Shadowing Practice: Will humans become supermachines? – B1+ English Listening Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome back to Future Talk.
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I'm Anna, and today we're asking a big question.
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Will humans become super machines in the future?
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To help us understand, we're speaking with Dr. Lena Gray, a science writer who has studied the predictions of transhumanists,
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people who believe that technology will one day help us go far beyond our natural limits.
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Welcome, Dr. Gray.
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Hi, Anna.
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Thank you.
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I'm happy to be here.
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So let's start with the basics.
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What do you transhumanists believe?
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Transhumanists believe that we can and should use technology to improve the human body and mind.
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They want to go beyond human limits, live longer, think faster, even become stronger.
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Some think we may one day upload our minds into computers or live for hundreds of years.
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Wow, so they think we'll be like part machine?
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Exactly.
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They talk about brain implants that connect us directly to the internet, robotic body parts that are better than biological ones,
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or even changing our genes to avoid disease and live much longer.
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In short, they imagine a future where humans are no longer only biological, but a mix of human and machine.
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People who live like this are sometimes called post-human.
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That means they are still human in some ways, but their bodies and minds have been changed by technology
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so much that they no longer fit the concept of human as we understand it today.
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That sounds like science fiction, but could it really happen?
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Some parts are already starting.
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We have smart prosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, and gene editing.
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But many predictions, like uploading the mind, are still far from reality.
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It might happen one day, but there's still a lot we don't know about it.
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And there are big technical and ethical questions.
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Like what?
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Well, first, who will control the technology?
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If only well-off people can upgrade their bodies, the gap between social groups could grow a lot.
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Also, if AI becomes super intelligent, will it still respect human values?
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And what happens if someone hacks your brain?
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These are serious concerns.
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True.
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So transhumanism isn't all good news?
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Not necessarily.
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It depends on how we use the technology.
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Some people dream of a perfect future with no sickness or aging.
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Others warn that we could lose something important, our humanity, our connection to nature, or even control over our own lives.
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I've heard about something called the singularity.
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What is that?
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Ah, yes.
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The singularity is one of the most famous ideas in transhumanist thinking.
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It's the moment when artificial intelligence becomes smarter than humans.
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Some believe this could happen in the next few decades.
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After that point, machines could start improving themselves without our help and change the world very quickly.
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That sounds exciting and maybe a bit frightening.
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Yes, it could bring amazing things, new medicines, cleaner energy, even solutions to climate change.
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But if we're not ready, it could also bring chaos.
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That's why many experts say we need to prepare carefully and create strong rules for how AI is developed.
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Unfortunately, that kind of preparation isn't really happening yet.
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Do you think we'll become post-human in our lifetime?
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I think we'll see more and more changes.
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Maybe not full post-humans yet, but smarter machines, improved health, and new ways of living.
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The question is, will we stay in charge of those changes or let the technology lead us?
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That second option could be very dangerous for humanity.
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That's a powerful question.
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Thank you, Dr. Gray, for such a fascinating conversation.
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Thank you, Anna.
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It's been a pleasure.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 61 sentences and 599 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:57. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| gene noun | /d͡ʒiːn/ | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form… |
| humanity noun | /hjuˈmænɪti/ | Humankind; human beings as a group. |
| biological adjective | /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/ | Of or relating to biology. |
| upload verb | /ˈʌpˌloʊd/ | To transfer data to a computer on a network, especially to a server on the Internet. |
| prediction noun | /pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/ | A statement of what will happen in the future. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| fiction noun | /ˈfɪkʃən/ | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| lifetime noun | /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/ | The duration of the life of someone or something. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| preparation noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ | The act of preparing or getting ready. |
| edit verb | /ˈɛdɪt/ | To change a text, or a document. |
| intelligent adjective | /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/ | Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity, bright. |
| chaos noun | /ˈkeɪˌɑs/ | The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony. |
| artificial adjective | /ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ | Man-made; made by humans; of artifice. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has studied · have been changed · I've heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are sometimes called · have been changed · is developed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who believe · People who live |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may one · might happen |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, we're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: ethical /ˈɛθɪkəl/, prosthetic /ˌpɹɑsˈθɛtɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: prediction /pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/, fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, artificial /ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl/
- Long words — get the stress right: humanity /hjuˈmænɪti/, biological /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like gene, humanity, biological.
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.