Shadowing Practice: Space & Planets | British English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome back to another episode of British English Pod with me,
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Lewis, and this week's topic is all about space.
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But to get started, I want to tell you a joke, a pun, a dad joke.
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Are you ready?
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How do you organize a party in space?
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How do you organize a party in space? hmm you plan it plan it a planet
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once again welcome back and tell me what did you think of that dad joke that bad joke
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Did you like it or not?
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Please leave a thumbs up if you enjoyed that joke.
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And well, if you'd like me to keep telling you some terrible jokes that'll have you cracking up.
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To crack up is to laugh.
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So hopefully that joke cracked you up.
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It had you in stitches.
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And if you are in stitches, it means you are laughing out loud so yeah
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if you'd like me to tell you more bad jokes then let me know in the comments
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and um how are you guys how's it going how's life
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it's a pleasure to be back here once again i've just had a shower and i've just had a shave as well
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And what I normally do is I shave, give or take, once a week.
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When my stubble starts to get a little bit prickly,
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then I usually use an electric razor and I also use a wet razor as well.
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And that way, now, I look like a baby.
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but you'll have seen that sometimes I do like to grow my mustache
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and I must ask you a question are you interested in space do you ever think about
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if there is life on other planets because as I said, the topic of the week is all about space.
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And this is the topic that we've been discussing in my group classes and private classes.
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And some people are fascinated by space and other people, to be honest, they don't really care.
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They don't really have any interest in space.
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And I'm kind of in the middle.
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And it's partly because I think that during my lifetime, I'm never going to leave planet Earth.
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It might sound obvious, but there are certain people,
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certain billionaires or astronauts who will be able to leave planet
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Earth and go to the moon, to Mars, to Saturn, to Jupiter.
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But you know, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat.
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I'm a bit of a chicken.
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So even if I had the opportunity to go in a rocket or a spaceship to see planet
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Earth from hundreds and thousands of kilometers away, I think I'd chicken out.
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I'd be too scared so I wouldn't want to do it.
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If I sometimes get very, very nervous when I'm flying,
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imagine how I would feel if I was about to go into orbit wearing a spacesuit.
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It doesn't seem like it would be up my street.
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A nice expression there.
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If something is up your street, it means it's something that you like, something that you're interested in.
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Football, for me is up my street.
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It's right up my street.
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But let's begin with the topic.
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And how I'd like to begin is by telling you some facts and interesting pieces of information related to space.
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And I'm going to be learning whilst you are learning
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because I'm no expert when it comes to space or any of the topics that I end up discussing on the podcast.
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So, of course, I look up information online, I ask AI or I Google it,
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and that way I can learn whilst hopefully you are learning at the same time.
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Fingers crossed that is the case.
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So the first interesting fact that I'm going to tell you is space is completely silent,
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completely silent, because sound needs particles like air to travel through.
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And since space is almost a vacuum,
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astronauts can't hear explosions or other sounds unless they are transmitted through radio.
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Oh, amazing, isn't it?
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That's mind -blowing that astronauts, they can't hear anything unless it is transmitted through radio.
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Did you know it?
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I doubt it.
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I definitely didn't know it.
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Now, the second fact is that there are more stars than grains of sand on Earth.
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There are more stars than grains of sand on Earth.
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Hmm, let me explain.
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Astronomers estimate there are around 100 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way alone,
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and potentially hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. So many stars.
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And when we look up at night and we see different stars, especially if you're in the countryside, it's fascinating.
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It's so impressive.
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Thinking about all of these stars, which are essentially planets.
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So yeah, there are more stars than grains of sand on Earth.
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Madness.
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Crazy.
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Did you know it?
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Maybe you did.
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Or maybe you could have made an educated guess.
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Now, number three.
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Looking into space is looking into the past.
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Hmm?
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What?
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Yeah.
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Looking into space is looking into the past.
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I'm sure you're thinking, Lewis, what are you on about?
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What are you talking about?
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Allow me to explain.
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The light from the sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.
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So when you look at the sun, you're seeing it as it was eight minutes ago.
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So some galaxies are so far away that their light began its journey billions of years before humans existed.
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It's incredible, isn't it?
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So yeah, light from the sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.
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So whenever we look at space, we're looking into the past.
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Amazing, isn't it?
