Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: Cicada 3301: An Internet Mystery

Chọn chế độ luyện tập

Mỗi chế độ mở một phòng luyện tập toàn màn hình.

179 câu

Nếu các câu quá ngắn hoặc quá dài, hãy bấm Edit để chỉnh sửa.

Just let me know.

On the 4th of January, 2012, a user on 4chan posted this image to the site's infamous B or random board.

The anonymous author, who went by the four -digit pseudonym 3301, challenged users to uncover a message hidden within the image.

Unbeknownst to those who stumbled across it, someone had just set in motion one of the most elaborate scavenger hunts the internet has ever seen.

Within minutes of the image being posted, someone discovered that by opening the file using a text editor,

an appended string of readable text could be found.

The string contained a cipher that, once deciphered, formed a link to yet another image.

At first, this appeared to be a dead end.

But using an application known as OutGuess, users were able to extract hidden information embedded within the first image.

The extracted information led to a subreddit which in turn contained information about the book.

The book, along with a code, could then be used to uncover a phone number that, when called, played this pre -recorded message.

very good you have done well

there are three prime numbers associated with the original final dot jpeg image 3301 is one of them

you will have to find the other two multiply all three of these numbers together

and add a dot com on the end to find the next step good luck goodbye

By the following day, the initial image had been reposted all over the internet.

A growing community of armchair detectives sought to unravel this elaborate puzzle, but no one was quite sure what to make of it.

What was the puzzle for?

Who was behind it?

What happens when you reach the end?

Some naturally dismissed it as an elaborate joke, while others perceived its complexity as evidence against it being the work of a mere troll.

Before long, rumors began to circulate

that this could be the work of some secret society or intelligence agency with the intent of recruiting individuals proficient in cryptography,

steganography, and other related fields.

Of course, it was nothing but a rumor.

The two missing numbers mentioned in the recording proved to be the dimensions of the original image.

After multiplying the width and height with 3301 and using the product as a web address, users were taken to a website.

The website consisted of a countdown as well as an image of a cicada.

When the countdown reached zero, the page was updated with a list of coordinates coordinates.

The coordinates pointed to locations around the globe.

Fourteen locations in five different countries.

It was now up to participants living near the specified coordinates to rise from their comfortable armchairs and venture outside.

Those who believed Cicada to be the work of an organization now felt their beliefs had been justified.

In their opinion, only some international collective possessed the means and resources to create a scavenger hunt of this magnitude.

This was not the work of your average troll.

No, this had to be something else.

At each location was a poster with a Cicada symbol and a QR code.

And the bike shelter over here.

See, I got it right there.

You can see the corners.

I was excited, I just kind of ripped it off.

The codes linked to an image, the image contained a riddle, the riddle led to a book, and the book led to a website.

But here, the puzzle took an unexpected turn.

Only a select group of first arrivals to this website were accepted into the final stage of the puzzle.

The site eventually closed down with the message, We want the best, not the followers.

The finalists were also warned not to collaborate with others nor to share the details of this private stage of the puzzle.

Well, given that we know this, it's safe to say that not everyone heeded that warning.

But those who did presumably advanced through the final stages before reaching the very end of the puzzle.

After nearly a month of silence, an image appeared on the subreddit announcing the conclusion of the puzzle and just like that, the hunt was over.

Cicada had supposedly found the highly intelligent individuals they were looking for

and whatever happened to them is a bit of a mystery, but more on that in a moment.

The complete lack of an explanation was perceived by many as confirmation

that the puzzle had been nothing but a wild goose chase intent on wasting everyone's time.

After all, questions raised by the original image remained unanswered.

What was the puzzle for?

Who was behind it?

What happens when you reach the end?

However, as it later turned out, this was only the beginning.

Whomever was behind this intricate game had the foresight to include

an authentication code known as a PGP signature along with every clue.

This allowed users to verify that an image

or message was actually from Cicada as opposed to some impostor seeking to derail or hijack the puzzle.

Cicada had repeatedly warned of such false paths and insisted that any message lacking a valid PGP signature should promptly be disregarded.

That's why this image posted exactly a year and a day after the first provoked such a frenzy.

After a year of lackluster imitations, this image finally matched the official PGP signature.

Cicada was back and it was time for round two.

The second puzzle was not too dissimilar from the first.

The image enclosed a message, The message led to a book, the book produced a link, and gradually the puzzle unfolded.

At one point, a recording titled

The In -Star Emergence was uncovered.

Another clue led to a cryptic

Twitter account which then led to an image.

The image proved vital to the progression of the puzzle, but the inclusion of this runic alphabet would remain a mystery for quite some time.

