Pratique du Shadowing: Birdy's Grudge - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo

Création de la leçon...
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Hello, you're listening to Jana, and I'm back with one of our popular birdie stories.
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It's a hoot of a story, and I hope you'll enjoy it.
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One dark evening back in February, Jake heard hooting sounds from the back garden.
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He pulled on his wellies and coat, took a torch from the cupboard and hurried out into the rain to investigate.
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Jake followed the hoots towards an old apple tree.
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There the beam of his torch found two enormous yellow eyes looking straight at him.
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He ran back to the house.
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Mum, Dad, come and see.
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I think I found an owl.
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It's in the garden.
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Jake couldn't wait to tell his best friend Birdie about his discovery
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But Birdie didn't appear that night He must have been busy elsewhere The next morning, Mum yawned as she made breakfast Oh,
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I wish that owl would keep quiet She complained
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He was twit -to -ooing half the night I haven't slept a wink After supper,
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Dad found an owl video on YouTube The family watched it together.
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They learned that the female tawny owl makes a cry like...
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And the male answers her with a...
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I heard both those sounds, said Mum.
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I think we have a pair of owls.
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I expect there'll be a whole family in the spring.
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Now Jake was even more excited.
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He was sure that Birdie would be too.
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After all, Birdie was a bird, so he would be interested in the latest bird gossip, wouldn't he?
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That night, Birdie paid a visit.
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The ancient crow was at Jake's window.
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Come in, Birdie.
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I've got big news.
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We have owls.
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Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, said Birdie.
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Sorry, it's good news, isn't it?
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Birdie shook his black head Owls are the worst type of news They're never up to any good in my experience Oh?
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said Jake astonished In school, they teach us that owls are wise
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Crrrr! said Birdie shaking his head And Jake realised that he might have offended his feathered friend No, not as wise as crows,
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of course, Birdie I just mean, you know, they're not stupid Owls,
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said Birdie Are cunning, but cunning is not the same thing as wise Unfortunately,
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some people can't tell the difference I knew an owl once who even managed to trick the goddess Athena
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Jake could tell that one of Birdie's stories was coming on, so he sat back against his pillow.
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It happened long, long ago.
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And I don't mean long ago like when your dad was a little kid.
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I mean properly long ago, like back in ancient times when even I was handsome
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and full of youth back then the goddess Athena thought very highly of me I was her favourite bird
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and I lived in her temple on the Acropolis the great
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hill above Athens as a mark of her favour she made little silver coins with my handsome face stamped upon them Now,
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the king of Athens was called Seacrops.
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Seacrops had three daughters, and Athena gave them a special box to guard.
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Whatever you do, don't open it, she told them.
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Naturally, that made them desperate to know what was inside.
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One day they lifted the lid and took a peek.
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I saw the whole thing from a nearby tree, so I flew straight to Athena and told her.
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You might think she would have thanked me, but no!
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She flew into a terrible rage and told me off good and proper.
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Don't be such a spy on a telltale tit, she said.
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I don't want to hear nasty stories about my favourite human beings.
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Keep your beak out of other people's business.
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Sorry, my lady, I said.
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I didn't realise you were so touchy today.
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and don't you talk back to a goddess she cried leave my acropolis
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and don't show your gossipy face around here ever again
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so she kicked me out just because i told her the truth i thought it was very strange.
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Then I discovered that an owl had been paying her visits,
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bringing her presents and flattery.
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To it too, you're by far the wisest and most beautiful goddess in the world,
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he used to say.
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He knew that flattery will get you everywhere with a Greek goddess.
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Soon after, she appointed the owl her most favoured bird and put his puffy face on all her coins.
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All the crow coins disappeared.
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Ever since then, everyone has believed that owls are wise.
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We crows are far smarter, but do we get any appreciation?
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Not a bit of it.
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I'd chase those owls away if I were you.
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Mark my words, they're cunning birds, and you never know what trick they're up to.
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Jake could see there was no use arguing with Birdie.
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He obviously held an ancient grudge against owls.
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The rain does not continue forever, not even in England.
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Spring brought daffodils and little owlets in the apple tree.
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Jake couldn't see the baby owls, but once or twice at dusk, he saw a parent owl bringing their baby supper in its claws.
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By May, the baby owls were becoming increasingly noisy.
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They called for food until four in the morning.
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Now Mum hated owls almost as much as Birdie did.
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One morning she went out into the garden to water her plants.
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Oh, yuck!
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That's disgusting!
