Pratica di Shadowing: Things I refuse to upgrade even though I can afford to! - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

Creazione lezione...
1
I think we're conditioned to believe that as we make more money, our lifestyle should upgrade with it too.
2
So we splurge a bit more on our trips, the clothes, the weekends, and before we know it,
3
we need to keep making more just to maintain the life that we've upgraded into.
4
I grew up in a household where the art was in the savings.
5
The art is in the spending too, but that's for another video.
6
Getting a good deal was almost more exciting than buying the thing itself.
7
We didn't replace something just because we could afford to, but we replaced it when the old one had finally given up on us.
8
And I think that mindset has protected me from lifestyle inflation.
9
Even when I started making more money, I never felt like everything else in my life had to become more expensive too.
10
I'm not saying that I never upgrade anything, but for me an upgrade has to genuinely make my life better.
11
Not just give me something newer.
12
Today I wanted to share with you the things
13
that I refuse to upgrade even though I could probably afford to
14
and maybe I can convince you that upgrades are not always necessary.
15
I have a Samsung phone and I've had this for about five years now.
16
There's actually a little bit of a scratch on the front camera and it makes the photos a little bit blurry.
17
But the reason why I don't upgrade my phone is because I can't believe how expensive phones are nowadays.
18
And I know this thing is like not just a phone and it's an all-in-one device, but I still cannot justify paying for that price.
19
Honestly, I think I would be very anxious about dropping it or losing it somewhere because it is so expensive.
20
With technology, I'm always going to stick with one rule that has probably saved me so much money.
21
If it still does what it needs to do, I'm going to keep it.
22
Or at least try to remedy it with parts instead of
23
buying the whole new thing like buying a monitor from my ancient laptop
24
and fingers crossed that they last as long as they can.
25
I recently went on Reformation.
26
It is a clothing website that I used to shop from all the time.
27
And I guess I haven't been on there in a very long time because I was genuinely shocked at the prices.
28
I think it was like $300 for a dress or $100 for a t-shirt and it wasn't even made with good materials.
29
When I was in my 20s, I actually cared about the brand and the lifestyle that the brand was trying to sell us.
30
But now, I really would not pay extra for that.
31
I just care about the actual item.
32
If we're in the position to upgrade the pieces that we buy, I think it's definitely worth upgrading in pieces, better materials, and craftsmanship.
33
But not just because it is more expensive designer or brand.
34
Some of the best quality pieces in my closet are secondhand for a fraction of the cost.
35
And the true upgrade has been how I feel in my quality pieces.
36
We bought this house about a year and a half ago already.
37
And we bought it with the furniture from the previous owners.
38
Now, is it completely my style?
39
Probably not.
40
But we were just grateful that they were giving us an amazing deal.
41
And it really helped us to get started with our life here in Portugal.
42
And I don't know about you guys, but I feel like my style is constantly changing.
43
So I can't really imagine spending a fortune on like furniture
44
and decorations and stuff and keep changing it as my style evolves.
45
I actually think that the best splurges are the small things like bed sheets and pillows and towels,
46
things you can touch and use every single day because you're buying them for your own experience.
47
I thought that I would get fussier the older I got about the logistics of traveling.
48
Like how I got there, where I stay, and so on.
49
But I feel like it's the opposite and I feel like I've gotten more chill.
50
We've done so many road trips with our dogs and there's been plenty of nights where we just sleep in the car.
51
And actually one of my favorite things to do when I'm traveling is just to go explore the city and walk around, pop into a local market.
52
And that really does not cost that much.
53
I realized that if I can cut back on the logistics of traveling, like baggage fees and seat upgrades, resort fees and hotel breakfast,
54
I can travel more often and focus on the actual experience of discovering your places.
55
I think the biggest illusion of our modern world is that if we pay for convenience, then we're going to have more time to do whatever we want to do.
56
And of course there are seasons when paying for convenience is absolutely worth it.
57
And it actually comes to mind my friend who pays for a gym membership where they offer babysitting.
58
And I can imagine how much that would be worth it because it just gives her a little bit of a breather.
59
But for me, as I earn more income, I don't want to pay for convenience just because it's the default,
60
like getting Uber Eats instead of cooking and paying for an app or service just because I don't want to do it.
61
Not only does this really add up at the end of the month, but I feel like we have to keep working now to really kind of keep up this lifestyle.
62
And then it just becomes like the chicken or the egg situation.
63
In the bigger picture, I feel like we're forgetting that washing dishes
64
or doing the laundry and cooking and all the chores that we're trying to skip is life.
65
And it makes me wonder if we're outsourcing more and more of our lives to somebody else, then what are we doing with our free time?
66
When I first got this camera, I had about 50 tabs open researching about all the different attachments
67
and apps and all the accessories that I needed for this camera.
68
Ironically, all this researching was just getting in the way of me going out there and making videos.
69
And it always starts innocently.
70
We decide on a new hobby and buy whatever is necessary.
71
But then we're introduced to an entire world of equipment that would make it a bit better.
72
And once we get better, there's always the pro version that we can upgrade into.
73
I think it's really cool to set goals to justify the upgrade.
74
Like when I reach a certain milestone, I got this new camera and I absolutely love it.
75
But I feel like we shouldn't miss the whole point of having hobbies, which is to have fun and to be expressive not another thing that we have to purchase.
76
Something that I truly do not care about is upgrading my career or status within my career.
77
It's a really interesting thing being a YouTuber because everything is measured.
78
I feel like there's always a number telling you whether you're doing good or whether you're falling behind.
79
In the beginning, I had a video go viral and it reached a million views.
80
And I remember feeling so excited.
81
I was so grateful.
82
But from that moment on, my expectation was so high that if another video didn't do as well,
83
I feel like I was so disappointed and I was so hard on myself.
84
And I eventually learned that you cannot get so wrapped up in these numbers.
85
Whether it's good or bad, it really does not determine what kind of creator I am or how good the video is.
86
And it could be just by chance.
87
And to wrap your whole identity around that is such a losing game.
88
I also know that every growth asks for something in return.
89
Whether it cuts into family time, more time at the computer, or mental health.
90
And it's worth asking, is the trade-off really worth it.
91
I love what I do, but I love my life more and I don't want to give
92
so much to my work that I have less time to enjoy the life it was supposed to help me build.
93
I grew up in a household where we really didn't celebrate anything like holidays and birthdays.
94
When I got married, I put that pressure on myself.
95
I was like, we are going to celebrate big no matter what it is.
96
But then of course I felt like I had to outdo myself
97
and every single year there was this pressure to go even bigger and do something better, make it memorable.
98
I remember just feeling so stressed out weeks in advance and I couldn't even enjoy the moment.
99
It took me a while to realize that going big isn't always better.
100
It really does not matter the place, the food, or how much money you put into it,
101
what really matters is who you're celebrating with.
102
I have no interest in upgrading myself.
103
And that does not mean that I don't want to grow as a person.
104
Of course I do.
105
But what I mean is that I don't want to live my every day thinking that I'm not good enough.
106
In my 20s, I feel like I was constantly trying to improve myself.
107
I wanted to fix my acne and I wanted to be more toned, I wanted to be more disciplined and have a better routine.
108
And really the list went on and on and on.
109
But in my 30s, I have this inner peace knowing
110
that things are always happening the way that is supposed to happen for me.
111
And you know, as weird as it sounds, I know I'm not perfect and I'm really happy because it means
112
that better things are coming and there are more lessons to learn.
113
And I'm really happy to be just on that journey.
114
I'm not saying that we should never upgrade our lives, but we should definitely be careful on what we choose to upgrade because money, yes, of course it gives us freedom,
115
but we still get to choose what we do with that freedom.
116
So I would love to know in the comments what you think is worth upgrading in your life
117
and what you would keep the same.