Much like the first puzzle, the second swelled into the physical world

when a list of coordinates compelled participants to once again take to the streets in search of enigmatic posters.

This time it was eight locations in four different countries.

But eventually the trail went cold once again.

Another, select group of first arrivals had been accepted into a final, private stage of the puzzle.

Unlike the first puzzle, the second did not conclude with an official message from Cicada.

The trail merely went cold and Cicada vanished once more, leaving us no closer to an explanation.

However, this was still not the end.

At the beginning of 2014, it was time for round three.

Once again, the image enclosed a message, the message led to a book, the book produced a link, and suffice it to say,

it was more of the same.

Except this time, the puzzle seemed to revolve around a strange book.

The book was titled Liber Primus, meaning first book in Latin, and was evidently written by Cicada.

The runic alphabet uncovered in 2013 finally made sense as the book was primarily written in runes.

Even so, the meaning of the translated pages were cryptic at best.

The book consisted of various philosophical and ideological ideas and appeared to be their manifesto.

Many have since compared the strange writings to that of a cult.

Nevertheless, the book also comprised a myriad of clues and codes.

For example, this page advised participants to seek out a website on the deep web but the site remains undiscovered.

Another page led to a website containing yet another recording titled Interconnectedness.

A significant portion of the book has yet to be translated.

The runic text on some of the pages appear to be obfuscated by layers of encryption that has yet to be decrypted.

Of the 74 pages featuring runes, only 19 have been successfully translated.

As 2015 came and went without the launch of a new puzzle,

many came to suspect the Liber Primus had to be completed if Cicada was to return.

This was more or less confirmed at the beginning of 2016 when Cicada encouraged a re -examination of the book.

100

More than four years have now gone by with minimal progress and near complete silence from Cicada.

101

Questions raised by the original image...

102

have gone ignored.

103

What is the purpose of these puzzles?

104

Who's behind them?

105

What happens when you reach the end?

106

When the initial image appeared on 4chan back in 2012,

107

many assumed Cicada 3301 to be an alternate reality game designed by a corporation to promote a new service or product.

108

For example, Microsoft developed an elaborate ARG back in 2001 to promote the film

109

Artificial Intelligence and a similar viral marketing campaign was used to promote the release of Halo 2.

110

But the release of subsequent puzzles and the complete lack of commercialization has more or less eliminated that possibility.

111

If we choose to believe some of the leaked information from the private end stage of each puzzle,

112

then we do gain some insight into who this group might be.

113

For example, at the end of the first puzzle, finalists supposedly received this email.

114

In it, Cicada described themselves as an international group who believed that privacy is an inalienable right.

115

The aim of each puzzle is to recruit like -minded individuals in an effort to develop privacy -conscious solutions.

116

The email then concludes with three questions.

117

The PGP signature, which would have confirmed the authenticity of the email, was conveniently removed by the leaker.

118

If a version with a valid signature does exist online, I wasn't able to find it.

119

But regardless of its legitimacy, I find this question a bit odd.

120

It reads, do you believe that information should be free?

121

Assuming the expected answer is yes, then the very first sentence, Do not share this information seems a bit hypocritical.

122

While the idea of a secret society recruiting individuals by means of elaborate cryptographic puzzles may seem a bit absurd

123

or even conspiratorial, it's not entirely unfounded.

124

Corporations and governments alike have employed similar recruitment techniques since at least the Second World War.

125

In 2013, the British intelligence agency GCHQ launched a recruitment program known as Can you find it.

126

Participants had to decrypt a number of cryptograms hidden across the internet

127

and those who managed to solve the entire puzzle were offered a price or a position at the agency.

128

Google did something similar with enigmatic billboards back in 2004 and the US Navy launched a near identical project in 2014.

129

Okay, but then what about the recruits?

130

Why have we not heard from these chosen few?

131

Well, we have.

132

It's just that separating a legitimate finalist from an imposter is virtually impossible.

133

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, two alleged winners of the first puzzle chronicled the events beyond the final stage.

134

After receiving an email from Cicada, they were taken to a forum on the dark web.

135

Here, they could communicate with 20 -some odd recruits as well as a handful of established members of Cicada.

136

They were told that Cicada 3301 had been founded by a group of friends who shared common ideals about security, privacy, and censorship.

137

The goal was to work as a collective to develop software applications in line with that ideology.

138

As friends recruited friends, this secret society quickly expanded into a decentralized international organization.

139

The recruits were then tasked with developing software

140

that fit the ideology of the group and members of Cicada would oversee their progress.

141

But without the allure of a puzzle to be solved, the recruits quickly lost interest.

142

By the end of 2012, all but one had left and a few months later, the site was gone.

143

They never heard from Cicada again.

