Shadowing Practice: Study shows how Earth's orbit affects Ice Ages - Learn English Speaking with Video

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A recent study suggests the next ice age will likely begin in about 11 ,000 years,

unless emissions change the effects of natural climate cycles.

An ice age is a period of reduced temperatures,

causing ice to cover large areas of the northern and southern parts of the world.

A group of scientists studied changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun,

the tilt of the Earth's axis, and the movement of the axis itself, called a wobble.

These three motions are believed to happen in cycles.

The Serbian scientist Mooletin Blankovic developed a theory about 100 years ago that these cycles affected Earth's long -term climate.

The team noted that small changes in Earth's orbit around the sun caused predictable cycles of warming

and cooling over a period of about 100 ,000 years.

These findings permitted the team to determine how the three factors of tilt,

wobble, and the shape of Earth's orbit might have affected the Earth's climate over the last 900 ,000 years.

The group published its findings in Science on February 27.

The scientists examined a million -year record of climate by looking

at ice sheets across the northern half of the world and deep ocean temperatures.

They then compared this data with small but regular changes in Earth's orbit over time.

The lead writer of this study is Stephen Barker, a professor at Cardiff University in Britain.

He told the French news agency AFP

that for many years it has been difficult for scientists to

show exactly how small changes in Earth's orbit have led to huge changes between warm and cold periods.

Earth is believed to go through cycles of ice ages and warm periods.

The last ice age is thought to have ended around 11 ,700 years ago.

Scientists, such as Milankovitch, have long seen a connection between Earth's orbit and climate.

However, researchers have struggled to precisely date when each of the climate changes happened.

It has also been difficult for them to know exactly

which orbit positions affect the start and stop of cold or warm periods.

Barker said his team of researchers studied slow changes in temperature

over long periods of time instead of only looking at shorter periods of change between cold and warm climates.

Barker told AFP, we would expect a glaciation to occur within the next 11 ,000 years,

and it would end in 66 ,000 years' time.

Lorraine Lizicki is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a co -writer of the study.

She said the study shows that changes in climate over tens of thousands of years are not random.

The team aims to expand its findings to investigate the long -term effects of human activity on climate.

They also want to find out how it might affect Earth's natural climate cycles.

I'm Andrew Smith.

A recent study suggests the next ice age will likely begin

in about 11 ,000 years unless emissions change the effects of natural climate cycles.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 37 sentences and 485 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:44. The speaker talks slowly, about 102 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 83% 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
orbit noun	/ˈɔɹ.bɪt/	An elliptical movement of an object about a celestial object or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.
scientist noun	/ˈsaɪəntəst/	One whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research…
axis noun	/ˈæksɪs/	An imaginary line around which an object spins (an axis of rotation) or is symmetrically arranged (an axis of symmetry).
researcher noun	/ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/	One who researches.
emission noun	/ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/	Something which is emitted or sent out; issue.
tilt verb	/tɪlt/	To slope or incline (something); to slant.
occur verb	/əˈkɜː/	To happen or take place.
compare verb	/kəmˈpɛɚ/	To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
sheet noun	/ʃit/	A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.
expand verb	/ɪkˈspænd/	To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open.
investigate verb	/ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/	To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
permit verb	/pɚˈmɪt/	To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for.
precisely adverb	/pɹɪˈsaɪs.li/	In a precise manner; exactly.
examine verb	/ɪɡˈzæmɪn/	To observe carefully or critically to learn about someone or something.
predictable adjective	/pɹəˈdɪktəbləl/	Able to be predicted.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · have led · have struggled
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are believed · is believed · is thought

Pronunciation to watch

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/, sheet /ʃit/, glaciation /ˌɡleɪsiˈeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: investigate /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/, predictable /pɹəˈdɪktəbləl/, glaciation /ˌɡleɪsiˈeɪʃən/

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 orbit, scientist, axis.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Study shows how Earth's orbit affects Ice Ages - Learn English Speaking with Video

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