Shadowing Practice: Proxy vs Reverse Proxy (Real-world Examples) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Why is Nginet called a reverse proxy?
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What is a proxy anyways?
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Let's take a look.
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Two common types of proxy are forward proxy and reverse proxy.
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A forward proxy is a server that sits between a group of client machines and the internet.
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When those clients make requests to websites on the internet the forward proxy acts as a middleman intercepts those requests
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and talks to the web servers on behalf of those client machines why would anyone want to do
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that here are a few reasons one a forward proxy protects
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the client's online identity by using a forward proxy to connect
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to a website the ip address of the client is hidden
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from the server only the ip address of the proxy is visible, it would be harder to trace back to the client.
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Two, a forward proxy can be used to bypass browsing restrictions.
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Some institutions like governments, schools, and big businesses use firewalls to restrict access to the internet.
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By connecting to a forward proxy outside the firewalls, the client machine can potentially get around these restrictions.
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It does not always work because the firewalls themselves could block the connections to the proxy.
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3. A forward proxy can be used to block access to certain content.
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It is not uncommon for schools
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and businesses to configure the networks to connect all clients to the web through the proxy
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and apply filtering rules to disallow sites like social networks.
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It is worth noting that a forward proxy normally requires a client to configure its application to point to it.
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For large institutions, they usually apply a technique called transparent proxies to streamline the process.
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A transparent proxy works with layer 4 switches to redirect certain types of traffic to the proxy automatically.
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There is no need to configure the client machines to use it.
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It is difficult to bypass a transparent proxy when the client is on the institution's network.
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In summary, a forward proxy sits between the client and the internet and acts on behalf of the client.
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Now let's take a look at the reverse proxy.
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A reverse proxy sits between the internet and the web servers.
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It intercepts the requests from the clients and talks to the web server on behalf of the clients.
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Why would a website use a reverse proxy?
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Here are a few good reasons.
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One, a reverse proxy could be used to protect a website.
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The website's IP addresses are hidden behind the reverse proxy and are not revealed to the clients.
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This makes it much harder to target a DDoS attack against a website.
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Second, a reverse proxy is used for load balancing.
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A popular website handling millions of users every day is unlikely to be able to handle the traffic with a single server.
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A reverse proxy can balance a large amount of incoming requests
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by distributing the traffic to a large pool of web servers and effectively preventing any single one of them from becoming overloaded.
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Note that this assumes that the reverse proxy can handle the incoming traffic.
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Services like Kyle Flare put reverse proxy servers in hundreds of locations all around the world.
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This puts the reverse proxy close to the users and at the same time provides a large amount of processing capacity.
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Third, a reverse proxy caches static content.
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A piece of content could be cached on the reverse proxy for a period of time.
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If the same piece of content is requested again from the reverse proxy, the locally cached version could be quickly returned.
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Fourth, a reverse proxy can handle SSL encryption.
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SSL handshake is computationally expensive.
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A reverse proxy can free up the origin servers from those expensive operations.
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Instead of handling SSL for all clients, a website only needs to handle SSL handshake from a small number of reverse proxies.
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Reverse proxies are everywhere.
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For a modern website, it is not uncommon to have many layers of reverse proxies.
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The first layer could be an edge service like Cloudflare.
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The reverse proxies are deployed to hundreds of locations worldwide close to the users.
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The second layer could be an API gateway or load balancer at the hosting provider.
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Many cloud providers combine these two layers into a single ingress service.
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The user would enter the cloud network at the edge close to the user.
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And from the edge, the reverse proxy connects over a fast fiber network to the load balancer, where the request is evenly distributed over a cluster of web servers.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Proxy vs Reverse Proxy”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: proxy, reverse, client, server, forward. This video has 58 sentences and 786 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:06. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 68% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| proxy noun | /ˈpɹɑk.si/ | An agent or substitute authorized to act for another person. |
| reverse noun | /ɹɪˈvɝs/ | The opposite of something. |
| server noun | /ˈsɝvɚ/ | A program that provides services to other programs or devices, either in the same computer or over a computer network. |
| layer noun | /ˈleɪ̯ɚ/ | A single thickness of some material covering a surface. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| behalf noun | /bɪˈhæf/ | The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of someone or something. |
| transparent adjective | /tɹænsˈpæɹənt/ | See-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly. |
| cache noun | /kæʃ/ | Such a store of physical supplies, placed by humans or other animals for practical reasons. |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| institution noun | /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ | A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work. |
| provider noun | /pɹəˈvaɪ.də(ɹ)/ | One who, or that which, provides a service, commodity, or the means for subsistence. |
| incoming adjective | /ˈɪnˌkʌmɪŋ/ | Coming (or about to come) in; arriving. |
| uncommon adjective | /ʌnˈkɒmən/ | Rare; not readily found; unusual. |
| distribute verb | /dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/ | To divide into portions and dispense. |
| bypass noun | /ˈbaɪpæs/ | A road that passes around something, such as a residential area or business district. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. |
| hide behind verb | To use someone or something as a shield in order to avoid taking responsibility for something; to avoid attention by using someone or something as a shield. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: cache /kæʃ/, institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, restriction /ɹɪˈstɹɪkʃən/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, encryption /ɪnˈkɹɪpʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, computationally /ˌkɑmpjʊˈteɪʃənəli/
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 proxy, reverse, server.
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.