Shadowing Practice: TOEFL Listening Practice | Lecture | Eye Implants - Learn English Speaking with Video
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133 sentences
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1
the therapeutic value of amusement parks has been largely overlooked by doctors until just recently
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that is with us in the studio today is Steven Mansfield
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a medical journalist who is here to tell us about an amazing letter
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that he read in the New England Journal of Medicine recently.
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Stephen, welcome to the show.
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Thanks for having me.
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So, give us a bit of background on the letter you read.
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I'd be happy to.
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It was written by a Swiss eye surgeon named Michael Thiel.
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It seems that a young man, 19 years old, presented himself to the doctor at his hospital in Zurich,
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Switzerland, complaining that something strange had happened to the pupil of his right eye.
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After being punched in the eye in a bar fight, the pupil, the black part at the center of the eye,
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had become a long, narrow, vertical slit.
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In fact, it bore an odd resemblance to the eye of a cat.
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Thiel and his colleagues soon figured out what had happened.
16
Ten years before, it would seem, surgeons had removed the patient's natural lens and implanted a plastic one inside the eye.
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The barroom punch had knocked the plastic lens out of place.
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The lens had slipped forward, out through the pupil,
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but the two tiny wires used to anchor the lens had remained in place farther back in the eye
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and were tugging on the edges of the lens.
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The backward pull distorted the pupil into a cat's eye shape.
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So what did Dr. Thiel and his colleagues do next?
23
Well, first they tried a simple remedy, eye drops and gravity.
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They had the man lie on his back and dilated his pupil with drops.
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Their hope was that if the pupil opened wide enough, the lens would drop through it and wind up back where it belonged.
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But according to Thiel, the procedure didn't do the trick.
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Only half the lens went back, and the other part was stuck.
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How awful!
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Well, actually, it sounds worse than it was.
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The patient's eye didn't hurt.
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His vision was good, and he was in no danger.
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But he wanted the lens fixed anyway.
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His girlfriend and everyone complained that he looked funny.
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And then what happened?
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There he took three rides in a row on the Silver Star, one of the biggest, fastest roller coasters in Europe.
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The ride climbs up an incline of 240 feet and zooms down into a curve at 80 miles an hour.
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The force on passengers is four G's, four times that of gravity.
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Apparently after the third ride the patient went to the men's room.
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While washing his hands, he glanced at himself in the mirror and noticed that his eye looked normal.
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The pupil was round again.
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He called Dr. Thiel and explained what had happened.
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The unbelieving surgeon examined him the following day and, to his amazement, found that the surgery was no longer needed.
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The lens had slipped back into place.
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How did he explain what happened?
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The lens obviously needed quite some force to move it back into place.
46
When the patient was on the roller coaster, he was in a state of anxiety, combined with a lot of adrenaline.
47
Apparently, the adrenaline enlarged the pupil,
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and it was probably the combination of this and the enormous g -force that brought the lens back into place.
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Amazing.
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So does Dr. Thiel and his team of Swiss surgeons recommend rollercoaster therapy to others with misplaced implants?
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In fact, Thiel has realized that the story is actually a cautionary tale.
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The obvious lesson to be learned here is that if a roller coaster can jolt an implanted lens back into place,
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it may also be able to jerk one out of place.
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Until recently, that might not have been so much of a concern, because most lens implants were used after cataract surgery on older people,
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who probably did not ride roller coasters anyway.
56
But now, implants are being used in Europe to correct nearsightedness in younger people.
57
So even though riding a roller coaster was therapeutic in this case, the pastime may actually do more harm than good.
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that's exactly right a dislocated lens can be more than a nuisance
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if it slides far enough forward it may seriously injure the cornea well it's a good thing
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that i'm afraid of roller coasters thanks for the fascinating report what was wrong with the young man's right eye
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What was the first thing doctors tried to correct the problem?
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How successful was their attempt?
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In Dr. Thiel's opinion, what was it about the rollercoaster ride that corrected the problem?
64
What is the underlying message of the radio program?
65
the therapeutic value of amusement parks has been largely overlooked by doctors until just recently
66
that is with us in the studio today is steven mansfield
67
a medical journalist who is here to tell us about an amazing letter
68
that he read in the new england journal of medicine recently.
69
Stephen, welcome to the show.
70
Thanks for having me.
71
So give us a bit of background on the letter you read.
72
I'd be happy to.
73
It was written by a Swiss eye surgeon named Michael Thiel.
74
It seems that a young man, 19 years old, presented himself to the doctor at his hospital in Zurich,
75
Switzerland, complaining that something strange had happened to the pupil of his right eye.
76
After being punched in the eye in a bar fight, the pupil, the black part at the center of the eye,
77
had become a long, narrow, vertical slit.
78
In fact, it bore an odd resemblance to the eye of a cat.
79
Thiel and his colleagues soon figured out what had happened.
80
Ten years before, it would seem, surgeons had removed the patient's natural lens and implanted a plastic one inside the eye.
