Shadowing Practice: COUNTRYBALLS: WORLD WAR ONE (part 1) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Elige un modo de práctica

Cada modo abre una sala de práctica a pantalla completa.

144 oraciones

Si las oraciones son demasiado cortas o largas, haz clic en Editar para ajustarlas.

This is Europe Today!

And this is Europe roughly a hundred years ago.

Looks like there are way fewer countries, right?

Well, you'd be correct.

Germany used to be much bigger and far more powerful.

Russia stretched much further into Europe, and countries like Poland, Finland, or the Baltic states simply didn't exist.

Austria and Hungary used to be best buddies, united in a single empire.

Although many of the nationalities inside it didn't exactly like their bosses.

The Ottoman Empire was still around too crumbling and collapsing, but still an empire.

Italy was a newly unified kingdom trying to establish itself as a major European power, and France still wanted revenge for its humiliating defeat to Germany 40 years earlier.

Soon I will get my revenge!

Europe was full of rivalries, alliances, and empires competing against each other and everyone was building armies, everyone was producing new weapons,

Everyone expected a massive war sooner or later.

all they needed was a reason to start fighting.

And that reason, it came much sooner than anyone expected.

In 1914, the Austrian Archiduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife decided to visit the city of Sarajevo, in these primarily Serbian -inhabited lands.

And these local Serbian nationalists were not exactly happy about it.

As the Arkaduke's car was driving through the city, one Serbian nationalist threw a bomb at it, and...

Thankfully for the Arkaduke, he missed and only injured several officers.

"Mr. Arkaduke, they tried to assassinate you !" "Yes, I noticed." "You should immediately leave Sarajevo." "Hmm,

no." "Good, I'll prepare the car and..." "What?" Instead of fleeing to safety, the Arkaduke decided to visit the wounded officers in the hospital.

be the last thing he would ever do.

By complete coincidence, the driver took a wrong turn and accidentally stopped right in front of one of the assassins.

"Oh, today is my lucky day !" Seeing his second chance, he pulled out his pistol and killed both the Archiduke and his wife.

Having your heir to the throne assassinated in broad daylight was not exactly on Austria -Hungary's bucket list.

The Empire was furious and believed Serbia had something to do with the attack.

So, Austria -Hungary sent Serbia an ultimatum filled with demands that were almost impossible to accept.

"Hmm, Austria, it says here that you want your officials to operate inside my country." Yes, correct.

We need to investigate the assassination.

Well, that sounds like a violation of my sovereignty, so no. Oh, really?

No problem then.

Um, are you sure you're not angry?

"Nah, don't worry about it, you just killed our future emperor, totally fine." Three days later, Austria -Hungary declared war on Serbia.

"Wow, wow, wow!

I am seeing that you are attacking innocent Slavic countries !" Russia immediately jumps on Serbia's side and declares war on Austria.

Then Germany jumped in to protect its ally Austria.

France, seeing that Germany attacks their ally, the Russians declared war on Germany.

And there you have it.

Four European great powers and a two -front war in just three days.

It looks random, like everything exploded out of nowhere, but in reality, everyone knew this was coming.

They were just waiting for the excuse, and the most prepared one: Germany.

Germany had developed a plan called the Schliffenplan.

So, the plan is very simple.

Those Russians will need a lot of time to mobilize everyone from their large country, so before they are ready, we have to strike first and conquer them in lightning speed.

But then, after we're done with France, we go to Russia and defeat them while they are still mobilizing.

Any questions?

Absolutely not!

Yeah, what could go wrong?

It turns out, a lot can go wrong.

France was way more prepared and had a lot "Saisa!

Isn't there any safer road we could take?

Somewhere with no fortifications and flat terrain?" "Hey, what is that over there?" "No plan, soldiers!

We are marching through Belgium to avoid the French forts !" "Hey, you can't do that!

I'm neutral!

You can't just march through me !" Germany invades Belgium in the hopes of avoiding the French fortifications and encircling them.

The Germans expected Belgium to surrender immediately.

unexpected.

Belgium's resistance slowed the German advance just enough for France and Britain to prepare their defenses.

Oh yeah, Britain joined in too.

You see, Britain had promised to protect Belgian neutrality many years earlier, and just like that, almost all major European powers were now involved in the war.

On one side, we have the Central Powers: Germany and Austria -Hungary, and on the other, it's the intent: Russia,

France, Serbia, Montenegro, and now Britain and Belgium.

mobilized and way quicker than anyone expected.

"Hey Austria, would you take care of that?" "Yes, absolutely, no problems." Austria -Hungary had a hard time fighting Russia.

