in an advert,
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or did a friend tell you, or...
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Neither, actually.
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It was a radio program.
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Then I just got your number from the phone book.
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Oh, right.
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Now I need some membership details.
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It's Michael Jones, and the address?
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21 Beale Street.
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OK.
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Leeds.
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Fine.
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And do you know your postcode?
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Yes, it's LS142JW.
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OK.
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And do you have a daytime telephone number we can contact you on?
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Yes, you can call me at work.
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The number is 011-735-8642.
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And I can give you my office email address if you like.
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That would probably be useful.
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Yes, please.
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It's mj at hennings.co.uk.
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Is that H-E-N-N-I-N-G-S?
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That's right.
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Thank you.
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Now, I just need to ask you some questions about exactly what you want.
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First of all, how long do you want the membership for?
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We do two, three and five year memberships,
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and we also do one for life.
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Er, I think I'll just get the minimum length this time round.
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Fine.
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And then the type of membership.
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We do single, joint or family,
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which covers up to four children.
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Well, we haven't got any children,
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but I think I'll get the joint one because my wife will probably want to do the activities with me.
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Yes.
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Fine.
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Let me see.
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That'll be £49 altogether then, please.
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How would you like to pay?
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By direct debit?
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No problem.
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I just need your bank details.
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Can you give me the name first?
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It's the Union Bank.
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And now I've got your name,
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but I need your account number.
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01059612. OK.
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When would you like to start payment?
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Next month, on the 1st of October, or...?
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Can you make it the 15th instead?
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No problem.
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The membership will begin then, too.
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Is that alright?
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That's fine.
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I'll just give you a reference number in case there's any problem.
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Have you got a pen?
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Yes.
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It's JYZ37.
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And we'll be sending you an information pack within a few days.
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Is there anything else?
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Oh, yes.
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Could you send me an additional one?
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I've got a friend who's very interested.
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Certainly, no problem.
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I'll make a note of that.
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There's also a video we can send you if you like.
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There's no charge.
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Yes, please.
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That'll be great.
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Section 2.
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You will hear an audio guide introducing visitors to a museum.
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Welcome to the Global Museum,
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located at the heart of this truly multicultural city,
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which is home to more than 60 different nationalities.
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The museum has a number of exciting displays and exhibitions,
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and this audio guide is designed to help you make the most of your visit.
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Altogether, the museum has 18 different galleries,
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and this season sees the opening of three new exhibitions.
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We recommend that you begin your tour by visiting this season's highlights.
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The Heritage Clothes exhibition is located in Gallery 5 of the museum.
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People who live in the area have spent two years preparing this exhibition,
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which brings together some of the fascinating garments traditionally worn in their own communities.
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They research the history of their community's clothing traditions and the customs and rituals associated with them.
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Altogether, sixteen countries are represented,
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from Ghana to Korea, from Turkey to Nepal.
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The photographs that accompany each display case were taken by some of the City College students who are studying design,
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and show the clothes being modelled by the real people who wear them in the course of their everyday lives.
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Another highlight this season is the exhibition called Toys from the Past,
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which can be found in Gallery 9.
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This exhibition, which will appeal to people of all ages,
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is on tour throughout the country and will be here for ten weeks only.
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The exhibits include dolls made over a hundred years ago with beautiful porcelain faces and,
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in some cases, real hair.
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The collection covers the favourite toys such as wooden train sets from many different generations
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and provides plenty of interest for children and adults.
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The gigantic board games
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which are laid out on the gallery floor are one of the most popular activities in the exhibition
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and should not be missed.
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This exhibition concludes with a special display of miniature toys.
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These small objects are on loan from countries all over the world
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and in some cases measure no more than a few centimetres.
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There's a tiny car made from matchsticks,
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a toy aeroplane complete with pilot and passengers made out of seashells,
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and some exquisite little buildings no higher than four centimetres.
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The final gallery highlight of the season is the Biscuit Gallery, number 15.
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Many years ago this city was famous for its biscuits,
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although today the factory no longer exists.
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Did you know, for example,
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that before biscuits were packed in paper or cardboard boxes,
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biscuit tins were fashion items?
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The factory made tins round,
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square, triangular, hexagonal for a whole range of different occasions,
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to celebrate national events, festivals,
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famous faces and so on.
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One fascinating display deals with people's favourite biscuits.
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There are sweet biscuits and savoury ones,
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biscuits filled with jam and biscuits filled with currants,
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biscuits with pink, yellow and white sugar icing, or coloured sugar flowers.
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When the factory finally closed,
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it announced that people's favourite biscuit was not,
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as you might expect, a chocolate biscuit,
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or one filled with jam and cream,
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but a plain, savoury one which was eaten with cheese.
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When you get to the end of the exhibition,
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there's an entertaining, hands-on activity to fill your own biscuit tin.
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All the biscuits ever produced by the company are piled up on a table along with various tins.
