Shadowing Practice: What Do Worms Eat? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What do worms eat?
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Hi!
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Welcome to Curious Kids Every Day.
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I'm Josh.
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How are you doing today?
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It's so good to hear from you.
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Hey, if I asked you to act like a worm right now, what would you do?
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Here, I'll give you some music.
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Why don't you act like a worm for a minute?
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Ready?
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Three, two, one, go!
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I'm guessing that you were squirming and bending your body all over the place, right?
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That's how worms move!
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They are some of the strangest and most fascinating creatures in the animal kingdom.
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You know we did an episode one time about how unique a worm's body is
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but today I want to talk about.. well it's kind of related to that but it's something else.
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See I was thinking about worms today because I got a question from a kid in the Curious Kids Club named Ellie.
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Ellie wondered...
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Hello, my name is Ellie, and I was wondering, what do worms eat?
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Okay, well, first, there are lots of different kinds of worms, and they don't all eat the same things.
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But today, we're going to talk about earthworms.
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Because when you hear the word worm, you're probably thinking about the little creatures you see digging around in your backyard, right?
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Those are usually earthworms.
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And a lot of earthworms' food comes from material that is already starting to break down.
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So think about a leaf that falls from a tree.
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Now does that leaf stay there forever?
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No, it eventually becomes softer and it begins to decay.
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Dead roots and other leftover pieces of plants, they break down too.
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This material is called organic material.
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Can you say organic material?
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Different kinds of earthworms find this food in different places.
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Some live close to the surface and feed among fallen leaves and other plant material.
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Others burrow through soil that contains bits of organic matter.
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go go even deeper and deeper, they burrow really deep, and they pull plant material from the surface down toward their burrows.
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But there's another important part of the earthworm's meal.
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All over that decaying material are tiny living things called microorganisms.
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Can you say microorganisms?
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Bacteria and fungi are examples of microorganisms.
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Earthworms can swallow these microorganisms along with the decaying material and soil around them.
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That means when you see an earthworm moving through dirt, it may actually swallow some of that soil as it searches for food inside it.
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But here's where things get really interesting, because earthworms don't have teeth.
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Food enters through the earthworm's mouth, and then a muscular part called the pharynx helps pull the food inside.
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Then the food travels to an organ called the crop, where it can be held for a little while, and after that it enters the gizzard.
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Do you know what the gizzard is?
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The gizzard is a strong muscular organ that grinds the food into smaller pieces.
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Tiny gritty particles, such as bits of sand or soil, can help with the grinding.
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After the gizzard finishes grinding, the food moves into the intestine.
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There the earthworm digests the food and absorbs nutrients its body can use.
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Whatever is left eventually passes out of the earthworm's body, like it's going to the bathroom.
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But that material is called a casting.
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You may have seen earthworm castings before without realizing.
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They can look like tiny clumps of crumbling soil.
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Earthworms can even help us recycle certain kinds of food waste.
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A type of earthworm called a red wiggler is commonly kept in special compost bins.
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People give them things like fruits and vegetable scraps, and as that food begins breaking down,
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microorganisms grow on it and worms consume the microorganisms along with some of the decomposing food.
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Eventually the worms produce castings that can be added to the soil.
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So the worms eat from the soil and then add to it.
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Pretty amazing.
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Their castings contain nutrients that help the soil hold water and air, which can make it a better place for plants to grow.
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So if you dig into the dirt and you find an earthworm, there's a good chance that while you were digging, you also dug up some of its food too.
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Decaying plant material and tiny microorganisms living on it.
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Isn't that amazing?
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Alright, let's have a quick quiz and see what we learned today.
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What do we call dead plant material that is breaking down in soil?
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It's called organic matter.
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And what organ inside an earthworm grinds its food?
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It's called the gizzard.
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And what can help the gizzard grind food into smaller pieces?
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Gritty particles such as sand or soil.
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And what do we call the processed materials that pass out of an earthworm?
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They're called castings.
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All right, let's play true or false.
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True or false, earthworms have teeth that they can use to chew their food.
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Nope, that's false.
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True or false, earthworms can eat microorganisms living on decaying material. That is true.
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True or false, some earthworms pull plant material from the surface toward their burrows. That is true, too.