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Mum shrieked as she saw owl droppings and bird pellets scattered over her lawn.
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The pellets that the owls coughed up contained things like mouse bones and rat skulls.
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That evening when Jake told Birdie the story,
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he said See, I told you owls were bad news Their habits are disgusting Oh,
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Mum agrees with you, said Jake But Dad still likes them He thinks they bring good luck Silly man,
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called Birdie In early summer, Dad found an owlet hopping along the garden wall, sounding distressed.
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Dad thought it must have fallen out of the apple tree, so he put on his thick gardening gloves and tried to pick it up.
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As he bent over, a rush of air brushed the back of his neck.
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Something tugged at his head.
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Suddenly, his head felt strangely cool.
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He looked up and saw an owl flying off with his gardening hat.
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Hey, I was only trying to rescue your young one, shouted Dad.
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The second parent joined the attack.
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Jake, seeing this, immediately grabbed his tennis racket, rushed outside and shouted, Hey, get off my dad!
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As he went to help his dad, a loud cawing came from the roof of the house.
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Three black crows, led by Birdie, shot down in an arrowhead formation.
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Within seconds, the garden was full of beating wings and shaking leaves.
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It was beak to beak and claw to claw.
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Black and brown feathers fluttered down onto the lawn.
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The battle of the birds was noisy and fierce, but it lasted barely more than a minute.
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The crows withdrew to the rooftop, while the owls returned to guard the apple tree.
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Meanwhile, the helpless Owlet dug its claws into the bark, flapped his wings and clambered back onto a branch.
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When Jake returned to his room, Birdie landed briefly on his sill.
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His feathers were still ruffled and a tail feather was sticking out at a strange angle.
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He squawked.
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That showed them.
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If those owls try any more of that nonsense, we'll be back again.
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He didn't wait for Jake's response and flew off.
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That very same evening, there was another big fight.
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The crows attacked the owls as they came out to hunt for mice.
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The same thing happened night after night.
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Birdie, said Jake when he landed on his windowsill.
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Isn't it time to call off this war?
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Mum says all the bird noise is giving her nightmares.
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And Dad says it's wrong to hold grudges for so long.
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I will accept nothing less than unconditional surrender, declared Birdie.
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At dusk the next day, Jake went to talk to the owls.
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He stood at the foot of the apple tree and called out, Do -wit -do -woo!
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And an owl replied, What can we do to stop all this noise and all this fighting?
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asked Jake Oh, we just want to live in peace and bring up our family,
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replied the owl Could you agree to keep the noise down and not steal my dad's hat again?
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Oh, the hat was a misunderstanding Oh, we were protecting our young,
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and we can try not to hoot so loud, but we can't, promise.
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That's okay then, said Jake.
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But what can I tell Birdie?
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He's got an ancient grudge against you.
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Oh, we know, replied the owl.
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You can give him this.
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The owl flew out and dropped something at Jake's feet.
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Whatever it was, glinted in the moonlight.
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Jake picked it up and felt it between his fingers.
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It was a coin, old and worn.
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When he shone his torch, he saw that a bird was engraved there.
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Not an owl, but a crow.
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Thank you, I think he'll like this, said Jake.
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He ran back into the house and hoped that Birdie would turn up that evening
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He hadn't been visiting so much since the start of the war Fortunately, Birdie did come tapping at the window
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Jake showed him the coin That is an ancient Greek opal with the face of a crow on it Very,
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very rare
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Where did you get
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that? asked birdie the owl gave it to me he replied
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he asked me to give it to you as a peace offering
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peace what's that i don't know the meaning of peace exclaimed birdie oh go on birdie
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you're really old
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but you're not very grown up sometimes are you you can't
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hold a grudge forever Why don't you take the coin and call off the war?
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Whatever happened long ago, the Owls just want to live in peace and bring up their family.
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Birdie hopped from one leg to the other.
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I thought you were my friend.
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He squawked.
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I am your friend, Birdie.
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That's why I'm telling you the truth.
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Even though you don't like it Isn't that what you did for Athena?
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Birdie let out a squawk Go on, take the coin Said Jake holding it out Nah,
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you keep it safe But I'll tell you what
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If the owls stop hooting at all hours I'll call off my birds
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And we'll let bygones be bygones Said Birdie And Peace returned to the garden Sort of An occasional
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Let the family know that the owls were still there.
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And of course, the crows who perched on the roof liked to make their presence known.
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Every now and then.
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And that was Birdie's Grudge, read by me, Jana, for Story Nori,
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inspired by a true event when an owl was keeping me awake at night.
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Do it, do it, do it.