144

One of the two winners, named Marcus Wanner, later elaborated further in a video by YouTuber Nox Populi.

145

Furthermore, Nox Populi himself claims to be a winner of the second puzzle

146

so I reached out to him and this is some of what he had to say.

147

After completing the final stages of the second puzzle, Nox Populi received an invitation to join Cicada 3301.

148

However, he was not invited to a website but was instead merely told to be patient.

149

Then around May of 2013, all communication with Cicada abruptly ceased.

150

This was around the same time as when the website dedicated to the winners of the first puzzle was suddenly taken down.

151

Nox Populi later contacted other winners of the second puzzle to compare notes and their experiences were identical.

152

In his own words, All the stories were the same.

153

We were invited to join 3301, then something happened and silence followed a request for patience.

154

Nox Populi supposed that roughly five others completed the second puzzle in contrast to the 20 -odd winners of the first.

155

In regards to who or what Cicada is,

156

Nox Populi Populi believes they could be a remnant of the cypherpunk movement of the late 80s and 90s.

157

Essentially, a small group of activists advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy -enhancing technologies.

158

But he admits that there is no way to know for certain.

159

If you want a far more comprehensive walkthrough of these puzzles as opposed to my brief overview,

160

Nox Populi has produced a number of videos on his channel which I highly recommend.

161

While these accounts cannot be verified, they do make for a very compelling argument as to what Cicada is.

162

A group of anonymous developers seeking to develop privacy -conscious applications by recruiting talented individuals via cryptographic puzzles.

163

Sure, it is not nearly as exciting as a shadow government seeking world domination or any of the more fantastical theories,

164

but it is certainly more plausible possible.

165

You have to keep in mind that no part of these puzzles would have required more than one person.

166

The posters are often pointed to as evidence

167

that this must be the work of some international organization but I beg to differ.

168

I mean, right now, I could use any number of services to hire random persons around the globe to install posters for me.

169

Although, given that no poster was located more than an hour away from an airport leads me to believe

170

that one or multiple persons actually traveled to these locations.

171

I mean, some of the posters were found within walking distance of an international airport.

172

The fact is that anyone with a disposable income

173

and enough time on their hands would be able to create the illusion of a vast, secret network spanning the globe.

174

Not saying that that is the case with Cicada 3301, but it is nonetheless a possibility that that cannot be discounted.

175

With all of that being said, I personally think a loose -knit group of privacy -minded hobby cryptographers to be the most plausible explanation.

176

Cicada made their last public statement in April of 2017 merely warning against disinformation,

177

but the current status of the third puzzle and the possibility of a fourth remains clouded in mystery.

178

What's up to me now for the night one

179

I've been out of the night one I've been out of the night

Tải Ứng Dụng

Mọi thứ bạn cần để nói trôi chảy

Chấm điểm AIChấm từng câu nói

Luyện IPAThành thạo mọi âm

Từ vựngMở rộng vốn từ

Game Từ vựngHọc qua chơi

Quét QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

FOR YOU

Video gợi ý

427 câu

The Absurd Engineering Behind the Internet

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

335 câu

SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) Breakdown | Ending Explained, Easter Eggs, Hidden Details & Things You Missed

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

55 câu

Từ vựng và ghi chú luyện nói cho bài học này

Bài luyện nói này dựa trên video “Cicada 3301: An Internet Mystery”. Những từ được nhắc lại nhiều nhất trong bài: puzzle, cicada, image, message. Video này có 139 câu và 2408 từ để luyện shadowing. Phần lời nói dài 17:24. Người nói giữ tốc độ đều, khoảng 138 từ mỗi phút, vừa sức để nói đuổi theo. Chỉ 76% số từ nằm trong 3.000 từ tiếng Anh thông dụng nhất, nên từ vựng khá khó.

Từ vựng quan trọng trong video

15 từ đáng học trong video, kèm phiên âm và nghĩa:

Từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa
puzzle danh từ	/ˈpʌzəl/	sự bối rối, sự khó xử
recruit động từ	/ɹɪˈkɹut/	tuyển dụng
privacy danh từ	/ˈpɹaɪ.və.si/	sự riêng tư
poster danh từ	/ˈpoʊstɚ/	bích chương, áp phích
signature danh từ	/ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃə/	chữ ký
coordinate động từ	/koʊˈɔɹ.dəˌneɪt/	điều phối, hợp tác
participant danh từ	/pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/	người tham gia
silence danh từ	/ˈsaɪ̯ləns/	sự yên lặng
mystery danh từ	/ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/	bí ẩn, huyền bí
merely trạng từ	/ˈmɪəli/	chỉ, đơn thuần
globe danh từ	/ɡloʊb/	quả địa cầu
clue danh từ	/kluː/	manh mối
translate động từ	/tɹænzˈleɪt/	dịch, phiên dịch
select động từ	/sɪˈlɛkt/	lựa
arrival danh từ	/əˈɹaɪ.vl̩/	sự đến

