Shadowing Practice: Yes, Prime Minister - The need to know - Learn English Speaking with Video
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101 oraciones
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1
Hello.
2
So, I gather you denied that Mr. Halifax's phone had been bugged.
3
Well, obviously.
4
It was the one question today to which I could give a clear, simple, straightforward, honest answer.
5
Yes.
6
Unfortunately, although the answer was indeed clear, simple and straightforward, there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of the epithets you applied to the statement,
7
inasmuch as the precise correlation between the information you communicated And the facts, insofar as they can be determined and demonstrated,
8
is such as to cause epistemological problems
9
of sufficient magnitude as to lay upon the logical and semantic resources of the English language
10
a heavier burden than they can reasonably be expected to bear.
11
Epistemological?
12
What are you talking about?
13
You told a lie.
14
A lie?
15
A lie.
16
What do you mean, a lie?
17
I mean you.. lied.
18
Yes, I know this is a difficult concept to get across to a politician.
19
You were...
20
I'm sorry.
21
Ah, yes, you did love to tell the truth.
22
You mean, we are bugging you Halifax's telephone?
23
We were.
24
We were?
25
When did we stop?
26
Um, 17 minutes ago.
27
Well, you can't call that lying.
28
What would you call the opposite of telling the truth?
29
Well, I mean, there was no intent.
30
I didn't mean to deceive them.
31
I'd never knowingly mislead the house.
32
Nonetheless, you have done so.
33
Well, it wasn't my fault.
34
I didn't know he was being bugged.
35
Mr. You are deemed to have known you are ultimately responsible.
36
Why wasn't I told?
37
The Home Secretary might not have felt the need to inform you.
38
Why?
39
Perhaps he didn't know either.
40
Or perhaps he'd been advised that you did not need to know.
41
Well, I did need to know.
42
Apparently the fact that you needed to know was not known at the time
43
that the now known need to know was known.
44
And therefore those that needed to advise and inform the Home Secretary perhaps felt
45
that the information
46
that he needed as to whether to inform the highest authority the highest authority of the known information was not yet known.
47
And therefore there was no authority for the authority to be informed
48
because the need to know was not at that time known or needed.
49
What?
50
We did not know that you would deny it in the House.
51
Well, obviously I would if I didn't know and I were asked.
52
We did not know that you would be asked when you didn't know.
53
There's bound to be asked when I didn't know if I didn't know.
54
What?
55
It was thought that it was better not to inform you.
56
You see, Hugh Halifax is one of your government team and as such, it was thought that it was better not to create distrust.
57
We only tell you when you should be aware.
58
When's that?
59
You should now be aware because you've just denied it.
60
Well, it would be rather more helpful if I'd been aware before I denied it.
61
On the contrary, Prime Minister, if you had been aware before you denied it, you wouldn't have denied it.
62
But I needed to know.
63
We do not always tell you about bugging when you need to know.
64
You see, at times, Prime Minister, we need you not to know.
65
Why did you decide that I didn't need to know?
66
I didn't.
67
Well, who did?
68
Nobody.
69
It was just that nobody decided to tell you.
70
Well, it's the same thing.
71
On the contrary, Prime Minister, to decide to conceal information from you is a heavy burden for any official to shoulder,
72
but to decide not to reveal information to you is routine procedure.
73
Humphrey, I need to know everything.
74
Everything?
75
Everything.
76
Very well.
77
Stationary deliveries this week to the Commonwealth system.
78
Four dozen brackets of size two-paces.
79
Humphrey, don't be silly.
80
I mean important things.
81
Who should decide what is important?
82
Humphrey, how can you possibly defend this cock-up?
83
Well, as you said in the House, we got it wrong.
84
You got it wrong?
85
I, Prime Minister, I am merely a humble servant, a lowly official.
86
The Home Secretary made the decision.
87
Can you think of any reason why I shouldn't ask him to resign?
88
With respect, Prime Minister, you should only ask him to resign
89
when he has made a mistake which could have been seen at the time and not with the benefit of hindsight.
90
But you see, the trouble today has arisen because of your own error of judgment in making this denial.
91
What?
92
You should not have denied something about which you did not know.
93
That was your fault.
94
You've just admitted keeping secrets from the Prime Minister.
95
Not at all, Prime Minister.
96
The system works perfectly well as long as the Prime Minister tells the civil service everything
97
that he's going to say before he says it.
98
But if precipitately he says something without first clearing it with his officials, he has only himself to blame, you must not say anything in public without first clearing it.
99
With respect, Prime Minister, you must learn discretion.
100
I didn't know there was anything to be discreet about.
101
In government, there's always something to be discreet about.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel C1 se basa en el vídeo “Yes, Prime Minister - The need to know”. Las palabras que más se repiten: Prime, Minister, denied, needed, inform. Este vídeo tiene 101 frases y 870 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 4:34. El hablante habla rápido, unas 191 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 83 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar. 21 de sus 101 frases son preguntas, así que sirve para practicar la entonación de las preguntas y las respuestas cortas.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| discreet adjetivo | /dɪˈskɹiːt/ | discreto |
| epistemological adjetivo | /ɪˌpɪstəməˈlɑd͡ʒəkəl/ | epistemológico |
| straightforward adjetivo | /ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/ | sencillo, llano |
| resign verbo | /ɹɪˈzaɪn/ | resignarse, renunciar |
| deceive verbo | /dɪˈsiːv/ | engañar, decebir |
| distrust sustantivo | /dɪsˈtɹʌst/ | desconfianza, recelo |
| epithet sustantivo | /ˈɛp.ɪˌθɛt/ | epíteto |
| hindsight sustantivo | /ˈhaɪn(d)saɪt/ | retrospectiva, perspectiva |
| insofar adverbio | /ɪn.səʊˈfɑː(ɹ)/ | en la medida, en la medida en |
| mislead verbo | /mɪsˈliːd/ | desencaminar, despistar |
| precipitately adverbio | /pɹɪˈsɪ.pɪ.tət.li/ | precipitadamente |
| semantic adjetivo | /sɪˈmæntɪk/ | semántico |
| knowingly adverbio | a sabiendas, con conocimiento de causa | |
| stationary adjetivo | /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/ | estacionario |
| assign verbo | /əˈsaɪn/ | asignar |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| get across verbo | cruzar |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- What are you talking about?
- What do you mean, a lie?
- Why wasn't I told?
- Why did you decide that I didn't need to know?
- Humphrey, how can you possibly defend this cock-up?
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | had been bugged · be expected · being bugged |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | have done · you've just denied · has made |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 22 contracciones y formas reducidas, como didn't, I'd, wasn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “th”: epithet /ˈɛp.ɪˌθɛt/, nonetheless /ˌnʌnðəˈlɛs/
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/, correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/, discretion /dɪˈskɹɛʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: epistemological /ɪˌpɪstəməˈlɑd͡ʒəkəl/, precipitately /pɹɪˈsɪ.pɪ.tət.li/, stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/, correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/, reasonably /ˈɹiː.zən.ə.bli/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: straightforward /ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/, stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: deceive /dɪˈsiːv/, servant /ˈsɝvənt/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: resign /ɹɪˈzaɪn/, arise /əˈɹaɪz/, reasonably /ˈɹiː.zən.ə.bli/
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 discreet, epistemological, straightforward.
¿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.