Shadowing Practice: TOEFL Listening Lecture | Ecosystems - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Music Music Music Music Music
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Nature's ecosystems are delicate and the species that inhabit them are closely interrelated.
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While we can learn valuable lessons by studying natural processes, man's careless intervention can have negative consequences for the environment.
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Gary Jenkins reports.
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Macquarie Island is located about halfway between Australia and Antarctica.
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It was once an uninhabited island with a unique ecosystem.
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But the arrival of Europeans resulted in widespread destruction to the flora and fauna of this designated
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World Heritage Site.
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Ecologist Dr. Stella Burnham is here to tell us about how this ecological disaster came about.
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To understand the scale of the disaster, we must first look at the history of Macquarie Island.
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It was discovered in 1810 when traders came on sailing ships to hunt seals there.
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When rodents on the ship started eating up the crew's food supplies, the sailors introduced cats as a predator.
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Unfortunately, they escaped the ships and reached the island.
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Later, with rodents eating the ship's supplies, rabbits were introduced and released onto the island by the sailors as an alternative food source for the crew.
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Over time, the rabbit population expanded dramatically.
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Eventually, they fell prey to the cats that helped to keep their numbers down, but not before causing significant damage to the island's plant life.
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Why?
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Because rabbits are herbivores.
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In 1968, as a means of protecting the island's remaining flora,
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scientists introduced nexomatosis, a disease fatal to rabbits.
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As a result, the rabbit population plummeted from 130 ,000 in 1978 to less than 20 ,000 within a decade,
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and the island's vegetation recovered.
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The problem is, though, that species are interdependent, so as the rabbit population declined, cats looked for new prey,
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and this had major repercussions for the island's ecosystem.
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Yes, it did, because the cats began hunting the island's native birds that nest in the ground.
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Eventually, measures were taken to save the native species of birds.
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A cat eradication program began in 1985, and the last cat was killed in the year 2000.
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However, myxomatosis had failed to keep the numbers of rabbits in check,
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and now with its major predator the cat eliminated the rabbit population soared
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satellite images show that rabbits have reduced large areas of complex vegetation to short grazed lawns
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or bare ground by 2007 the threat to some protected valleys
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and slopes was serious our estimations indicate nearly 40 % of the island area has undergone a change.
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So you can see that invasive species, in this case the cat and the rabbit, consider major changes, including extinction.
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In extreme cases, there is ecosystem meltdown or total collapse.
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That's why we sometimes have to eliminate an alien species.
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What happened here is an example of trophic cascades the domino
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effect on the food chain caused by changes in the numbers of species.
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When one species becomes abundant, it can eat another's food supply, feed on another species, plant or animal,
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or devastate local flora, which in turn affects more species in the chain.
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Our studies show there is also a link between trophic cascades and the removal of an invasive species.
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You see, removing the cat, for example, also adversely affected other ecosystems.
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The birds recovered, but the rabbit population soared, and then vegetation suffered.
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So the advantages gained by removing the invader may be lost because another species can thrive.
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On Macquarie Island, ecosystems have been destroyed, and years of conservation work to save its vegetation are threatened.
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So what do we learn from the events on Macquarie Island?
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Clearly human intervention in ecosystems must be viable and comprehensive.
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This implies that we must evaluate not only the benefits, but also the potential risks of human interference,
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so as to avoid repeating past mistakes that can cost millions of dollars to put right, if they can be corrected at all.
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Number 1.
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Why does Dr. Burnham discuss the case of Macquarie Island?
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Number 2.
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Why was myxomatosis introduced by scientists?
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Number 3.
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What was the effect of wiping out the cats?
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Number 4.
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Why is the removal of an alien species dangerous?
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Number 5.
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What do we learn from the research on Macquarie Island?
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It was once an uninhabited island with a unique ecosystem.
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But the arrival of Europeans resulted in widespread destruction to the flora and fauna of this designated
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World Heritage Site.
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In 1968, as a means of protecting the island's remaining flora,
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scientists introduced myxomatosis, a disease fatal to rabbits.
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As a result, the rabbit population plummeted from 130 ,000 in 1978 to less than 20 ,000 within a decade,
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and the island's vegetation recovered.
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However, myxomatosis had failed to keep the numbers of rabbits in check, and now, with its major predator,
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the cat, eliminated, the rabbit population soared.
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What happened here is an example of trophic cascades, the domino effect on the food chain caused by changes in the numbers of species.
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Our studies show there is also a link between trophic cascades and the removal of an invasive species.
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Clearly, human intervention in ecosystems must be viable and comprehensive.
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This implies that we must evaluate not only the benefits, but also the potential risks of human interference.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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you I'm sorry.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “TOEFL Listening Lecture”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: rabbit, species, cat, island, ecosystem. This video has 77 sentences and 853 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:50. The speaker talks slowly, about 79 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| rabbit noun | /ˈɹæbɪt/ | A mammal of most genera of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. (Those of the larger kind are instead called hares) |
| ecosystem noun | /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/ | A system formed by an ecological community and its environment that functions as a unit. |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| vegetation noun | /ˌvɛd͡ʒəˈteɪʃən/ | Plants, taken collectively. |
| flora noun | /ˈflɔː.ɹə/ | Plants considered as a group, especially those of a particular country, region, time, etc. |
| removal noun | /ɹɪˈmuː.vəl/ | The process of removing or the fact of being removed. |
| recover verb | /ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/ | To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal). |
| intervention noun | /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/ | The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events. |
| 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… |
| eliminate verb | /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/ | To completely remove, get rid of, put an end to. |
| predator noun | /ˈpɹɛd.ə.tɚ/ | Any animal or other organism that hunts and kills other nonplant organisms (their prey), primarily for food. |
| invasive adjective | /ɪnˈveɪsɪv/ | Of or pertaining to invasion; offensive. |
| arrival noun | /əˈɹaɪ.vl̩/ | The act of arriving (reaching a certain place). |
| disaster noun | /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ | An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent… |
| comprehensive adjective | /ˌkɑm.pɹəˈhɛn.sɪv/ | Broadly or completely covering; including a large proportion of something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| eat up verb | To consume completely. |
| wipe out verb | To destroy (especially, a large number or complete set of people or things); to obliterate. |
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 closely interrelated · is located · was discovered |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have reduced · has undergone · have been destroyed |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: vegetation /ˌvɛd͡ʒəˈteɪʃən/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, destruction /dɪsˈtɹʌkʃən/, conservation /ˌkɑnsə(ɹ)ˈveɪʃən/, extinction /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: ecosystem /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/, vegetation /ˌvɛd͡ʒəˈteɪʃən/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, comprehensive /ˌkɑm.pɹəˈhɛn.sɪv/
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 rabbit, ecosystem, introduce.
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.