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now let's do another couple of facts then we'll move on to some expressions
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and keep having a chat so the next fact the fourth fact is
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that earth is traveling incredibly fast earth is traveling incredibly fast i guess you already had an idea of this
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but earth rotates at about 1 ,670 kilometers per hour at the equator
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and orbits the sun at roughly 10700 ,000 kilometers per hour.
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Yet we don't feel it because everything around us is moving at the same speed.
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so we're constantly moving the whole galaxy the milky way is constantly moving
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so so fast but we're unconscious of this we're unaware of this because everything is moving at the same time.
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It's crazy.
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Absolutely crazy.
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Now I'm going to tell you one other fact.
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Let's go with, for example, it's about Saturn.
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So Saturn, the planet, would float in water.
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A planet would float in water.
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Again, Lewis, what are you on about?
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What are you talking about?
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Well, although it is enormous,
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huge, gigantic, Saturn has an average density lower than water.
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So its average density is lower than water.
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So if, hypothetically speaking, you could find a bathtub large enough,
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Saturn would float because it is less dense than water.
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I doubt we will ever find a bathtub that is big enough to fit Saturn inside.
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But hypothetically speaking, it would float in water.
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Now tell me, do you know any other interesting facts related to space or aliens?
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If so, please share them in the comments.
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And from there, I'm going to start sharing my screen.
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First of all, with an image of Chewbacca.
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Chewie!
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and my question is simple are you a fan of science
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fiction are you keen on sci -fi do you like sci -fi well in my case yeah
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i i quite like sci -fi i quite like science fiction now of course the image
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that you might be able to see is related to star wars
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and i'm quite a big star wars fan but I wouldn't say I am obsessed.
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So I know all of the main characters.
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I've watched all of the Star Wars films and some of the series that they've got on Disney+.
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And I thoroughly enjoy watching all of these films.
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Of course, the level, the quality goes up and down.
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Many people say that, Well, the originals are the best.
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The original Star Wars films with Luke and Darth Vader, well, they are the best ones.
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And they are way before their time.
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If something is before its time, it means that it was more advanced than the era that we were living in back then.
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And it's true, because many people can watch
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Star Wars nowadays and still appreciate these old films, and still even say that they are better than the modern versions.
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But you see, I'm a fan.
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I like sci -fi.
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I also like
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Star Trek and other different films related to sci -fi, like Interstellar, for example because it gets you thinking
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and it almost allows you to imagine the impossible
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and to think about wow what if we were able to travel in space
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that would be amazing so it gets your imagination going
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so i am definitely a fan of sci -fi but i'm not really a geek i'm not really a nerd.
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Because if you watch series like
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The Big Bang Theory, you'll notice that they are obsessed with Star Wars, Star Trek, all of these comics,
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and I've never been that much of a geek.
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I've never been that much of a nerd.
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I've mentioned on the podcast in the past
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that growing up I was a huge fan of pokemon
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and i was a bit nerdy or geeky when it came to pokemon
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but with star wars you know i like it
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and i enjoy it but i never had posters of star wars but that being said
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As I also mentioned recently, I did kind of have a crush on Padme,
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who was Natalie Portman in the Star Wars films.
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So I had a crush on her.
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I liked her.
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I was attracted to her.
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So that is the first question.
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But now let's look at some space -related expressions because, like with every single topic,
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there are always expressions which are related to these.
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And in class this week, we have been reviewing all of these expressions.
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As always, if you'd like to join my group classes or private classes, there is a link in the video description. But let's match them.
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So, on the left, you have eight different advanced words or phrases,
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And on the right, in a random order, you have these synonyms.
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and a couple of them are quite similar.
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So watch out, look out, be careful.
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The first one is, it's not rocket science.
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It's not rocket science.
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And if somebody says that something isn't rocket science, all they're saying is, it's not complicated.
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It's not hard.
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It's not difficult.
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Don't worry so much about it.
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It's not rocket science.
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The second expression is the sky's the limit.
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The sky's the limit.
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Hmm.
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What does it mean if I say the sky's the limit?
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Well, it means that there are no limits to success.
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If, for example, you want to become a professional athlete, or you want to set up your own business,
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somebody might encourage you by saying, you can do it.
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The sky's the limit.
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It means that there is no limit.
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The sky's the limit.
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After that, we have over the moon.
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Oh, right now I am over the moon because the sun has just come out.
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And when I started recording, it was cloudy.
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So I'm over the moon.
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I'm ecstatic.
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Being over the moon is another way of saying that you are very happy.
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I am over the moon.