Vocabulaire et conseils d’expression pour cette leçon

Cette leçon d’expression orale de niveau A2 s’appuie sur la vidéo « Birdy's Grudge ». Les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent : owl, birdie, Jake, crow, bird. Cette vidéo contient 165 phrases et 1823 mots à répéter en shadowing. La partie parlée dure 15:33. Le locuteur parle à un rythme régulier d’environ 117 mots par minute, confortable pour le shadowing. 77 % des mots font partie des 3 000 mots les plus courants en anglais ; le reste mérite d’être vu avant de commencer.

Vocabulaire clé de cette vidéo

15 mots de la vidéo à retenir, avec leur prononciation et leur sens :

MotPrononciationSens
owl nom/aʊ(ə)l/hibou, chouette
crow nom/kɹoʊ/corneille, corbeau
coin nom/ˈkoɪ̯n/pièce de monnaie, jeton
goddess nom/ˈɡɑdəs/déesse
feather nom/ˈfɛðə/plume
claw nom/klɔ/griffe
shake verbe/ˈʃeɪk/secouer, agiter
torch nom/ˈtɔːtʃ/torche, flambeau
rush verbe/ɹʌʃ/se dépêcher, se hâter
trick nom/ˈtɹɪk/tour
hop nom/hɒp/houblon
mouse nom/maʊs/souris
disgusting adjectif/dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/dégoûtant, dégueulasse
handsome adjectif/ˈhæn.səm/beau
shout verbe/ʃaʊt/crier

Les verbes à particule que vous entendrez

MotSens
bring up verbeélever
call out verbepréciser, spécifier
get off verbedescendre, faire descendre
grow up verbegrandir
turn up verbearriver, se pointer

Des phrases à répéter

Des phrases courtes et complètes de la vidéo, à réutiliser dans la conversation de tous les jours :

  • Sorry, it's good news, isn't it?
  • Whatever you do, don't open it, she told them.
  • Keep your beak out of other people's business.
  • I didn't realise you were so touchy today.
  • We crows are far smarter, but do we get any appreciation?

La grammaire de cette vidéo

Les structures que le locuteur utilise le plus, avec les mots exacts de la vidéo :

StructureDans la vidéo
Voix passive be + participe passé — l’accent est mis sur ce qui arrive, pas sur qui le faitwas called · were still ruffled · was engraved
Present perfect have/has + participe passé — une action passée qui compte encore maintenanthaven't slept · has believed
Passé continu was/were + -ing — une action en cours à un moment du passéwas coming · were becoming · was only trying
Superlatifs the -est / the most … — le plus haut ou le plus bas d’un groupethe latest · the worst · the wisest

Prononciation à surveiller

Le locuteur utilise 43 contractions et formes réduites, comme don't, they're, you're. Prononcez-les sous leur forme courte, telles que vous les entendez.

  • Les sons « th »: feather /ˈfɛðə/, thick /θɪk/, withdraw /wɪðˈdɹɔ/
  • Les sons « sh » et « zh »: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, shout /ʃaʊt/, brush /bɹʌʃ/, shine /ʃaɪn/
  • Mots longs — placez bien l’accent: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, investigate /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, occasional /əˈkeɪʒ(ə)nəl/, acropolis /əˈkɹɒpəlɪs/

Les sons difficiles pour les francophones :

  • /h/ — il se souffle, il n’est pas muet: hop /hɒp/, handsome /ˈhæn.səm/, habit /ˈhæb.ɪt/, hurry /ˈhʌ.ɹi/, helpless /ˈhɛlplɪs/
  • /tʃ/ et /dʒ/ — à ne pas adoucir en « ch » et « j »: torch /ˈtɔːtʃ/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, chase /t͡ʃeɪs/, rage /ɹeɪd͡ʒ/, strangely /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒli/
  • /r/ anglais — langue recourbée, sans frotter la gorge: crow /kɹoʊ/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, trick /ˈtɹɪk/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, rescue /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/

Comment s’entraîner avec cette vidéo

  1. Écoutez la vidéo en entier une fois sans parler et notez les mots que vous ne connaissez pas.
  2. Répétez phrase par phrase à vitesse normale, en reprenant chacune jusqu’à ce que votre rythme corresponde à celui du locuteur.
  3. Enregistrez-vous et comparez avec l’original, en faisant attention à des mots comme owl, crow, coin.

Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?

Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.

Technique du shadowing : lire le guide complet étape par étape →