Austria -Hungary wasn't made only of Austrians and Hungarians, but from many ethnic groups that didn't exactly want to fight in this war.

"Why does no one understand my orders?" couldn't even defeat small Serbia with whom they started the war with.

So, Germany had to spare some troops from the front with France, where they were getting closer and closer to the French capital of Paris.

The French commanders were panicking, and they knew that if Paris fell, the war would be lost.

So, they ordered the army to stop retreating, and instead try to fight the Germans.

On the river Marne, the Germans were defeated and forced to retreat a bit.

Then, they turned their attention to the coastal cities of France, and tried to capture them while the intent tried to stop them.

Yeah, so the schleifenplan didn't work.

"Of course it didn't.

We're already fighting a two -front war." So what is the plan now? To dig. In.

Germany wasted all their attacking potential and decided to start entrenching.

Their foes did the same.

Soon, a massive trench system formed, stretching from the North Sea all the way to Switzerland.

this completely changed warfare.

Speaking of warfare and conquest, if you love country balls you need to see this.

This isn't just a mobile game, it's a real world territory war featuring over 500 unique hand -drawn characters and you can fully customize,

power up and gear them out to completely break the meta.

But this isn't just a collection game and you aren't just conquering fake digital

The traditional grand strategy keeps you stuck behind a monitor.

Here, I've literally walked around my city, conquered my neighborhood, and set up my defenses.

Other players have been challenging my territory, but I've built a roster strong enough to hold the line.

And don't fight alone.

I just created the Country Ball Brothers Alliance, and we're recruiting right now.

Plus, the devs just dropped a massive co -op raid update.

We can team up, crush new bosses, and grab insane loot, like the shadow script brush I just scored.

Everyone is fighting for territory right now, so claim your neighborhood before someone else does.

Use the link down in the description

or scan the QR code on screen right now to get a free Bulgaria ball instantly added to your account

when you sign up.

Unfortunately though, for the soldiers in World War I, uh, conquering territory was nowhere near this fun.

The trenches were not a very good experience for any soldiers.

Wait, I should probably say they were actually rather terrible.

Mud, diseases, rats, and constant artillery bombing.

Soldiers lived in horrible conditions.

Those rats here look delicious, don't you think?

100

I lost my eyesight to an artillery shell.

101

Whoever didn't die of illness died in a pointless charge against enemy machine guns,

102

sometimes resulting in thousands of deaths just to move the front line ever so slightly. And yet...

103

That was the strategy for years.

104

Meanwhile, over in the East, things were way more mobile.

105

Russia suffered a huge defeat by Germany in the north and had to retreat to safer positions.

106

In the south, they were deep into Austria and held a stronger position.

107

Because of its enormous size, Russia had a hard time supplying all its soldiers.

108

Some Russian units even lacked rifles and ammunition. Where are the supplies?

109

Still coming.

110

It's been three months!

111

And unlike the Western Front, where trenches barely moved, The Eastern Front remained fluid and chaotic.

112

Entire regions could be lost or taken in weeks.

113

By 1915, Germany and Austria -Hungary launched a massive counter -attack,

114

Russia was pushed hundreds of kilometers backward in what became known as the Great Retreat.

115

"E is a strategic withdrawal.

116

That's a fancy way to save running away." But despite the retreat, Russia was still in the war, bruised, exhausted, and poorly equipped but still fighting.

117

As the war continued, more and more countries started joining the conflict.

118

One of the first new major participants was Japan.

119

Now, at first, this might sound strange.

120

"What does a war in Europe have to do with me?" Well, Japan had an alliance with Britain

121

and saw the war as the perfect opportunity to expand its influence in Asia and the Pacific.

122

Germany had some colonies and small islands in the Pacific, and Japan was more than happy to take those without much resistance.

123

The Central Powers also gained a new ally.

124

It was the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

125

In late 1914, the Ottomans officially entered the war by attacking Russian ports in the Black Sea.

126

And suddenly, the war spread into entirely new regions the Middle East, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and the Dardanelles.

127

This was a huge problem for Britain and Russia.

128

The Ottomans controlled the strategically vital straits connecting the Mediterranean to Russia through the Black Sea.

129

That's not good.

130

The British and French later attempted to knock the Ottomans out of the war through the disastrous Gallopoli Campaign.

131

How hard can it be to defeat the Ottomans?

132

Yeah right, that country's on the verge of collapse should be an easy win.

133

The campaign became a complete disaster for the Allies and turned into one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest wartime victories.

134

It became known as the most pointless campaign of the entire war, with around half a million casualties.