Vocabolario e note di pronuncia per questa lezione

Questa lezione di conversazione di livello B2 si basa sul video “Things I refuse to upgrade even though I can afford to!”. Questo video contiene 117 frasi e 1774 parole da ripetere con lo shadowing. Il parlato dura 10:24. Chi parla ha un ritmo naturale di circa 171 parole al minuto, vicino a una conversazione quotidiana. Il 84% delle parole rientra nelle 3.000 più comuni dell’inglese; conviene studiare le altre prima di iniziare.

Vocaboli chiave di questo video

Le 15 parole più avanzate del video, con pronuncia e significato:

ParolaPronunciaSignificato
convenience sostantivo/kənˈvinjəns/conveniente
logistics sostantivo/ləˈd͡ʒɪstɪks/logistica
hobby sostantivo/ˈhɑ.bi/hobby, passatempo
genuinely avverbio/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/veramente, genuinamente
justify verbo/ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/giustificare
wrap verbo/ɹæp/avvolgere, avviluppare
babysit verbo/ˈbeɪ.bi.sɪt/fare da babysitter
blurry aggettivo/ˈblɜːɹi/sfocato
excite verbo/ɪkˈsaɪt/stimolare, eccitare
expressive aggettivo/ɪkˈspɹɛsɪv/espressivo
innocently avverbio/ˈɪnəsəntli/innocentemente
outsourcing sostantivo/ˈaʊtˌsɔː(ɹ).sɪŋ/outsourcing, esternalizzazione
secondhand aggettivo/ˌsɛk(ə)n(d)ˈhænd/di seconda mano
accessory sostantivo/əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/accessorio
acne sostantivo/ˈækni/acne

I phrasal verb che sentirai

ParolaSignificato
go out verbouscire, andare fuori
keep up verbomantenere, conservare
stress out verbostressare

La grammatica di questo video

Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:

StrutturaNel video
Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adessowe've upgraded · has protected · has probably saved
Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo fawasn't even made · is measured
Frasi relative who / which + frase — un’informazione in più su una persona o una cosafriend who pays · hobbies, which is

Pronuncia a cui fare attenzione

Chi parla usa 41 contrazioni e forme ridotte, come I'm, don't, we're. Pronunciale nella forma breve, così come le senti.

  • I suoni “sh” e “zh”: craftsmanship /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/, fraction /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
  • Parole lunghe — attenzione all’accento: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, innocently /ˈɪnəsəntli/, accessory /əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/, ironically /aɪˈɹɑnɪkli/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/

I suoni difficili per chi parla italiano:

  • /h/ — va soffiata, non è muta: hobby /ˈhɑ.bi/, secondhand /ˌsɛk(ə)n(d)ˈhænd/
  • Consonante finale — senza aggiungere una vocale dopo: convenience /kənˈvinjəns/, splurge /splɝd͡ʒ/, logistics /ləˈd͡ʒɪstɪks/, wrap /ɹæp/, babysit /ˈbeɪ.bi.sɪt/
  • /æ/ — più aperta della “e”: wrap /ɹæp/, craftsmanship /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/, secondhand /ˌsɛk(ə)n(d)ˈhænd/, acne /ˈækni/, attachment /əˈtæt͡ʃmənt/

Come esercitarsi con questo video

  1. Ascolta tutto il video una volta senza parlare e annota le parole che non conosci.
  2. Inizia a velocità 0,75×, fai shadowing frase per frase e torna alla velocità normale quando diventa facile.
  3. Registrati e confronta con l’originale, facendo attenzione a parole come convenience, logistics, hobby.

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 →