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Would you rather have a pet worm or a pet fish?
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You know what?
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I've never had either of these things.
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I've never had a worm or a fish, but I've seen lots of worms and I've seen lots of fish.
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And if I had to pick just one, I think I'd choose the worm.
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Yeah, because the worm can kind of just feed itself.
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You gotta feed a fish.
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Alright, let's play a round of what am I.
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What am I?
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I can be so small that you can't see me without a microscope.
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I can live on decaying material.
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And bacteria and fungi are two examples of me.
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What am I?
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I am a microorganism.
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You want to play one more round of what am I?
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I got one more.
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Ready?
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What am I?
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You might find me sitting on the ground.
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I once grew on a plant.
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And after I fall and begin to decay, I can become food for earthworms.
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What am I?
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I am a leaf.
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Well, now we know what earthworms eat.
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They eat decaying plant material and the tiny microorganisms living on it.
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Some earthworms swallow soil along with their food, and because they don't have teeth, a muscular gizzard helps grind everything into smaller pieces.
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After the food moves through the digestive system, the remaining material leaves the worm as things called castings,
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and those castings are actually helpful for the soil.
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They contain nutrients that help the soil hold water and air, which can make it a better place for plants to grow.
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Isn't that amazing?
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Worms are a really important part of nature.
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The next time you see one, make sure to say, thank you, little worm.
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Now, before we say goodbye today, I want to say a special thank you to our friend, Miss Dolly.
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She has mailed so many wonderful books to my kids over the years because she wanted to help them learn to read.
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She's also done
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so many things to make Tennessee such a great place to
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live we will always love you miss Dolly what kind of
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question do you think we'll ask tomorrow on curious kids every day I can't wait to find out
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so until then keep asking questions and stay curious kids
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and some of the kids in the curious kids club have birthdays today
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Ralphie from South Carolina is turning two today happy birthday Ralphie
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Betty from Florida is turning four today happy birthday Betty all
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these kids are turning five today violet from Florida happy birthday violet Teddy from Illinois happy birthday Teddy
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and Conrad from New York happy birthday Conrad all these kids
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are turning six today Riley from Minnesota happy birthday Riley Drea
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from Colorado happy birthday Drea Marin from Colorado happy birthday Marin
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Mila from Virginia happy birthday Mila Oliver from Oklahoma happy birthday Oliver Olivia from Ontario happy birthday Olivia
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and Josie from Michigan happy birthday Josie these kids are turning seven today
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and race from Florida happy birthday and race
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and Ayla from Alberta Canada happy birthday Ayla and then Liam from Kentucky is turning eight today.
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Happy birthday, Liam.
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To all the grownups listening, if your curious kid wants their birthday mentioned on the show, please visit supportcuriouskids.com and join the Curious Kids Club.
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That's supportcuriouskids.com.
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See you tomorrow.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 131 sentences and 1409 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:21. The speaker talks at a steady 114 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 78% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| worm noun | /wɝm/ | A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm. |
| soil noun | /sɔɪl/ | A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth. |
| decay noun | /diˈkeɪ/ | Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action. |
| curious adjective | /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ | Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. |
| casting noun | /ˈkæstɪŋ/ | The act or process of selecting actors, singers, dancers, models, etc. |
| grind verb | /ˈɡɹaɪnd/ | To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion. |
| leaf noun | /lif/ | The usually green and flat organ that represents the most prominent feature of most vegetative plants. |
| organic adjective | /ɔːˈɡænɪk/ | Pertaining to or derived from living organisms. |
| organ noun | /ˈɔːɡən/ | The larger part of an organism, composed of tissues that perform similar functions. |
| swallow verb | /ˈswɑ.loʊ/ | To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat. |
| muscular adjective | /ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/ | Of, relating to, or connected with muscles. |
| nutrient noun | /ˈnuː.tɹi.ənt/ | A source of nourishment, such as food, that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue. |
| 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… |
| dirt noun | /dɝt/ | Soil or earth. |
| dig verb | /dɪɡ/ | To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| break down verb | To stop functioning. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
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 | is called · can be held · is left |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've never had · has mailed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | air, which can |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were squirming · was thinking · was wondering |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I've, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 worm, soil, decay.
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.