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The fourth expression is a phrasal verb, in fact and it is to space out.
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This could happen to you when you're in a class
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and you've got a lot on your mind and you keep getting distracted.
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You're daydreaming.
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You might just for a second space out
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and then maybe the teacher would look at you and ask you a question and be like,
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hey, hey, hey, are you listening to me? Because you spaced out.
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So spacing out is getting distracted or not paying attention.
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I spaced out during the class.
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Then we have reach for the stars.
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Reach for the stars, do -do, cram every mountain high and reach for the stars.
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It's a famous song.
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I don't know if you know it or not.
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But this one is similar to saying that the sky is the limit.
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Reaching for the stars is aiming very high because the stars are above us in space.
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And if you're reaching for it, you're trying to grab it.
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You're trying to achieve it.
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So you're aiming very high.
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I told my friend not to be afraid and to reach for the stars.
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Then we have a relatively common one.
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It is once in a blue moon.
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Once in a blue moon.
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I go swimming once in a blue moon.
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I don't do it very often.
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I do it very rarely.
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I go swimming once in a blue moon
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Perfect, now we have the seventh expression
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Which is written in the stars
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If something is written in the stars
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It is destined to happen
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It's destiny, it's fate
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It is written in the stars
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perhaps with a child prodigy who has an insane talent for singing you could say
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that her fame was written in the stars it was bound to happen since she was a little girl
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now we have the final one which is to come back down to earth
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which is a way of saying returning to reality, returning to the real world.
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Maybe somebody is dreaming about a very, very difficult future.
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And when they realize that it's not possible, they come back down to earth.
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They come back down to earth.
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So to recap, we have, it's not rocket science.
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It's easy.
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The sky's the limit, there are no limits
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Over the moon, very happy Space out.
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Stop paying attention.
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Reach for the stars is to aim very high.
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Once in a blue moon is not very often.
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If it's written in the stars, it's destined to happen.
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And coming back down to earth is returning to reality.
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So let's do a gap fill.
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Let's see if you're able to fill in the gaps.
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So, I'll read the sentence twice.
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The first time, I will beep when we get to the expression, and the second time, I'll read it with the correct answer.
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Are you ready?
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Steady?
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Let's go!
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So, I was mmm when my favourite team won the match.
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I was over the moon when my favourite team won the match.
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Over the moon.
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Very happy.
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Next.
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You don't need a tutorial for this app.
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It's mmm.
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Hmm, you don't need a tutorial for this app, it is not rocket science,
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it's easy, it's not rocket science.
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After that, sometimes during long meetings I completely,
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ugh, sometimes during long meetings I completely space out.
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I lose focus.
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I get distracted.
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I space out.
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The fourth one.
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My parents always told me to hmm and follow my dreams.
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My parents always told me to reach for the stars and follow my dreams they told me to aim high,
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to try to achieve my goals.
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Reach for the stars, climb every mountain high and reach for the stars.
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I'm gonna have to look up who sang that song.
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Now, next, the fifth one is, we go to fancy restaurants only, hmm, because they're expensive.
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We go to fancy restaurants only once in a blue moon because they're expensive.
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We don't go very often.
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We go once in a blue moon.
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Then we have, after becoming famous overnight, he needed to mmm a bit.
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Mmm.
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After becoming famous overnight, he needed to come back down to earth a bit to return to reality.
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He came back down to earth.
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Now the penultimate one.
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They met by chance on holiday, and it felt like it was, hmm.
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They met by chance on holiday, and it felt like it was written in the stars.
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It was meant to be.
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It was destiny.
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It was written in the stars.
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And finally, number eight, if you keep practicing your English every day,
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hmm, I don't even remember.
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What was the answer?
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Let's find out.
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If you keep practicing your English every day, the sky's the limit.
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Of course, the sky is the limit.
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There is no limit if you keep practicing your English every day.
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The sky's the limit, guys.
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So keep it up.
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Keep training your English.
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And well, I hope that you find this podcast very useful to keep improving your English.
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And I'm going to get a little bit distracted here.
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Maybe I'm spacing out a little bit.
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But when I was studying languages at university and when I was learning them independently,
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I loved listening to language podcasts, and there weren't anywhere near as many as there are today.
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And I wish I had started this podcast many years ago, a decade ago, but I didn't.
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I didn't take advantage of my ideas at that time.
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But since becoming my own boss, I told myself that I need to reach for the stars because the sky's the limit.