Ngữ pháp trong video

Những cấu trúc người nói dùng nhiều nhất, kèm đúng cụm từ trong video:

Cấu trúc	Trong video
Câu bị động be + quá khứ phân từ — nhấn vào việc xảy ra, không phải người làm	being posted · could be found · had been reposted
Thì hiện tại hoàn thành have/has + quá khứ phân từ — việc đã xảy ra nhưng còn liên quan đến hiện tại	has ever seen · have done · have been
Mệnh đề quan hệ who / which + mệnh đề — thêm thông tin về người hoặc vật	those who stumbled · Those who believed · those who did

Phát âm cần chú ý

Âm “th”: nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/, furthermore /ˈfɜː(ɹ).ðə(ɹ)ˌmɔː(ɹ)/, nonetheless /ˌnʌnðəˈlɛs/, width /ˈwɪtθ/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/
Âm “sh” và “zh”: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
Từ dài — đặt trọng âm cho đúng: elaborate /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/, coordinate /koʊˈɔɹ.dəˌneɪt/, participant /pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, anonymous /əˈnɒn.ə.məs/

Những âm người Việt thường gặp khó:

Cụm phụ âm cuối — đọc đủ từng âm, đừng nuốt âm cuối: participant /pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/, silence /ˈsaɪ̯ləns/, select /sɪˈlɛkt/, solve /sɒlv/, intent /ɪnˈtɛnt/
Âm /tʃ/, /dʒ/ và /ʒ/ — tiếng Việt không có, đừng đọc thành “ch” hay “gi”: signature /ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃə/, ideology /aɪ.diˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, encourage /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/, chase /t͡ʃeɪs/
Âm /æ/ — mở miệng rộng hơn âm “e”: elaborate /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/, translate /tɹænzˈleɪt/, valid /ˈvælɪd/, extract /ˈɛkstɹækt/, alphabet /ˈæl.fəˌbɛt/

Cách luyện với video này

Nghe hết video một lần, chưa cần nói, và ghi lại những từ bạn chưa biết.
Nói đuổi từng câu ở tốc độ bình thường, lặp lại mỗi câu đến khi nhịp của bạn khớp với người nói.
Ghi âm giọng mình rồi so với bản gốc, chú ý các từ như puzzle, recruit, privacy.

Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?

Shadowing là kỹ thuật học ngôn ngữ có cơ sở khoa học, ban đầu được phát triển cho chương trình đào tạo phiên dịch viên chuyên nghiệp và được phổ biến rộng rãi bởi nhà đa ngôn ngữ học Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Nguyên lý cốt lõi đơn giản nhưng cực kỳ hiệu quả: bạn nghe tiếng Anh của người bản xứ và lặp lại to ngay lập tức — như một "cái bóng" (shadow) đuổi theo người nói với độ trễ chỉ 1–2 giây. Khác với luyện ngữ pháp hay học từ vựng bị động, Shadowing buộc não bộ và cơ miệng phải đồng thời xử lý và tái tạo ngôn ngữ thực tế. Các nghiên cứu khoa học xác nhận phương pháp này cải thiện đáng kể phát âm, ngữ điệu, nhịp điệu, nối âm, kỹ năng nghe và độ lưu loát khi nói — đặc biệt hiệu quả cho người luyện IELTS Speaking và muốn giao tiếp tiếng Anh tự nhiên như người bản ngữ.

Phương pháp shadowing: đọc hướng dẫn từng bước đầy đủ →

Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: Cicada 3301: An Internet Mystery

Chọn chế độ luyện tập

Tải Ứng Dụng

The Absurd Engineering Behind the Internet

SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) Breakdown | Ending Explained, Easter Eggs, Hidden Details & Things You Missed

OpenAI’s lead engineer was secretly a spy...

This New Pyramid Theory Explains the Missing Evidence

Most DISTURBING Photos With Backstories Explained In 20 minutes

How to find hidden clues at crime scenes Theodore E Yeshion

The Man Who Stole MySpace | Samy

Never Read Again! AI Will Do It For You

The Simplest Math Problem No One Can Solve - Collatz Conjecture

Disturbing Things from Around the Internet [Vol. 13]

We Let $200 GPT-Pro Think for 7 Days on Unsolved Math

25 crazy software bugs explained

Từ vựng và ghi chú luyện nói cho bài học này

Từ vựng quan trọng trong video

Ngữ pháp trong video

Phát âm cần chú ý

Cách luyện với video này

Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?