Shadowing Practice: Toy story 3 opening - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 53 sentences and 171 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:29. The speaker talks slowly, about 49 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 75% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• hurry /ˈhʌ.ɹi/ (verb) — To do things quickly.
• bang /ˈbæŋ/ (noun) — A sudden percussive noise.
• steady /ˈstɪdi/ (adjective) — Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.
• kitty /ˈkɪti/ (noun) — A young cat; a kitten.
• infinity /ɪnˈfɪnɪti/ (noun) — Endlessness, unlimitedness, absence of a beginning, end or limits to size.
• dinosaur /ˈdaɪnəsoɹ/ (noun) — Those animals of the clade Dinosauria that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct.
• orphan /ˈɔɹfən/ (noun) — A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.
• mister /ˈmɪstəɹ/ (noun) — Alternative spelling of Mister, especially when used as a form of address without a name.
• whee /wiː/ — An expression of pleasure or enjoyment, mostly from rapid physical motion.
• reach /ɹiːt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
• catch /kæt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).
• drop /dɹɑp/ (noun) — A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own rounded shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.
• beyond /biˈ(j)ɑnd/ — Further away than.
• justice /ˈd͡ʒʌs.tɪs/ (noun) — The state or characteristic of being just or fair.
• train /ˈtɹeɪn/ (noun) — The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• reach for (verb) — To try to get (something) by extending one's arm or moving one's hand.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, gotta, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like hurry, bang, steady.