Shadowing Practice: Parts of the Eukaryotic Cell - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
58 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
All cells
2
have a few things in common, including the cell membrane.
3
Cell membranes and all membrane-bound organelles are made up almost entirely of lipids.
4
Lipids are a broad category of fatty macromolecules, which include oils, waxes, triglycerides, and phospholipids.
5
Phospholipids are the major component of cell membranes and membrane-bound organelles.
6
Triglycerides are fats and oils, also known as saturated and unsaturated fats.
7
Waxes, like your earwax, are protective, lubricating substances.
8
And sterols, like cholesterol or steroids, are used for cell wall integrity and for making hormones.
9
So let's look at the cell membrane up close and see some of those lipids in action.
10
The cell membrane is made mostly of phospholipids, which form a double layer called the phospholipid bilayer.
11
The round heads of the phospholipids are polar and hydrophilic, which means that they are water-loving.
12
The tails are nonpolar or hydrophobic, which means they are water-fearing.
13
This is why they form a bilayer, which keeps the polar heads in the water and the nonpolar tails away from it.
14
Another lipid, cholesterol, is a key part of the cell membrane, keeping it together while still allowing the proteins to move around.
15
There are three basic types of membrane proteins as well.
16
Recognition proteins, which tell the cell who it is and where it is.
17
Receptor proteins, which can pick up signals.
18
And transport proteins, which can move chemicals in and out of the cell.
19
Those three proteins are also integral proteins because they're integrated into the lipid bilayer.
20
This pink-colored protein that's on the edge of the membrane is called a peripheral protein, just like your peripheral vision is at the edge of your vision, peripheral proteins on the edge of the membrane.
21
The proteins all create a speckled mosaic appearance on the membrane, but they aren't locked into one place.
22
They can move around through the phospholipids.
23
Because of this, we say the cell membrane is a fluid mosaic.
24
The mitochondria are sometimes called the powerhouse of the cell.
25
They transfer energy from organic molecules into ATP, which powers almost all reactions in the cell.
26
Because mitochondria are the energy producers, you can expect to find more mitochondria in cells that do more work, like muscle cells.
27
The mitochondria has an outer and an inner membrane.
28
The inner membrane is bunched and folded, and the folds are called cristae.
29
Inside the cristae, and between the inner and outer membrane, is a fluid called the matrix.
30
Because mitochondria are small and also have their own DNA, some scientists think that mitochondria may have developed from prokaryotes like bacteria.
31
Ribosomes are small structures that are responsible for building protein.
32
They have no membrane like other organelles and are just made of protein and RNA.
33
You can find ribosomes on the rough ER or floating around in the cytoplasm.
34
The endoplasmic reticulum is a transportation highway which has two parts, rough and smooth.
35
The rough ER produces phospholipids in proteins and is covered in ribosomes.
36
The smooth ER produces lipids, such as cholesterol.
37
You can tell it apart from the rough ER because it has no ribosomes on it and it's more tubular than flat.
38
The Golgi apparatus, which is also known as the Golgi body, modifies many cellular products that it receives from the endoplasmic reticulum,
39
and it prepares them for export to other regions of the cell or out of the cell entirely.
40
You can tell the Golgi apparatus from the ER
41
because it doesn't have ribosomes on it and it's further away from the nucleus.
42
Lysosomes are vesicles that are made from the Golgi apparatus that contain digestive enzymes.
43
These enzymes will help break down unwanted substances.
44
The cytoskeleton is a network of tubes and filaments that give shape and structure to the cell, just like your bones give your body shape and structure.
45
Centrioles are short cylinders of microtubules that exist in pairs
46
and are used in animal cells to organize microtubules during cell division so that the chromosomes will divide evenly.
47
This cell image has a flagella, which is a long whip-like tail for motion, but it doesn't have any cilia.
48
Cilia are smaller versions of flagella and they can be used for propulsion
49
or as a way to increase surface area for things like absorbing food in your intestines.
50
The nucleus contains the DNA, but it's actually made of three more specific parts.