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And this kind of podcast is exactly what I wanted to find in Spanish, Italian, or French.
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And I know there are great podcasts in different languages.
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There are other great language learning podcasts in English.
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But yeah, I hope you do find these podcasts useful.
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Of course, it's free for you.
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So hopefully you appreciate that.
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And yeah, hopefully I will continue to do this podcast in the very, very long term.
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Maybe I'll do it forever.
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You might see me in 50 years when I'm, oh, how old will I be?
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In 50 years, I will be 83 years old.
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Maybe I'll still be doing the podcast then.
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Or perhaps there will be an artificial intelligence version of me looking really, really young, continuing to do it.
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That's the other option.
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Now let's keep going and let's use some of these expressions in conversation,
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because next, now sharing my screen once again,
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we've got eight different conversation questions to encourage you and force you to use them in context.
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So I'll choose some and answer.
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The first one.
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When was the last time you were over the moon about something?
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When was the last time you were over the moon about something?
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Now I might sound a little bit like a broken record, someone who repeats themselves a lot,
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but the last time I was over the moon about something was about six weeks ago
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when my football team leads united beat manchester united away in manchester
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and at that moment we were in danger of getting relegated of being demoted to the second division
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and out of nowhere we played incredibly and we beat man united
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so i was oh i was over the moon I was on cloud nine in that moment.
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What about you?
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When was the last time you were over the moon on cloud nine about something?
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Number two, what's something that is difficult for some people, but not rocket science for you?
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something that's difficult for some people but not rocket science for me is navigation
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so knowing where i am when i'm traveling or walking around a city
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and knowing which direction to go in i don't have many talents in life
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but this is one of the things that i'm abnormally good at, or at least with my friends and my fiance,
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I realized that I'm quite good at knowing which street I'm on, how far I need to keep walking to get to the next destination.
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I'm able to, well, find my way home, even if I haven't got
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Wi -Fi or my Google Maps isn't working.
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And I know that some people do struggle with this, that they get lost or they lose their bearings and they don't know where they are.
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But for me, it's not rocket science.
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It's pretty easy not to get lost and to be able to orient myself and navigate so I don't get lost.
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Next, do you ever space out when people are talking to you.
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And when does it usually happen?
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Yes, this does happen.
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And it actually happened last weekend.
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So last weekend, I went to the beach with a few friends.
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They're all Spanish.
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So we were speaking in Spanish all of the time.
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And even though my Spanish is really good,
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There are still moments when maybe other people are explaining different things.
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Perhaps I don't understand some cultural references, or I haven't heard of the celebrities that they're mentioning, or I don't know.
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some historical references.
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And when they're having a chat and having a conversation
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and I'm not really following it because maybe I'm not interested
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and I don't want to try to focus on the content of what they're saying.
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Well, I space out.
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And last weekend, in particular, in the back of the car, driving from the beach back home,
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I was realizing that they were having a conversation and I was kind of excluded from the conversation.
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I was left out.
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Because I wanted to be left out, I was tired and I wanted to kind of close my eyes.
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But I realized that I wasn't quite following.
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I was spacing out because it was just something that I didn't care about or I didn't quite understand.
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So yeah, I'm sure this happens to you as well.
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If you're immersed in English for a long time, then it's normal that sometimes you space out.
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Now, I'm going to skip a couple of the next questions and I'm going to choose one more.
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Hmm.
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Let's go with, have you ever met someone and felt it was written in the stars?
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It was destiny.
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Have I ever met someone and felt it was written in the stars?
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Well, possibly.
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So, as you know, I have an application which you can download on the App Store or Google Play.
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It's called English with Lewis.
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And recently, we've given it a new design and added additional features.
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And it looks really, really cool.
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So if you haven't already downloaded it, you can download it and try it completely for free.
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And this is not completely my business.
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I share it with my business partner.
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And, well, we have 50 % of the business each.
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He was in charge of developing the app, maintaining the app, fixing any bugs or issues that there are.
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And he knows a lot about AI and applications in general.
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And how we met, you could say, was written in the stars because he's from Paris, he's from France.
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And I have a friend here in Brussels who is also from Paris.
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And we get on really well.
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We get on like a house on fire.
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And my French friend here in Brussels has another friend who is now my business partner.
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And I remember talking to him about the possibility of creating an app, thinking that in the long term, it could be a really,
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really interesting and exciting business to have.