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The biscuits are made out of thin pieces of wood,
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but the weight, colours and shapes replicate the original biscuits.
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Your job is to fill a tin with biscuits so that when the lid is taken off,
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they sit there as neatly as they did when the job was done by machine.
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It's not as easy as it looks.
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If you would like to buy a memento of your visit,
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there is a museum gift shop selling postcards,
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souvenirs and handmade pottery, next to the information desk on the ground floor.
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And finally, if you don't want to carry your coats and bags around with you during your visit,
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please make use of the free lockers provided by the museum.
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Enjoy your visit.
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Part 3.
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You will hear two students called Arya and John discussing the research on water hyacinths.
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John, how is it going with your research on water hyacinths?
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Well, I went on a field trip on my own and collected the primary data.
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After I came back, I also referred to the published data.
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So, what do you know about this plant?
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The water hyacinth grows in tropical countries.
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It has beautiful purple-blue flowers, but everybody hates it.
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Why is that?
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The water hyacinth, as the world's worst invasive aquatic plant,
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has attracted significant attention.
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Millions of these plants grow in rivers and lakes and have brought huge environmental and cultural problems to the local people.
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Farmers cannot travel in boats on the water and thus cannot fish in it.
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In addition, heavy free-floating mats of water hyacinth are clogging the dam at the power station in West Africa.
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Turbines of the power station are often shut down because of the intertwined leaves.
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often cease to function as a result,
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severely restricting the electricity generation.
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Dense mats of water hyacinth also shade the surface and prevent algae growth,
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thus limiting the production of oxygen and threatening the survival of fish.
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So where did water hyacinth originate from?
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The water hyacinth is native to the Amazon basin in Latin America.
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It is spread mainly to the tropics and subtropics throughout much of the world since the 1800s.
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Later, it was introduced into Europe and Africa as an ornamental garden pond plant due to its beauty.
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Flowers of this plant were being sold in local markets in African countries as a source of income for women.
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Since the 1900s, this weed has infested lakes,
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rivers, and creeks of the delta areas in West Africa.
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I guess whoever introduced this plant had never expected the disastrous impact it would have on the local ecological environment.
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What kind of habitat does water hyacinth thrive most in?
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Well, it has been discovered that the nutrient-rich environment contributes significantly to the rapid proliferation of this weed,
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which obtains its nutrients directly from the water.
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This is normally compounded with a decrease of nutrients along the river banks.
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Why is that?
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The main reason for soil nutrient loss is that local residents cut down trees.
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Excessive deforestation accelerates soil erosion,
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which indirectly compounds this issue.
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Without enough trees to retain nutrients in the soil,
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frequent rain might partly aggravate this by carrying some of the nutrients into the waterways.
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Are there any effective measures to control or even eradicate this weed?
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Yes, a number of approaches have been widely applied throughout the world.
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Among them, biological control is the most widely favored long-term control method by introducing a type of insect
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that feeds on the water hyacinth.
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So far, Nigeria has used this method for six months.
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However, water hyacinth won't be removed immediately.
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The side effects of this method on local ecology will remain unforeseen for years
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because it takes time for this external insect species to reach a density sufficient enough to affect ecological development.
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Then what about other approaches?
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Is there a quicker way to control it?
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Well, the mechanical removal of water hyacinth is seen as the best short-term solution.
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This option includes harvesting plants and inside cutting.
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This method can immediately open physical space for fish and boat traffic.
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It is, however, inefficient for workers to process extensive areas and costly to use large cutting and dredging equipment.
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Ironically, it costs even more to dispose of this plant than to remove it.
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Can we make use of this weed and turn it into something good?
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Now scientists think that water hyacinth can be useful.
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The plant itself, although more than 95% water,
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has a fibrous tissue and a high energy and protein content and can be used for a variety of useful applications.
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So what do people do with water hyacinth that is initially removed?
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First, the cut-down water hyacinth is left to dry under the
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sun for a few days before being mixed with ash and animal manure.
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The mixture can be used as alternative soil rather than fertilizer.
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It can grow crops with increased yield.
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That sounds interesting.
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Mushroom farmers can benefit from water hyacinth as well.
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Using the mixture mentioned earlier,
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mushrooms generally grow much faster so that farmers can harvest mushrooms sooner,
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which enables them to make money faster.
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I see.
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It can be used to grow oyster and straw mushrooms, right?
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Yes.
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In India, attempts have been made to grow these types of edible mushrooms organically, utilizing water hyacinth.
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These mushrooms provide sufficient nutritional values,
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including minerals and high-quality protein,
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which are essential to people's level of fitness.
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Right.
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Are there any other measures taken to utilize water hyacinth?
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In Southeast Asia, people feed cows using chopped water hyacinth mixed with other vegetables.
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Then the waste from the cows is treated to produce methane gas,
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which can be used as fuel for cooking,
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lighting, or powering an engine.
