Shadowing Practice: RE3 Unit 3B - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Track 6, Reading 3B, Tracking the Snow Leopard When a snow leopard stalks its prey among the mountain walls,
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it moves softly, slowly, explains Indian biologist Raghunandan Singh Chandawat, who has studied the animal for years.
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If it knocks a stone loose, it will reach out a foot to stop it from falling and making noise.
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One might be moving right now, perfectly silent, maybe close by. But where?
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Best known for its spotted coat and long, distinctive tail, the snow leopard is one of the world's most secretive animals.
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These elusive cats can only be found high in the remote, mountainous regions of Central Asia.
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For this reason, and because they hunt primarily at night, they are very rarely seen.
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Snow leopards have been officially protected since 1975, but enforcing this law has proven difficult.
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Many continue to be killed for their fur and body parts, which are worth a fortune on the black market.
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In recent years, though, conflict with local herders has also led to a number of snow leopard deaths.
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This is because the big cats kill the herders animals and drag the bodies away high up in the mountains to eat.
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As a result of these pressures the current snow leopard population is estimated at only 4,000 to 7,000
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and some fear that the actual number may already have dropped below 3,500.
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The only way to reverse this trend and bring these cats back from near extinction,
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say conservationists, is to make them more valuable alive than dead.
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A Fragile Relationship Because farming is difficult in Central Asia's cold,
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dry landscape, traditional cultures depend mostly on livestock, mainly sheep and goats, to survive in these mountainous regions.
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At night, when snow leopards hunt, herders' animals are in danger of snow leopard attacks.
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If a family loses even a few animals, it can push them into desperate poverty.
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The wolf comes and kills, eats, and goes somewhere else, said one herder.
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But snow leopards are always around.
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They have killed one or two animals many times.
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Everybody wanted to finish this leopard.
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To address this problem, local religious leaders have called for an end to snow leopard killings, saying that these wild animals have the right to exist peacefully.
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They've also tried to convince people that the leopards are quite rare, and thus it is important to protect them.
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The value of preservation Financial incentives are also helping to slow snow leopard killings.
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The organization Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust has established Himalayan Homestays, a program that sends visitors to herders' houses.
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For a clean room and bed, meals with the family, and an introduction to their culture, visitors pay about US$10 a night.
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If guests come once every two weeks through the tourist season, the herders will earn enough income to replace the animals lost to snow leopards.
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In addition, the organization helps herders build protective fences that keep out snow leopards.
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It also conducts environmental classes at village schools and trains the organization's members as nature guides, available for hire.
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In exchange, the herders agree not to kill snow leopards. In Mongolia,
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a project called Snow Leopard Enterprises helps herder communities earn extra money in exchange for their promise to protect the endangered cat.
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Women in Mongolian herder communities make a variety of products, yarn for making clothes, decorative floor rugs,
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and toys using the wool from their herds.
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SLE buys these items from herding families and sells them abroad.
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Herders must agree to protect the snow leopards and to encourage neighbors to do the same.
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The arrangement increases herders' incomes by 10 to 15 percent and elevates the status of the women.
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If no one in the community kills the protected animals over the course of a year,
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the program members are rewarded with a 20 percent bonus in addition to the money they've already made.
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An independent review in 2006 found no snow leopard killings in areas where SLE operates.
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Today, the organization continues to add more communities.
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Projects like the Homestays Program in India and SLE's business in Mongolia are doing well.
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Though they cover only a small part of the snow leopard's homeland, they make the leopards more valuable to more people each year.
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If these programs continue to do well, the snow leopard may just have a fighting chance.
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Who Will Benefit from This Video?

This video is perfect for intermediate English learners aiming to boost reading comprehension, expand vocabulary, and practice real-world storytelling. It’s ideal for those interested in wildlife and conservation, as it blends engaging content with practical language skills. Whether you’re preparing for exams or simply want to communicate about global issues, the clear, conversational tone makes it easy to follow and mimic.

Words & Idioms to Add to Your Toolkit

Here are key terms to master from the video:

  • Elusive: Hard to find or catch (e.g., "The snow leopard is one of the world’s most elusive animals").
  • Enforcing: Making sure a law is followed (e.g., "Enforcing protection laws has proven difficult").
  • Financial incentives: Money-based reasons to act (e.g., "Financial incentives are slowing snow leopard killings").
  • Reverse this trend: Change a negative pattern (e.g., "Conservationists want to reverse the decline in snow leopard numbers").

How to Nail the Pronunciation & Shadow Like a Pro

To improve English pronunciation, focus on the video’s steady, clear pace. The speaker uses natural pauses between ideas—mimic these to sound more fluent. Pay attention to stress in longer words: con-ser-VA-tion, en-DAN-gered, in-CEN-tives. For shadow speak practice, play short 5-10 second clips, pause, and repeat immediately. This technique (also called shadowing) trains your mouth to move like a native. Use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare—you’ll notice gaps in rhythm and intonation quickly.
Another tip: Emphasize the "r" sound in words like "remote" and "mountain" (common for learners to soften). Practice saying "snow leopard" slowly—don’t rush the "ow" in "snow" or "le" in "leopard." With consistent shadow speech exercises, you’ll soon match the speaker’s clarity. Remember: the goal is to copy not just words, but the tone and flow that make the story engaging.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →