Pratica di Shadowing: FCE1 TEST2 PART1 - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

Creazione lezione...
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This is the Cambridge First Certificate in English Listening Test, Test 2.
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I'm going to give you the instructions for this test.
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I'll introduce each part of the test and give you time to look at the questions.
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At the start of each piece, you'll hear this sound.
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You'll hear each piece twice.
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Remember, while you're listening, write your answers on the question paper.
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You'll have five minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the separate answer sheet.
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There will now be a pause.
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Please ask any questions now because you must not speak during the test.
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Now open your question paper and look at part one.
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You'll hear people talking in eight different situations.
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For questions 1 to 8, choose the best answer A, B or C.
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1. You overhear a woman talking to her husband on a mobile phone.
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What's the background to the conversation?
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A. The family's holiday may have to be cancelled.
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B. The woman wants to buy their son a computer.
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C. Their son has schoolwork to complete before the start of term.
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Listen, about Jimmy's school project.
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I spoke to the computer department at work about borrowing a laptop, and apparently they're only supposed to give them out to people on company business.
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So I guess Jimmy will just have to write it all out by hand and type it out when we get back.
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That'll only give him two days, but what can we do?
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I know he's been at home all summer, but that's Jimmy for you, and he's only 12.
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I just wish his school was a bit more understanding about people's holiday arrangements.
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Listen, about Jimmy's school project, I spoke to the computer department at work about borrowing a laptop
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and apparently they're only supposed to give them out to people on company business.
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So I guess Jimmy will just have to write it all out by hand and type it out when we get back.
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That'll only give him two days, but what can we do?
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I know he's been at home all summer but that's Jimmy for you and he's only twelve.
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I just wish his school was a bit more understanding about people's holiday arrangements.
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2. You hear a phone-in programme on the radio.
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Why has the man phoned?
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a.
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To complain about the traffic scheme b.
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To express his support for the traffic scheme.
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c.
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To question the aims of the traffic scheme.
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Go ahead, Paul.
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I'm listening.
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Well, I'm fed up with listening to all your callers moaning on about the new traffic scheme.
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I mean, that woman who said it took 50 minutes to cross the city by car instead of her usual 30.
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Poor thing!
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Why didn't she leave the car at home and use the bus service instead?
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Anyway, the aim of the new scheme isn't to make car journeys quicker.
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It's for shoppers and pedestrians and cyclists and bus passengers, and it's working.
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I recommend everyone to have a walk in the city centre and see for themselves.
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That's all I wanted to say.
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Go ahead, Paul.
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I'm listening.
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Well, I'm fed up with listening to all your callers moaning on about the new traffic scheme.
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I mean, that woman who said it took 50 minutes to cross the city by car instead of her usual 30.
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Poor thing!
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Why didn't she leave the car at home and use the bus service instead?
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Anyway, the aim of the new scheme isn't to make car journeys quicker.
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It's for shoppers and pedestrians and cyclists and bus passengers, and it's working!
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I recommend everyone to have a walk in the city centre and see for themselves.
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That's all I wanted to say.
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3. On the radio, you hear a woman talking about her house.
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What has she recently done?
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A. Decided to move to another area.
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B. Solved a problem that she had.
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C. Made improvements to her house.
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I do sometimes think about moving.
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I can't deny it.
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But when you've lived in a house for as long as I have, you learn to accept its drawbacks, and you stop always trying to change things.
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Here, the garden is a bit big for me to cope with as I would like, but now I've got someone who comes in once a week to help me out,
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and things have definitely improved.
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So I think I'll be staying put for just a little bit longer.
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I do sometimes think about moving, I can't deny it.
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But when you've lived in a house for as long as I have, you learn to accept its drawbacks, and you stop always trying to change things.
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Here, the garden is a bit big for me to cope with as I would like, but now I've got someone who comes in once a week to help me out,
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and things have definitely improved.
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so I think I'll be staying put for just a little bit longer.
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4. You overhear two people discussing a friend.
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What language does their friend usually speak at home?
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A. French B.
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English C.
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Italian I had dinner at Mark's house last night.
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His father made a delicious Italian dessert.
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Oh yes, his parents are Italian, aren't they?
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I keep forgetting that because Mark's English is so good.
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Of course it is.
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He was born in Texas.
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And his mother's not Italian.
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She's French.
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That's what they all speak to each other.
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Though they used English when I was there.
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Mark has to go to classes on Saturdays to learn to read and write Italian.
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To hear him speak on the phone to his grandmother in Rome, you'd think it was his first language.
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I had dinner at Mark's house last night.
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His father made a delicious Italian dessert.
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Oh yes, his parents are Italian, aren't they?
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I keep forgetting that because Mark's English is so good.
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Of course it is.
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He was born in Texas.
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And his mother's not Italian, she's French.
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That's what they all speak to each other, though they used English when I was there.
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Mark has to go to classes on Saturdays to learn to read and write Italian.
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To hear him speak on the phone to his grandmother in Rome, you'd think it was his first language.
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5. You hear a man talking about an activity holiday he went on as a child with his family.
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How did he feel during the holiday?
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A. Bored by the climbing.
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B. Upset with his father.
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C. Disappointed with the rowing boat.
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As a child, all our holidays were in Scotland because my father was very keen on climbing, and he insisted we went climbing every day.
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One day, the weather stopped us going climbing, much to my relief, so we hired a rowing boat on the lake.
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My father complained it was uncomfortable and slow.
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He preferred motorboats, but I sat there and thought, this feels good, even though the boat was old and creaky.
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After that, I just got the bug really and I've been rowing ever since.
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And the boats now are better than that first one in Scotland.
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As a child, all our holidays were in Scotland because my father was very keen on climbing.
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And he insisted we went climbing every day.
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One day, the weather stopped us going climbing, much to my relief, so we hired a rowing boat on the lake.
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My father complained it was uncomfortable and slow.
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He preferred motorboats, but I sat there and thought, this feels good, even though the boat was old and creaky.
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After that, I just got the bug, really, and I've been rowing ever since, and the boats now are better than that first one in Scotland.
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6. You hear the beginning of a radio programme.
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What's the programme going to be about?
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A. Child development.
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B. The environment.
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C. A form of entertainment.
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As any parent or child carer knows, it's pointless buying drums or expensive instruments for small children.
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Give them a wooden spoon, a saucepan lid and a cardboard box and they'll happily bang away for hours.
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So you could say that the group named Thump are simply having their second childhood.
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Just over seven years ago, this small band of street performers from the north of England
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decided to turn their routine with metal rubbish bins and bicycle chains into a stage show.
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They now have five separate groups working nightly across the country
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and are just about to begin their first tour of the USA.
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As any parent or child carer knows, it's pointless buying drums or expensive instruments for small children.
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Give them a wooden spoon, a saucepan lid and a cardboard box and they'll happily bang away for hours.
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So you could say that the group named Thump are simply having their second childhood.
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Just over seven years ago, this small band of street performers from the north of England decided to turn their routine with metal rubbish bins
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and bicycle chains into a stage show.
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They now have five separate groups working nightly across the country
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and are just about to begin their first tour of the USA.
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Seven.
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You hear a man being interviewed about a new project he has set up.
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What's the purpose of the project a to help people find
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accommodation in scotland b to tell people where to stay in
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australia c to advise people how to set up a flat
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agency mark this new project you've got this uh flat agency has this arisen from your own experience
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or what uh both from bitter personal experience of having to find somewhere to live in Edinburgh over the last few years,
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crossing the city from one corner to the next and turning up at hundreds of places which weren't suitable.
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And also it was taken from an idea in Australia where a similar service was set up,
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and I thought, well, let's try and take out some of the misery of trying to find a flat here in Scotland.
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Mark, this new project you've got, this flat agency, has this arisen from your own experience or what?
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Both from bitter personal experience of having to find somewhere to live in Edinburgh over the last few years,
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crossing the city from one corner to the next and turning up at hundreds of places which weren't suitable.
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And also, it was taken from an idea in Australia where a similar service was set up.
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and I thought, well, let's try and take out some of the misery of trying to find a flat here in Scotland.
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8. You switch on the radio in the middle of a programme.
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What kind of programme is it?
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A. An arts review.
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B. An interview.
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C. A quiz show.
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And now, Mr Harmon, what I want to ask you is in which of Shakespeare's plays does the character Queen Titania appear?
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Let me think for a moment.
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Well, it was one of the comedies.
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I believe she was a fairy.
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I can tell you that it was performed at the Regent Theatre last year starring Evelyn Thomas and had excellent reviews.
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I don't remember that.
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Now, is it Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare?
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Indeed it is.
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And now, Mr Harmon, what I want to ask you is in which of Shakespeare's plays does the character Queen Titania appear?
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Let me think for a moment.
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Well, it was one of the comedies.
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I believe she was a fairy.
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I can tell you that it was performed at the Regent Theatre last year starring Evelyn Thomas and had excellent reviews.
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I don't remember that.
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Now, is it Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare?
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Indeed it is.
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That's the end of part one.

Perché questo video è ottimo per la pratica di conversazione in inglese

Questo clip del test di ascolto FCE è un materiale eccezionale per imparare l'inglese con i video, grazie alla sua natura realistica e alle situazioni quotidiane. Le conversazioni sono spontanee, con tono e intonazione autentici, simili a quelle che si incontrano nella vita reale. Questo lo rende perfetto per esercitarsi non solo nell'ascolto, ma anche nella riproduzione accurata del linguaggio parlato, fondamentale per la pratica di conversazione in inglese.

Analizziamo le frasi chiave

Ecco alcuni esempi di frasi naturali e il motivo per cui funzionano:

  • "I just wish his school was a bit more understanding about people's holiday arrangements": L'uso di "I wish" per esprimere un desiderio non soddisfatto è tipico del linguaggio colloquiale. La struttura "a bit more understanding" è semplice ma efficace, mostrando come modificare un aggettivo per esprimere un grado maggiore.
  • "Why didn't she leave the car at home and use the bus service instead?": La domanda retorica con "Why didn't" è una strategia comune per esprimere disappunto o suggerimenti. L'uso di "instead" alla fine della frase aggiunge chiarezza, mostrando come connettere due alternative.
  • "I'm fed up with listening to all your callers moaning on about the new traffic scheme": "Fed up with" e "moaning on about" sono espressioni idiomatiche che rendono il discorso più naturale. Queste frasi non sono formali, ma rappresentano come le persone parlano veramente, un aspetto cruciale per imparare l'inglese con i video.

Una routine di pratica: shadow speech

Per sfruttare al massimo questo video, prova la tecnica del shadow speech (o "shadow speak"): ascolta una frase, metti in pausa e ripetila immediatamente, cercando di imitare l'intonazione, la velocità e l'accento. Ripeti il processo per ogni parte del dialogo, poi registra la tua versione e confrontala con l'originale. Concentrati su dettagli come la pronuncia di "laptop" o "traffic scheme", e sulla pausa tra le frasi. Fare questo per 10-15 minuti al giorno migliorerà notevolmente la tua fluidità e la tua capacità di imitare il linguaggio naturale. Ricorda: la chiave è la ripetizione costante, perché il shadowing aiuta a creare abitudini nel cervello per il parlato inglese.

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.

Tecnica dello shadowing: leggi la guida completa passo dopo passo →