51
The nuclear membrane is a double membrane that has little pores
52
that provide passageways for RNA and other materials to go in and out, but the pores aren't big enough for the DNA to move out.
53
Inside the nucleus is the DNA in the form of a thread-like material called chromatin.
54
has the instructions for the structure and function of the organism.
55
The nucleolus is the dense, round area in the nucleus, where the DNA is concentrated to build ribosomes.
56
So those are the parts of the eukaryotic cell that most have in common.
57
Next time we'll look at special parts that the plant cells have in addition to these.
58
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
C1158 sentences
Introduction to Biology: Crash Course Biology #1
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
C1204 sentences
Polarization of light, linear and circular | Light waves | Physics | Khan Academy
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C13
52 sentences
Human Anatomy Eye
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C244
74 sentences
This machine lives inside you
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
59 sentences
Cambridge Ielts 16 Reading test 2 Passage 2
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
C17
31 sentences
SUMMARIZE SPOKEN TEXT - DNA & RNA
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C159
90 sentences
How do bees make honey?
American AccentIELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C1301 sentences
Introduction to Hematology
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
34 sentences
Stem Cells
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
69 sentences
Tissues, Part 1: Crash Course Anatomy & Physiology #2
Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C18
159 sentences
Introduction to the immune system
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
32 sentences
Structure and Function of a Prokaryotic Cell (Bacteria)
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Parts of the Eukaryotic Cell”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: cell, membrane, protein, phospholipid, lipid. This video has 58 sentences and 847 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:32. The speaker talks at a natural 153 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 73% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| membrane noun | /ˈmɛm.bɹeɪn/ | A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force. |
| phospholipid noun | /ˌfɑs.foʊˈlɪ.pɪd/ | Any lipid, such as lecithin or cephalin, consisting of a diglyceride combined with a phosphate group and a simple organic molecule such as choline or… |
| lipid noun | /ˈlɪpɪd/ | Any of a group of organic compounds including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides. Lipids are characterized by being insoluble in water. |
| mitochondrion noun | /ˌmaɪtəˈkɑndɹiən/ | A spherical or ovoid organelle found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and containing genetic material separate from that of the host; it is responsible for… |
| ribosome noun | /ˈɹaɪbəˌsoʊm/ | A small organelle found in all cells; involved in the production of proteins by translating messenger RNA. |
| nucleus noun | /ˈnuː.kli.əs/ | The core, central part of something, around which other elements are assembled. |
| bilayer noun | Any structure consisting of two layers of molecules | |
| organelle noun | /ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/ | A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles). |
| peripheral adjective | /pəˈɹɪf(ə)ɹ(ə)l/ | On the periphery or boundary. |
| cholesterol noun | /kəˈlɛstəɹɒl/ | A sterol lipid synthesized by the liver and transported in the bloodstream to the membranes of all animal cells; it plays a central role in many biochemical… |
| apparatus noun | /ˌæp.əˈɹeɪ.təs/ | The entirety of means whereby a specific production is made existent or task accomplished. |
| cilium noun | /ˈsɪl.i.əm/ | A short microscopic hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism) which serve… |
| crista noun | /ˈkɹɪstə/ | Any of the internal compartments formed by the inner membrane of a mitochondrion, where many chemical reactions take place. |
| endoplasmic adjective | Of or relating to endoplasm. | |
| flagellum noun | /fləˈd͡ʒɛləm/ | In protists, a long, whiplike membrane-enclosed organelle used for locomotion or feeding. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| move around verb | To relocate to new homes repeatedly; to not live in any one place for long. | |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
| move out verb | To leave one's present location; to leave somewhere for another place. | |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
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 | are made · are used · is made |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | hydrophilic, which means · hydrophobic, which means · proteins, which can |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as aren't, doesn't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: phospholipid /ˌfɑs.foʊˈlɪ.pɪd/, mitochondrion /ˌmaɪtəˈkɑndɹiən/, peripheral /pəˈɹɪf(ə)ɹ(ə)l/, cholesterol /kəˈlɛstəɹɒl/, apparatus /ˌæp.əˈɹeɪ.təs/
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 membrane, phospholipid, lipid.
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.