135

The war, though, was only just beginning.

136

More countries were yet to join the conflict.

137

Millions of new soldiers would soon be mobilized across the world.

138

Germany would introduce terrifying new weapons like zeppelins, flamethrowers, and massive gas attacks.

139

And the first British tanks would roll out onto the battlefield.

140

Entire cities were soon to be destroyed.

141

Empires about to collapse.

142

The deadliest battles of the entire war were yet to come.

143

But all of that, we'll have to discuss in the next video.

144

Because the Great War was far from over, and Europe was about to change forever.

Descargar app

Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez

Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración

Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido

VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras

Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas

Escanea el QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

📺 Mismo canal

COUNTRYBALLS: History of Vietnam

University Students

✨ Recomendar Video

74 oraciones

WW1 - Oversimplified (Part 1)

Cambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

216

30 oraciones

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Hometown, Studies and Free Time

IELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

602 oraciones

World War II: The Complete Story (1939–1945) 🌍⚔️ | Learn English Through History

IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep

68 oraciones

Alexander the Great: The King Who Conquered the Ancient World | Learn English Through Story

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

91 oraciones

HEISENBERG: The Dumber Oppenheimer

IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep

168 oraciones

Trains in Different Countries be like...

Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Esta lección de conversación de nivel B1 se basa en el vídeo “COUNTRYBALLS: WORLD WAR ONE”. Las palabras que más se repiten: Germany, Austria, Russia, France, Ottoman. Este vídeo tiene 144 frases y 1795 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 11:28. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 156 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 81 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
retreat sustantivo	/ɹɪˈtɹiːt/	retirada, repliegue
conquer verbo	/ˈkɑŋkɚ/	conquistar, debelar
trench sustantivo	/ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/	trinchera
alley sustantivo	/ˈæl.i/	callejón, callejuela
declare verbo	/dɪˈklɛɚ/	explicar, aclarar
collapse verbo	/kəˈlæps/	derrumbarse, desplomarse
assassinate verbo	/əˈsæs(ə)nˌeɪt/	asesinar
crumble verbo	/ˈkɹʌmbəl/	desmigajarse, desmoronarse
fortification sustantivo	/ˌfɔː(ɹ)tɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/	fortificación
pointless adjetivo	/ˈpɔɪntləs/	romo, chato
nationalist sustantivo	/ˈnæʃ.ə.nə.lɪst/	nacionalista
artillery sustantivo	/ɑɹˈtɪləɹi/	artillería
warfare sustantivo	/ˈwɔɹfɛɹ/	conflicto armado, guerras
rat sustantivo	/ɹæt/	rata
revenge sustantivo	/ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/	venganza

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Palabra	Significado
pull out verbo	retirarse
run away verbo	huir
sign up verbo	inscribir, alistar
turn out verbo	resultar
walk around verbo	deambular

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:

Um, are you sure you're not angry?
Isn't there any safer road we could take?
Those rats here look delicious, don't you think?

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

Estructura	En el vídeo
“Used to” used to + verbo — un hábito o estado pasado que ya no es cierto	used to be
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace	were now involved · wasn't made · would be lost
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora	I've built · It's been
Past continuous was/were + -ing — una acción en curso en un momento del pasado	was producing · was driving · was coming

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 27 contracciones y formas reducidas, como didn't, don't, isn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

Los sonidos de “th”: flamethrower /ˈfleɪmˌθɹoʊ.ɚ/, withdrawal /wɪðˈdɹɔ(ə)l/, throne /θɹəʊ̯n/
Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: fortification /ˌfɔː(ɹ)tɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, nationalist /ˈnæʃ.ə.nə.lɪst/, casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/, nationality /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, assassination /əˌsæs.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: assassinate /əˈsæs(ə)nˌeɪt/, fortification /ˌfɔː(ɹ)tɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, nationalist /ˈnæʃ.ə.nə.lɪst/, artillery /ɑɹˈtɪləɹi/, humiliate /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: strait /stɹeɪt/, scan /skæn/, spare /spɛɚ/
/v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: revenge /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/, invade /ɪnˈveɪd/, verge /vɜːd͡ʒ/, rivalry /ˈɹaɪ.vəl.ɹi/, sovereignty /ˈsɑv(ə)ɹənti/
/z/ — sonora, no /s/: mobilize /ˈməʊbɪlʌɪz/, bruise /bɹuz/, customize /ˈkʌs.tə.maɪ̯z/, disastrous /dɪˈzæs.tɹəs/, exhaust /ɪɡˈzɔst/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como retreat, conquer, trench.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →