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Duck Feathers


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Published: 9.30.2025
Level 5   |   Time: 3:34
Accent: American
Source: Deep Look

Learn about the feathers of ducks and geese.


triangle Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções


  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.

  2. WATCH the VIDEO

    The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.

  4. WATCH and READ the SCRIPT

    Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.

  2. VER el VIDEO

    La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.

  4. MIRAR Y LEER

    Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.

  5. HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES

    Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

  1. 어휘 읽기

    비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.

  2. 비디오 보기

    비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.

  3. 문제에 답하기

    먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.

  4. 비디오 보면서 대본 읽기

    대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.

  5. 액티비티 하기

    듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

  1. LER o VOCABULÁRIO

    É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.

  2. ASSISTA ao VÍDEO

    Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.

  4. ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT

    Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

triangle Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario


  • ☐ ☐ ☐ fabulous [adj] - wonderful, amazing
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ paddle [v] - move through water with feet or hands
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ chilly [adj] - cold
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ toasty [adj] - warm
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ glamorous [adj] - beautiful
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ plumage [n] - all the feathers of a bird
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ preening [n] - cleaning and fixing feathers
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a regimen [n] - a regular system, routine, or plan
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ fuzzy [adj] - soft
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ fluffiness [n] - a soft and light quality
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ goslings [n] - baby geese
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ dense [adj] - thick and heavy
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a coat [n] - the hair, fur, or feathers on an animal's body
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ elaborate [adj] - complex
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a barrier [n] - a wall
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ reach out [phv] - stretch, extend
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ Velcro [n] - sticky fastener with tiny hooks [image] ESL Vocab - Velcro
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ weave [v] - twist or connect threads together
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a lattice [n] - a crisscross pattern [image] ESL Vocab - A lattice
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ repel [v] - push away, keep out
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ overlapping [adj] - one thing partly covering another thing
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ strut [v] - walk proudly
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a grip [n] - a hold, control
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a seal [n] - a tight connection preventing water or air from entering
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ painstaking [adj] - very careful and detailed, involving hard work
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a bill [n] - a bird’s mouth (the beak of a water bird) [image] ESL Vocab - A bill
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ zip [v] - close quickly like with a zipper
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ comfy [adj] - comfortable

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression



triangle Questions 문제 Questões Preguntas


  1. What does the woman say about down feathers?
    They keep water away from the bird's skin.
    They are next to the bird's skin.
    They help create the shape of a bird.
    They are only on a bird's wings.
    Goslings are born with them.
    They help trap warm air.
    They help birds fly.
    They are colorful.
    They are soft.

  2. What does the woman say about vaned feathers?
    They keep water away from the bird's skin.
    They are next to the bird's skin.
    They help create the shape of a bird.
    They are only on a bird's wings.
    Goslings are born with them.
    They help trap warm air.
    They help birds fly.
    They are colorful.
    They are soft.

  3. What do barbicels do?
    Hold feathers together
    Produce color pigments
    Make the feathers soft
    Help birds swim

  4. What is the main purpose of preening?
    To reattach separated barbs and barbicels
    To keep feathers warm by adding oil
    To keep feathers clean
    To remove old feathers



triangle Vocabulary Review 어휘 검토 Revisão de vocabulário Vocabulario revisión


Directions: What expressions from the video have the same meaning as the highlighted expressions in the sentences below?

Instrucciones: ¿Qué expresiones del video tienen el mismo significado que las expresiones destacadas en las oraciones siguientes?

Instruções: Quais expressões do vídeo têm o mesmo significado que as expressões destacadas nas frases abaixo?

지시 사항: 아래 문장에서 강조된 표현과 같은 의미를 가진 표현을 영상에서 찾아보세요.


  1. Ducks and geese [ kick in water ] their days away in often [ cold ] waters.

    [ paddle ] [ chilly ]



  2. They rely on their extraordinary feathers to stay all dry and [ warm ].

    [ toasty ]



  3. But such glamorous [ all of the feathers ] requires a strict preening [ system ].

    [ plumage ] [ regimen ]



  4. Their [ soft and light quality ] creates a space for warm air right next to the bird's skin.

    [ fluffiness ]



  5. These [ baby geese ] are born with an extra [ thick and heavy ] coat of down feathers.

    [ goslings ] [ dense ]



  6. As they grow, they develop more [ complicated, detailed ] vaned feathers.

    [ elaborate ]



  7. They connect the [ partly covering one another ] barbs to one another like Velcro.

    [ overlapping ]



  8. But as these birds [ walk proudly ] their stuff, some of the barbicels lose their [ tight hold ].

    [ strut ] [ grip ]



  9. That's where all that [ requiring a lot of detailed work ] [ grooming ] comes in.

    [ painstaking ] [ preening ]



triangle TOEFL 2026 (Reading Part 1)


Directions: Fill in the missing letters.