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I had always dreamt about having my own app at the same time and with the app,
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there is the possibility of getting income without having to work a lot more in terms of teaching.
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So the fact that I was already thinking about this and Eric, my business partner, had the perfect profile for this kind of role.
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When we met and we were having a chat about my ideas and intentions, I did think to myself,
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wow, I've just got really lucky here.
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I was so lucky to have met this person because he has the perfect profile that I'm terrible at these things,
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but this is his expertise.
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So for me, I don't usually believe in destiny, but I'd say us meeting, getting together, was written in the stars.
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Awesome.
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Now, let's go back to basics.
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Do you know all of the planets in the universe? Of course, you know
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Mars and Earth.
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But do you know the order of the planets?
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This is something that we all study at primary school even.
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So we should know it off by heart, shouldn't we?
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But do you?
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Because when I was creating this lesson plan, I was realizing and hesitating, thinking, oh, what comes first?
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Is it Saturn or Neptune?
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Is it Mercury or Venus?
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I was a little bit lost to tell you the truth.
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So let's go through it together.
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If you are watching the video, you will see that here we can see our solar system.
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On the left, you can see the enormous, all -powerful sun.
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Then, what is the closest planet to the sun?
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Well, the closest planet to the sun is Mercury.
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Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.
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After that, what comes next?
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What is the second closest planet to the sun?
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It is Venus.
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Venus is the second closest planet to the sun.
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Then, of course, it is planet Earth.
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Oops, it is planet Earth.
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And after that, we have Mars.
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So Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
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What goes after Mars?
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It is Jupiter.
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Jupiter.
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And after Jupiter, we have Saturn.
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Exactly.
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The one that could fit in a bathtub and float.
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And after Saturn, it is Uranus.
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Uranus.
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And then, after Uranus, we have Neptune.
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Neptune.
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And finally, I know this is a bit controversial, and nowadays people don't class it as a planet.
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But for me, it will always be a planet.
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And my favorite planet, it is Pluto.
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So Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun in our solar system, at least.
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So there you have the planets.
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And for you, is Pluto still a planet or not?
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For me, it definitely is.
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Pluto should always still be a planet.
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Now, from there, let's keep having a chat.
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Indeed, let's keep having a chat.
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Let's keep discussing some questions.
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And just to let you know that I just had a power cut.
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I just had a blackout.
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I noticed that there was a beep from my fridge and I thought, hmm, something's up here.
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And then I saw that my Wi -Fi stopped working and I started panicking a little bit.
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And I was like, oh no, I was right at the end of the podcast.
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I had almost finished the podcast, but luckily everything that I recorded was saved.
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So this is the final section of the pod
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that I have added so that hopefully it is seamless and nice and smooth.
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But where was I?
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What was I saying?
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I believe we were just about to go over some final questions.
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So here you have the questions.
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Some of them are quite advanced and difficult to discuss.
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But let's go with the first one.
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What fascinates you most about space exploration?
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Well, I'm not too bothered and too interested about space exploration,
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to be honest, because I see it as something that I'm never going to do.
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And it would be absolutely incredible if we discovered that there was life on other planets and maybe in the distant,
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distant future, my children or grandchildren could possibly travel to Mars.
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That's a cool thing to think about.
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But for me, I don't think we're going to discover life on other planets
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and I don't think we will be able to travel to these planets anytime soon.
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So it's great to see images of the Earth from above and to see what it looks like.
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Also, I think gravity is an interesting phenomenon that
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when you are looking at astronauts in a spaceship and you see them floating around, that is fascinating.
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That looks so fun.
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And I would love to see and feel what it feels like without gravity, so you can float around.
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But another thing that I'm thinking of right now is how incredibly advanced we were 60 years ago.
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And I know governments, in particular governments of the United States and the Soviet Union,
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invested a lot of money into space exploration back in the 50s and 60s.
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And the first astronaut to step foot on the moon was,
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I believe, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
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And do you remember the quote that Neil Armstrong said? when he stepped foot on the moon.
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It's a great quote, so I'll tell you.
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It is.
471
This is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
472
Let me repeat.
473
This is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
474
And it's true, because for him in that moment, it was just one step one little step and he was on the moon.
475
But this was representing a huge jump, huge progress for mankind, for humanity.
476
And it is fascinating that we were able to do that.
477
And of course, other people have landed on the moon since, but not that many.
478
So it's kind of maybe disappointing that we haven't continued to progress
479
and advance quite as much to get human beings onto Mars,
480
but I'm sure it will happen at some point in the future.
