Pratique du Shadowing: CAE TEST29 PART4 - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo

Création de la leçon...
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Part 4 consists of two tasks.
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You'll hear five short extracts in which people are talking about memorable events.
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Look at task 1.
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For questions 21 to 25, choose from the list A to H what the event was.
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Now look at task 2.
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For questions 26 to 30, choose from the list A to H why the speaker found the event memorable.
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While you listen, you must complete both tasks.
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You now have 45 seconds to look at Part 4.
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Thank you.
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I've just been to something I'm sure I'll remember all my life.
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It was one of my favourite bands of all time playing in front of the National Gallery.
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It was just the perfect setting, a square surrounded by elegant historic buildings.
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Quite a severe location in some ways, but that suited their style.
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The bit I'll personally always treasure was how taken my son was by it all.
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Usually he's a bit dismissive of my tastes in songs, but he agreed to let me drag him along
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and it was clear from his face
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that he found it spellbinding i've now agreed to go along to watch a cricket match with him
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and hope i'll be equally surprised to find it enjoyable
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speaker two it was an absolutely extraordinary evening well worth the
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long rail journey i'd had to make to get there the speakers were excellent managing to be both moving
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and witty in a way that seemed totally appropriate given the nature of the occasion,
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a hundred years since the halls that had housed such a major national exhibition had burnt down.
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But I remember the event also for personal reasons.
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I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for a good ten years, a guy I used to play football with before we both headed off to university.
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I'd thought about him often but hadn't managed to find out where he was living or what he was doing now, despite googling him every now and then.
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Speaker 3 When you think back over the memorable events in your life,
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I think sometimes it's relatively ordinary ones that can stand out more than the big public occasions.
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My grandfather becoming 80, for example, had a surprisingly significant impact on my life.
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A famous actor who'd been to school with Grandpa, gave a very touching speech about the importance of roots, and it came to me with total clarity
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that I really did want to move back to the town where I grew up.
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I'd been turning the idea over in my mind for quite some time, but might never have got round to doing anything about it had it not been for that speech.
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Speaker 4 I met Fiona when we were both on a train going to the airport last month, and we started talking about where we were heading.
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Fiona told me she was going back to the island where she'd spent many happy holidays as a child,
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but this time because she had to attend a conference in connection with her work as an architect.
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I explained
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that I was off to the city where I'd had the
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luck as a child to go to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
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The thing that struck me most then were the fireworks over the snowy mountains.
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I don't think I've ever seen anything more stunning in the twenty years since.
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Speaker 5 I was a bit late coming home last night because I'd had to hand in a piece of lost property.
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I'd found a purse on the floor of the auditorium.
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You remember I was going to see one of my favorite plays it was an excellent performance
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but i think i'll remember the evening most because of that purse
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when i looked inside it the credit card had the name of a really famous political figure on it
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do you think they might ask to meet me
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when they learn their purse has been handed in they should be very grateful
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because there was a lot of money in there And I mean a lot.
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Enough to buy a new car.
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I've just been to something I'm sure I'll remember all my life.
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It was one of my favourite bands of all time playing in front of the National Gallery.
51
It was just the perfect setting, a square surrounded by elegant historic buildings.
52
Quite a severe location in some ways, but that suited their style.
53
The bit I'll personally always treasure was how taken my son was by it all.
54
Usually he's a bit dismissive of my tastes in songs, but he agreed to let me drag him along, and it was clear from his face that he found it spellbinding.
55
I've now agreed to go along to watch a cricket match with him, and hope I'll be equally surprised to find it enjoyable.
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It was an absolutely extraordinary evening, well worth the long rail journey I'd had to make to get there.
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The speakers were excellent, managing to be both moving and witty in a way that seemed totally appropriate given the nature of the occasion,
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a hundred years since the halls that had housed such a major national exhibition had burnt down.
59
But I remember the event also for personal reasons.
60
I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for a good 10 years, a guy I used to play football with before we both headed off to university.
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I'd thought about him often, but hadn't managed to find out where he was living or what he was doing now, despite googling him every now and then.
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Speaker 3 When you think back over the memorable events in your life,
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I think sometimes it's relatively ordinary ones that can stand out more than the big public occasions.
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My grandfather becoming 80, for example, had a surprisingly significant impact on my life.
65
A famous actor who'd been to school with Grandpa gave a very touching speech about the importance of roots, and it came to me with total clarity
66
that I really did want to move back to the town where I grew up.
67
I'd been turning the idea over in my mind for quite some time, but might never have got round to doing anything about it had it not been for that speech.
68
Speaker 4 I met Fiona when we were both on a train going to the airport last month, and we started talking about where we were heading.
69
Fiona told me she was going back to the island where she'd spent many happy holidays as a child.
70
But this time, because she had to attend a conference in connection with her work as an architect, I explained
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that I was off to the city where I'd had the
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luck as a child to go to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
73
The thing that struck me most then were the fireworks over the snowy mountains.
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I don't think I've ever seen anything more stunning in the 20 years since.
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Speaker 5 I was a bit late coming home last night because I'd had to hand in a piece of lost property.
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I'd found a purse on the floor of the auditorium.
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You remember I was going to see one of my favorite plays.
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It was an excellent performance, but I think I'll remember the evening most because of that purse.
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When I looked inside it, the credit card had the name of a really famous political figure on it.
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Do you think they might ask to meet me when they learn their purse has been handed in?
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They should be very grateful because there was a lot of money in there.
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And I mean a lot.
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Enough to buy a new car.
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That's the end of part four.

Who Is This Video For?

This video is ideal for intermediate to advanced English learners prepping for exams like the CAE or focusing on english speaking practice. It’s perfect for those aiming to understand natural conversational flow, as the speakers discuss memorable events with real-world context—great for building listening comprehension and mimicking everyday speech patterns.

Words & Idioms Worth Stealing

Boost your vocabulary with these standout phrases from the dialogue:

  • Taken by: To be impressed or captivated (e.g., "My son was taken by the band’s performance").
  • Turn over in my mind: To think about something repeatedly (e.g., "I’d been turning the idea over in my mind").
  • Spellbinding: Extremely fascinating (e.g., "He found the concert spellbinding").
  • Bumped into: To meet someone unexpectedly (e.g., "I bumped into an old friend").

How to Get the Accent Right

Use the shadowing technique to master pronunciation and intonation. Pause the video after short phrases, then repeat them immediately, matching the speaker’s rhythm and stress. Focus on: - Reduced forms like "I’ve" and "I’d" (common in casual speech). - The rise and fall in sentences like "It was just the perfect setting"—stress "perfect" to emphasize emotion. - Linking words, such as "drag him along" (connect "drag" and "him" smoothly). For extra practice, use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare to the original. This helps refine shadow speech and improve English pronunciation by training your mouth to move like a native. Keep sessions short (5-10 minutes) to stay focused—consistency beats length!

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 →