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And with global warming getting worse,
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developing alternative sources of energy will be more urgent than ever.
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Maybe in the future, people will love water hyacinth instead of hating it.
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Yes, that's very likely, if we can make full use of this weed.
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Section 4 Section 4.
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You will hear part of a lecture on the ways that supermarkets use layout to increase sales.
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We've been looking at marketing techniques which influence buying decisions.
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Some of these techniques are related to the way the products are presented in the store.
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For supermarkets, The store layout is not as random as it seems.
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Decisions have to be made about the arrangement of the aisles where the customers walk,
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and the shelves and so on where the products are displayed.
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The most common layout pattern is the grid layout,
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where parallel aisles are arranged in a rectangular pattern.
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Supermarkets like this layout as it allows them to utilise floor
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space efficiently by providing the greatest amount of display space proportionate to aisle space.
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Also, this layout helps to manage traffic flow as it encourages people to all walk in one direction.
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The main weaknesses of the grid layout are the monotony of rows of aisles
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and the fact that it is easier for customers to rush through the supermarket without lingering.
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Another layout pattern used by supermarkets is known as the freeform.
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Here, displays and aisles are arranged in a random pattern.
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The good thing about this layout is
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that customers tend to spend more time in the store as they wander about looking for different products.
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Its main weakness is the inefficient use of space,
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which means it is less cost effective.
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Then we have the boutique layout,
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where everything is organised around a food specialty, such as the bakery.
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The advantage of this layout is
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that it divides parts of the store into smaller areas which may be distinguished by changes in flooring or displays.
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A further advantage is that this style of layout is attractive to shoppers.
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Space however is not used economically and it is therefore expensive.
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The choice of location of particular types of items in the store is also important.
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A A supermarket's design aims to direct customers to the store's side and rear walls.
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Items typically displayed along the rear length of the store include meat and dairy products,
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since these appear on the grocery list of the majority of shoppers.
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This means shoppers must pass by a large number of other items to get to them.
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Items which consumers tend to spend more time considering before buying,
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such as cosmetics, are usually placed away from the busy areas
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so that people can look at them in comfort without feeling rushed.
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Products placed at the end of aisles are clearly visible
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and therefore these locations provide a greater opportunity for shoppers to view the products.
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Consumers tend to assume that items on display at the end of an aisle are on sale,
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but this is often not the case.
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In fact, supermarket managers often place products which are not selling quickly enough in these positions.
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The placement of products on shelves is very carefully planned.
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Supermarket executives use computer generated plans to help them place products on shelves in a way that ensures consumers spend more.
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The eye level of the average woman is 1m 60cm off the floor,
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which is the height of the middle shelves,
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so the things which cost more are placed here,
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while cheaper products are placed on higher or lower shelves.
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Only items targeted at children break this rule.
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They are placed on the lowest shelves.
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Supermarkets also use a range of other marketing techniques to encourage consumers to spend more.
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It's no accident that in nearly every supermarket,
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the fruit and vegetable department is the first shoppers come to as they enter the store.
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These, together with flowers, produce a greater profit than any other department.
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After complaints from parents, many supermarkets no longer place popular products aimed at children on the shelves next to the checkout.
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Instead, you are most likely to find products aimed at impulse buyers,
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such as chocolate, magazines and other treats here.
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These supermarkets have also expanded into non-food areas such as clothing, entertainment and stationery.
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These products often find...
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice listening comprehension and speaking skills by engaging with a real-life scenario focused on joining a wildlife conservation society. This interaction not only helps you to familiarize yourself with common expressions used when inquiring about memberships but also enhances your overall understanding of conversational English. Through this exercise, you will improve English pronunciation, which is crucial for effective communication in everyday situations. Utilizing shadowing techniques, you can replicate the rhythm and intonation used by the speakers in the transcript, making your English speaking practice more natural and fluent.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Membership details - Information required to enroll in an organization.
- Daytime telephone number - A phone number where someone can be reached during the day.
- Postcode - A series of letters and numbers that helps identify a specific geographic area.
- Joint membership - A membership option that includes multiple people, often a couple.
- Family membership - A membership option that covers two adults and their children.
- Advert - A short form of advertisement that promotes a service or product.
- Radio program - A show broadcast over the radio, often covering various topics.
- Activities - Various organized events or tasks that members can participate in.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning experience while following this transcript, consider employing shadowing techniques. Shadowing involves listening to the speakers and repeating what they say in real-time, mimicking their pronunciation and tone. Given the conversational nature of the dialogue, practice speaking slowly at first, then gradually increase your speed to match the speakers. This will help you not only improve English pronunciation but also build your confidence in speaking during IELTS speaking practice. Pay special attention to the intonation and pauses; they are just as important as the words themselves. Engaging in daily shadow speak exercises while using this transcript will make your English speaking practice much more effective, especially in preparing for the IELTS test in 2025.
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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