481
Now, I'm going to skip the next question, but what about the fourth one?
482
Should space exploration be prioritized over solving Earth's problems?
483
Hmm.
484
Now this is where it gets a bit controversial, because on planet
485
Earth, there are so many issues, so many problems.
486
We have climate change.
487
We have poverty.
488
We have natural disasters.
489
We have such inequality.
490
And I think if we worked a little bit harder, we would be able to at least make these problems less noticeable.
491
So, that's why it's a little bit frustrating when, for example, you see certain billionaires like
492
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk prioritizing space exploration over paying taxes or giving more money to charity.
493
So, personally, I think we should focus on planet
494
Earth a lot more than on different planets.
495
Because planet Earth is the perfect planet for us.
496
We can breathe well.
497
We have nature.
498
We have food.
499
We have everything.
500
So maybe we don't need to explore space quite as much.
501
Or at least make sure that planet
502
Earth is perfect and safe and fair.
503
And then we could have a look into exploring other planets.
504
That's what I think.
505
And now the final question.
506
Do you think there is life beyond Earth?
507
And let us know in the comments.
508
Do you think there is life beyond Earth?
509
I'm not sure.
510
I definitely don't think there are aliens.
511
I don't think there are like humanoid aliens or aliens
512
that look like octopus or birds or sea creatures
513
that are going to come over to planet earth and destroy our planet and make us all slaves.
514
I think that's just sci -fi.
515
I think that's just science fiction, to be honest.
516
But I don't want to rule out the fact that we might be able to find water on different planets.
517
And if we find water on other planets, then it means there could be life in the form of flowers,
518
insects maybe even, or small creatures.
519
And this would be a groundbreaking discovery.
520
If we ever discovered real life on other planets, I think that would be a game changer.
521
It would change the way that everybody feels about space exploration.
522
And to be honest, I think a lot of people would be excited, but a lot of people would be nervous as well,
523
thinking that, uh -oh, maybe aliens are going to come and take over our planet.
524
So that's what I think.
525
I think it's very, very unlikely that...
526
And I'll see you later.
527
aliens are going to be discovered, but you never know.
528
Maybe some water or small creatures or flowers.
529
And on that note, we're going to wrap it up and finish with this week's podcast all about space.
530
And I hope you liked the bad joke at the beginning, the facts about space, and the expressions as always.
531
So thank you everybody for listening or watching, and I'll see you next time.
532
Bye -bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Space & Planets”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: planet, star, space, earth, moon. This video has 532 sentences and 5347 words to shadow. The speech runs for 45:10. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| rocket noun | /ˈɹɑk.ɪt/ | A cylindrical projectile that can be fired to a great height through combustion, (specifically) a type of firework of this form, typically exploding with light… |
| float verb | /fləʊt/ | To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object). |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| exploration noun | /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/ | The process of exploring. |
| astronaut noun | /ˈæstɹəˌnɔt/ | A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose. |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| destiny noun | /ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/ | That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will. |
| distract verb | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | To divert the attention of. |
| fiction noun | /ˈfɪkʃən/ | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| sand noun | /sænd/ | Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in… |
| crack noun | /kɹæk/ | A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material. |
| galaxy noun | /ˈɡæl.ək.si/ | Any of the collections of many millions or billions of stars, galactic dust, black holes, etc. existing as independent and coherent systems, of which there are… |
| grain noun | /ɡɹeɪn/ | The harvested seeds of various grass food crops, especially wheat, maize, rye, barley, and rice. |
| mankind noun | /mænˈkaɪnd/ | The human race in its entirety. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| crack up verb | /ˈkɹæk ˈʌp/ | To laugh heartily. |
| leave out verb | To omit, to not include, to neglect to mention. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get together verb | To meet, to gather together, to congregate. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do you organize a party in space?
- Did you like it or not?
- What are you talking about?
- What does it mean if I say the sky's the limit?
- What fascinates you most about space exploration?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | we've been discussing · have been reviewing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | i've just had · I've watched · I've never been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are fascinated · are transmitted · is transmitted |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | stars, which are · expressions which are · one which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 141 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, breathe /bɹiːð/, seventh /ˈsɛvənθ/, athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: exploration /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/, fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, crush /kɹʌʃ/, shave /ˈʃeɪ̯v/
- Long words — get the stress right: exploration /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like podcast, rocket, float.
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.