Birds have two main t y _ _ _ of feathers: vaned and down. Down feathers are fuzzy and soft. Their fluffiness creates a space for wa__ air next to the bird's skin. These g o s _ _ _ _ _ are born w i _ _ an extra dense coat of down feathers. As they grow, they d e v _ _ _ _ more e l a b _ _ _ _ _ vaned feathers. These give b i _ _ _ their shapely c u r _ _ _ and color, and help them fly. Plus, the vaned feathers p r o t _ _ _ the down by forming a b a r r _ _ _ that keeps air in and water out.




triangle Sentence Building 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones


Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instruções:: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.



Sentence 1

duck / goose / have / beautiful / feather / that / also / very / function

Ducks and geese have beautiful feathers that are also very functional.



Sentence 2

they / actual / have / two / type / feather


They actually have two types of feathers.



Sentence 3

first / be / down / feather / which / trap / warm / air / close / skin


The first (type/one) is down feathers, which trap warm air close to [their/the] skin.



Sentence 4

second / be / vaned / feather / which / give / duck / goose / shape / color


The second (type/one) is vaned feathers, which give ducks and geese their shape and color.



Sentence 5

vaned / feather / also / repel / water / and / allow / bird / fly


Vaned feathers also repel water and allow birds to fly.



Sentence 6

vaned / feather / contain / tiny / hook / call / barbicel


Vaned feathers contain tiny hooks (which are) called barbicels.



Sentence 7

these / barbicel / connect / overlap / feather / which / make / bird / coat / *watertight


These barbicels connect (the) overlapping feathers, which makes a bird's coat watertight.


* watertight (adj): not allowing water to pass through, completely sealed against water



Sentence 8

however / movement / can / loose / these / hook / so / duck / preen / reconnect / barbicel / back / place


However, movement can loosen these hooks, so ducks preen (in order) to reconnect the barbicels.



Sentence 9

they / therefore / need / preen / self / constant / keep / self / warm / dry


They therefore need to preen themselves constantly (in order) to keep themselves warm and dry.



triangle Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión


  1. What new information did you learn from this video? What was most surprising or most interesting?
  2. Why do ducks and geese need both down feathers and vaned feathers to survive in cold water?
  3. What do you think would happen to a duck if it stopped preening for several days?
  4. How might climate or pollution affect a duck’s ability to keep its feathers clean and waterproof?
  5. What lessons about natural design or technology could people learn from the structure of duck and goose feathers?
  6. The duck is described as “strutting its stuff.” What does this mean? Have you ever seen an animal that seemed proud of its appearance? Can you describe the situation?

triangle Script 대본 Roteiro Guion


You can see the full original video [ here ].

This duck has fabulous feathers and he knows it. But they’re not just for looks. They make an incredible raincoat.

Ducks and geese paddle their days away in often-chilly waters. Waters that can suck the heat right out of you.

They rely on their extraordinary feathers to stay all dry and toasty. But such glamorous plumage requires a strict preening regimen.

Birds have two main types of feathers, vaned and down.

Down feathers are fuzzy and soft. Their fluffiness creates a space for warm air right next to the bird's skin. These goslings are born with an extra dense coat of down feathers.

As the goslings grow, they develop more elaborate vaned feathers. These give birds their shapely curves and color, and help them fly. Plus, the vaned feathers protect the down by forming a barrier that keeps air in and water out.

This central rachis provides the main structure. Barbs extend outwards. From those? Barbules reach out. Some of those barbules end in little hooks, called -- wait for it -- barbicels. They connect the overlapping barbs to one another like Velcro, weaving a lattice so tight it repels water.

But as these birds strut their stuff, some of the barbicels lose their grip. The seal breaks. The barbs separate. That’s where all that painstaking preening comes in.

Every time the duck runs its bill down the length of a feather, it zips its barbs back together again.

With some work, this little duck can keep itself totally comfy… and gorgeous.

You can see the full original video [ here ].