81
The barroom punch had knocked the plastic lens out of place.
82
The lens had slipped forward, out through the pupil,
83
but the two tiny wires used to anchor the lens had remained in place farther back in the eye
84
and were tugging on the edges of the lens.
85
The backward pull distorted the pupil into a cat's -eye shape.
86
So what did Dr. Thiel and his colleagues do next?
87
Well, first they tried a simple remedy, eye drops and gravity.
88
They had the man lie on his back and dilated his pupil with drops.
89
Their hope was that if the pupil opened wide enough, the lens would drop through it and wind up back where it belonged.
90
But, according to Teal, the procedure didn't do the trick.
91
Only half the lens went back, and the other part was stuck.
92
How awful!
93
Well, actually, it sounds worse than it was.
94
The patient's eye didn't hurt.
95
His vision was good, and he was in no danger.
96
But he wanted the lens fixed anyway.
97
His girlfriend and everyone complained that he looked funny.
98
And then what happened?
99
There he took three rides in a row on the Silver Star, one of the biggest, fastest roller coasters in Europe.
100
The ride climbs up an incline of 240 feet and zooms down into a curve at 80 miles an hour.
101
The force on passengers is 4
102
Gs, four times that of gravity.
103
Apparently, after the third ride, the patient went to the men's room.
104
While washing his hands, he glanced at himself in the mirror and noticed that his eye looked normal.
105
The pupil was round again.
106
He called Dr. Thiel and explained what had happened.
107
The unbelieving surgeon examined him the following day and, to his amazement, found that the surgery was no longer needed.
108
The lens had slipped back into place.
109
How did he explain what happened?
110
The lens obviously needed quite some force to move it back into place.
111
When the patient was on the roller coaster, he was in a state of anxiety combined with a lot of adrenaline.
112
Apparently, the adrenaline enlarged the pupil,
113
and it was probably the combination of this and the enormous g -force that brought the lens back into place.
114
Amazing!
115
So does Dr. Thiel and his team of Swiss surgeons recommend rollercoaster therapy to others with misplaced implants?
116
In fact, Thiel has realized that the story is actually a cautionary tale.
117
The obvious lesson to be learned here is that if a roller coaster can jolt an implanted lens back into place,
118
it may also be able to jerk one out of place.
119
Until recently, that might not have been so much of a concern, because most lens implants were used after cataract surgery on older people,
120
who probably did not ride roller coasters anyway.
121
But now, implants are being used in Europe to correct nearsightedness in younger people.
122
So even though riding a roller coaster was therapeutic in this case, the pastime may actually do more harm than good.
123
That's exactly right.
124
A dislocated lens can be more than a nuisance.
125
If it slides far enough forward, it may seriously injure the cornea.
126
Well, it's a good thing that I'm afraid of roller coasters.
127
Thanks for the fascinating report.
128
What was wrong with the young man's right eye?
129
What was the first thing doctors tried to correct the problem?
130
How successful was their attempt?
131
In Dr. Thiel's opinion, what was it about the rollercoaster ride that corrected the problem?
132
What is the underlying message of the radio program?
133
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “TOEFL Listening Practice”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: lens, eye, pupil, Thiel, coaster. This video has 133 sentences and 1565 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:08. The speaker talks at a steady 129 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| lens noun | /lɛnz/ | An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it. |
| pupil noun | /ˈpjuːpəl/ | A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher. |
| roller noun | /ˈɹoʊlɚ/ | Any rotating cylindrical device that is part of a machine, especially one used to apply or reduce pressure. |
| coaster noun | /ˈkoʊ̯s.tɚ/ | A person who uses a sled or toboggan to slide down a slope covered with ice or snow; a sledder, a tobogganist. |
| surgeon noun | /ˈsɝd͡ʒən/ | One who performs surgery; a doctor who performs operations on people or animals. |
| punch noun | /pʌnt͡ʃ/ | A hit or strike with one's fist. |
| slip verb | /ˈslɪp/ | To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction. |
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| gravity noun | /ˈɡɹævɪti/ | Of an activity such as a ceremony, a person's conduct, etc.: the quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; seriousness… |
| colleague noun | /ˈkɒliːɡ/ | A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate. |
| therapeutic adjective | /ˌθɛɹ.əˈpjuː.tɪk/ | Of, or relating to therapy. |
| adrenaline noun | /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/ | Epinephrine, the hormone and neurotransmitter. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| harm noun | /hɑːm/ | Physical injury; hurt; damage. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| wind up verb | /waɪnd ˈʌp/ | To wind (rope, string, mainsprings, etc.) completely. |
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 | has been largely overlooked · was written · being punched |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · has realized |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: wash /wɑʃ/, cautionary /ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/
- Long words — get the stress right: therapeutic /ˌθɛɹ.əˈpjuː.tɪk/, adrenaline /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, rollercoaster /ˈɹoʊlɚˌkoʊstɚ/, cautionary /ˈkɔʃəˌnɛɹi/
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 lens, pupil, roller.
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.