Shadowing Practice: Why are some animals black and white? ⏲️ 6 Minute English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Becca.
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Neil, what do the following animals have in common?
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Zebras, giant pandas and magpies.
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That's pretty easy, Becca.
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They're all black and white.
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Right.
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But do you know why these animals evolved to be black and white?
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Mmm, I'm not so sure.
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Probably something about survival.
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That's usually the answer, isn't it?
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It is.
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The animal world is full of colour,
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shiny blue peacocks and bright green frogs.
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But in fact, hundreds of animal species are black and white.
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In this episode, we'll try to find out why,
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while also learning some useful new words and phrases.
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And remember, all the vocabulary from this episode is available on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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OK, time for a question for you, Becca.
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According to one theory, some animals are black and white to warn potential predators that they're dangerous or they taste bad.
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But what is the scientific term for this?
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Is it a camouflage, b mimicry or c aposomatism?
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Well, Neil, I'm going to go with c just because I've never heard of that word before.
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OK, I like...
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I like your style.
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Some scientists think zebra's distinctive black and white stripes prevent bites from flies and other insects.
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Zoologist Dr Martin Howe tested this theory by covering horses,
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a close relative of the zebra, in stripes.
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Here Martin discusses his experiment with Caroline Steele from BBC World Service programme CrowdScience.
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Do we know what it is about the stripes that's putting them off?
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Is it somehow like visually confusing?
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We originally set out to test whether maybe there were these optical illusions at play.
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So we did a whole bunch of tests where we tried different patterns of rugs,
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but it turned out that practically every high contrast pattern,
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every black and white pattern we used,
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almost every pattern was really effective at stopping flies.
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Martin conducted a whole bunch of,
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meaning a lot of, tests using different colours and patterns.
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Black and white stripes created an optical illusion – a visual trick
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that makes your eyes see things differently from how they really are.
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As a result, the flies were put off.
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They lost interest and didn't bite.
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So zebras' stripes confuse insects,
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telling them to look elsewhere for food.
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But are there other reasons animals are black and white?
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Nobody who's seen giant pandas in a zoo would find them hard to spot.
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Against a grassy background they stand out easily.
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But seen from a distance in the snowy mountain forest where they live,
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black and white makes the perfect disguise.
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Here's Professor Tim Caro, a world authority on animal behaviour,
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explaining more to Caroline Steele for BBC World Service's CrowdScience.
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The giveaway for me was 15 photos of giant pandas taken either fairly close up or at a distance.
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And in two of those photos,
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I was unable to see anything in the picture other than rocks and snow.
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And then later on, I realised that,
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in fact, there was a giant panda in the centre of that picture some distance away.
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Immediately that clicked in my mind.
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The pandas were so well camouflaged,
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Tim couldn't spot them in the photos.
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That's when something clicked in his mind – a phrase used when you suddenly understand something after trying for a long time.
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Tim understood that pandas use colour to hide.
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He calls this a giveaway – something that makes it easy for people to discover something secret or unknown.
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So, are animals black and white to repel insects, like zebras?
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Or for camouflage, like pandas?
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Let's give the final word to Hannah Rowland,
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a researcher into another black and white animal – penguins.
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Really, science never has a black and white answer.
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Excuse the pun, with penguins being black and white.
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It's often a very complex mixture of reasons.
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The answer to why animals are black and white is not black and white.
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A situation described as black and white means one where it's easy to understand what's right and wrong.
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In fact, there's no one reason why animals are black and white.
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Zebras avoid bites, pandas hide from predators,
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and some animals, like skunks,
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warn other animals they're dangerous.
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It all depends on the specific animal.
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And talking of skunks reminds me of my question, Becca.
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According to one theory, some animals are black and white to warn potential predators they're dangerous or taste bad.
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But what is the scientific term?
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And I chose C, aposomatism,
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because I'd never heard of it before.
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Well, that's a great way of choosing.
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And it's done well for you because you're correct.
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Woohoo!
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OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned,
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starting with optical illusion, a visual trick where your eyes perceive things differently from how they really are.
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A whole bunch of something means a lot of something.
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If something puts you off,
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it causes you to dislike it or lose interest.
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A giveaway is something that makes it easy for people to discover something secret or unknown.
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The phrase, something clicked in my mind,
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is used when you suddenly understand something at last.
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And finally, if you describe something as black and white,
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you mean it's easy to understand what is right and wrong.
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Once again, our six minutes are up!
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But head over to our website,
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bbclearningenglish.com, for a quiz and worksheet for this episode.
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See you there soon, but for now it's goodbye.
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Goodbye!

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This episode of "6 Minute English," titled "Why are some animals black and white?", provides a unique context for English learners to improve their speaking skills through engaging and informative content. By exploring the fascinating reasons behind the black and white coloration of certain animals, learners can expand their vocabulary while practicing speaking. The discussion around animal survival methods, such as aposomatism and optical illusions, offers a rich ground for learners to explore complex ideas and express their thoughts in English.

Utilizing a shadow speech technique while listening to this video can help you internalize these concepts and improve fluency. As you repeat phrases and sentences, you're not just mimicking words, but also learning the rhythm and intonation of natural English. Such speaking practice is beneficial not only for casual conversation but also for IELTS speaking practice, where clear communication of ideas is essential.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In this video, several noteworthy grammatical structures and expressions can help learners better articulate their thoughts:

  • Comparative Structures: The phrase "Some scientists think zebras' distinctive black and white stripes prevent bites..." utilizes a comparative approach, helping learners express comparisons effectively.
  • Descriptive Language: Terms like "high contrast pattern" and "optical illusion" enrich vocabulary, providing learners with tools to describe complex scenarios and enhance their conversation skills.
  • Question Forms: The use of rhetorical questions, such as "But are there other reasons animals are black and white?" encourages engagement and critical thinking in conversations.
  • Colloquial Expressions: Phrases like "a whole bunch of" offer insights into casual language use, which is valuable for everyday interactions.

By paying attention to these structures during your listening practice, you can better incorporate them into your own speaking repertoire, making conversations more fluid and dynamic.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice with this video, be mindful of certain pronunciation traps that may arise:

  • The word "aposomatism" could be challenging. It’s crucial to break it down into syllables: ap-o-so-mat-ism.
  • Words like "experiment" and "stripes" often trip learners up, especially with the initial consonant clusters.
  • The phrase "visual illusion" contains sounds that can blend together, so clear articulation is important for effective communication.

By focusing on these pronunciation points and practicing consistently with a shadowing app, your clarity and confidence in english speaking practice will improve significantly. This, in turn, equips you to engage more effectively not only in academic settings but also in casual conversations.

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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