Shadowing Practice: US strikes Iran targets for second time in three days | BBC News - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello, welcome.
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This is BBC News.
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The United States and Iran have exchanged attacks in the Middle East,
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rattling a fragile ceasefire as an agreement on ending the war continues to elude them.
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US forces said they'd launched what they called defensive attacks against a military control station in Bandar Basque,
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which it says was launching drones and had shot down four aircraft.
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In retaliation, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US base in the region.
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They didn't specify where, but air raid sirens have sounded in Kuwait.
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Iranian media said four vessels had earlier tried to pass the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran,
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causing Iranian forces to fire warning shots.
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Now, during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday,
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President Trump said that Iran is negotiating on fumes,
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insisting that his war strategy will not be impacted by November's U.S midterm elections.
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I believe Iran is very much intent.
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They want very much to make a deal.
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So far, they haven't gotten there.
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We're not satisfied with it.
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But we will be.
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We will be either that or we'll have to just finish the job.
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It looks like they want to just make a deal.
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They want to — they have — I don't think they have a choice.
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They're just going back to the Internet because they're getting clobbered.
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Their economy is in freefall.
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They have 250 percent inflation.
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Their money has no value whole economic system is broken down.
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They thought they were going to outweigh me.
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We'll outweigh him.
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He's got the midterms.
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I don't care about the midterms.
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Our North America correspondent Peter Bowes gave us this update on the strikes overnight.
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What we can say is that this ceasefire is increasingly fragile.
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Now, certainly from the American side,
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they're saying that this is not the end of the ceasefire.
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And just to quote the military statement that these actions were measured purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire.
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But clearly, tensions are rising.
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And this is the second time in three days that we've had similar incidents.
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And it does raise questions about what happens next all the time.
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In the background, these talks are supposedly taking place,
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but we're getting sometimes wildly different accounts of the current state of negotiations.
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And we've just heard the president
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once again saying that essentially if these negotiations come to nothing
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and that there's no deal we will he says have to finish the job the same kind of language
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that we've been hearing from president trump now for several weeks during what has been a relatively successful ceasefire
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well let's now speak to our middle east correspondent yaland now
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who's in jerusalem for us yaland we know negotiations had been taking place between iran
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and the us where does this leave those discussions?
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Well, those discussions do seem to have sort of been put on hold in part
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because of the ongoing Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha,
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but there were top Iranian officials in Qatar right at the start of this week.
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And there are some reports in the Israeli media this morning suggesting
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that a draft proposal for a memorandum of understanding between the U.S
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and Iran has been passed to Israel and to other American allies in the Middle East for them to look at,
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suggesting that this could be a sign of progress.
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But what has happened in the Gulf overnight,
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the second time this week that there has been an escalation there,
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That really does just underline how shaky things are.
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And, you know, this has had already an impact on oil prices,
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pushing them up once again.
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And Yolande, we're getting reports of fresh Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
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What can you tell us?
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So overnight, there was a report of an Israeli airstrike that killed four people.
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All the Israeli military has come out saying
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that there was the Hamas commander for the northern part of the Gaza Strip and his deputy who were killed.
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There has not been an official comment on that from Hamas.
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But this comes after yesterday the funeral was held for Mohammed Oda.
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He is the man who was just chosen as the new Hamas armed wing commander.
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And he was killed by Israel in a strike in Gaza City along with his wife
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and two sons just days after his predecessor had been killed in an Israeli strike.
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So a long line of Hamas leaders that have been killed by Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
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Israel has said it's continuing to act against a resurgent Hamas in Gaza
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and that it will deal with any threats to its troops.
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It will target those it says were leaders of the deadly 7th of October attacks on Israel.
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But of course in Gaza there's a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that's supposed to be in place as well.
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And just recently a senior official on the U.S.-led Board of Peace was telling us
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that it seemed that there are violations of that ceasefire pretty much every day.
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And of course, we talk a lot about what's happening in Iran, in Lebanon.
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What is life like in Gaza at the moment?
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Life in Gaza is extremely hard for some two million people who are living there.
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The majority of the population remains displaced.
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And as long as these indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are deadlocked,
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there has not really been the progress on the ground that people were hoping for.
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And it has been said by the Board of Peace that unless Hamas commits to giving up its weapons,
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there will not be an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
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In fact, at the moment,
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Israeli troops have been advancing beyond the yellow line that they set up there to demarcate the part of Gaza,
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the half that they still control.
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and also, you know, in Gaza there cannot be reconstruction,
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the Board of Peace has said,
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unless Hamas gives up its weapons.
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Things there do look very stuck and people there are very frustrated.
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Yolande, thank you.
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That's BBC's Yolande now in Jerusalem.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice listening and speaking skills by engaging with the content of a recent news report about the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The focus will be on understanding the context of military actions and diplomatic negotiations, which requires not only listening comprehension but also the ability to articulate complex topics in English. By utilizing the shadowing technique, you will enhance your pronunciation, intonation, and overall fluency while learning key vocabulary that is often used in geopolitical discussions.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Defensive attacks - actions taken to protect oneself from an aggressor.
  • Ceasefire - a temporary suspension of fighting, often seen in conflicts.
  • Revolutionary Guards - a branch of Iran's Armed Forces, tasked with protecting the Islamic Republic.
  • Inflation - the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.
  • Eid al-Adha - an important Islamic holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.
  • Negotiations - discussions aimed at reaching an agreement.
  • Middle East - a region that encompasses Western Asia and parts of North Africa.
  • Strait of Hormuz - a strategic waterway for global oil transportation.

Practice Tips

To effectively improve your English listening and speaking skills using this video, consider practicing with the shadowing app. First, listen to a segment of the video attentively, focusing on how the speakers express their thoughts and emotions. Next, use the shadowspeak method by repeating what you hear right after the speaker, mimicking their tone and pace. This will help you get accustomed to the natural rhythm of English speech, especially in complex topics such as international relations.

Given the pace of the news report and the seriousness of the content, aim to start with shorter segments before gradually increasing the length of the phrases you practice. If you're having difficulty with certain words like "defensive" or "negotiations," use a shadowing site to find additional examples or pronunciation guides. Remember, regular practice using the shadowing technique will significantly enhance your fluency and confidence in speaking English on challenging subjects like these.

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.

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