シャドーイング練習: B2 English Conversation: Why Can't We Relax? - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

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1
Hey everybody, welcome back to High Level Listening.
2
We've got another B2 and C1 Level English video for you today,
3
where we're going to really try to test your listening skills and help you push through into that higher level English.
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Today we're talking about something that can make even your free time feel strangely stressful.
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It's kind of that pressure to always be productive.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Does this ever sound like you?
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Imagine you've finished work, you've answered all your emails, and you've done everything that you actually needed to do.
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But then, sitting on the sofa or relaxing for an hour somehow starts to make you feel guilty.
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Like maybe there's a little voice in your head saying you should be exercising, you should be learning something,
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or cleaning the house, or finally tackling one of the million things on your to -do list.
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I feel like that's my entire generation for sure.
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So and that's what's interesting about today's B2 and C1 discussion because that's what it's going to be about today.
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So being productive is obviously useful.
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Setting goals and improving yourself can be very positive things.
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But when does being disciplined turned into putting yourself under this constant pressure that you can't even take a moment to relax.
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Yeah, so today we're going deeper into that very question.
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Has being busy become a kind of status symbol?
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Has self -improvement turned into another form of work?
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And have we become so uncomfortable with doing nothing that we've forgotten how to properly switch off?
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Absolutely.
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And this lesson is really going to challenge your listening and vocabulary skills in that higher level English.
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And if you want to improve your English and get better at expressing your own opinions, kind of on deeper topics like this,
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come check out our B2 and C1 active discussion pack.
25
We've kind of revamped some of the worksheets to kind of make them a little bit more easily digestible and practical.
26
So you'll get these guided speaking exercises, vocabulary lists, full transcripts, of course, if you want to follow along,
27
and the MP3s that you can help you turn your passive English into more active speaking.
28
So you'll find the link in the description and the pinned comment below.
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Okay, so let's start with something that I've definitely noticed.
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People almost seem to, I don't know, take pride in how busy they are.
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You ask someone how they've been, and instead of simply saying good, they'll say, oh my gosh, I've been absolutely slammed, or it's been nonstop lately.
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And sure, sometimes life genuinely is hectic, but I think we've gradually developed this mindset where being constantly busy is somehow a measure of success.
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The more commitments you have, the more important you appear to be.
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If your schedule is packed and people are constantly demanding your time and attention,
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it can give you this sense of purpose and make you feel indispensable.
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However, on the flip side, if you've had a relatively quiet week with hardly anything going on,
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you might actually feel a little embarrassed to admit it as though you're not being productive enough.
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There's kind of this underlying pressure to constantly have something on your plate.
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And I think we've reached a point where slowing down is almost mistaken for sort of a lack of ambition.
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Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
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Although I wonder if some of it is simply
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because being busy often indicates that you are engaged with your life or like you said, kind of important.
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Having responsibilities that matter can also give your days a sense of structure.
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But also if you've got work projects, hobbies, friends, family commitments, and plans for the weekend, naturally you're going to have a fairly full schedule.
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And I don't think having a busy life is inherently problematic
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because there are people who genuinely thrive on having a lot going on.
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Absolutely.
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And I'm not suggesting everyone should just clear their calendar and spend their days staring at the wall.
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I think the real issue is
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when being constantly busy becomes a reflection kind of of your self -worth rather than simply a description of your schedule.
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And I'll be one of the first to admit that I've fallen into that mindset myself sometimes.
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I'll have an unexpected hour to spare and my immediate instinct is to think, okay, what can I knock off my to -do list?
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Rather than actually just embracing the opportunity to slow down, it's almost as though we've conditioned ourselves to believe
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that every single spare moment means to be productive and that any time spent doing absolutely nothing is somehow time wasted, right?
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Laying in bed, scrolling through your phone, etc. What's particularly frustrating for me is that even when we do carve out some much needed downtime,
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there really is still this lingering sense of guilt that we should be doing something more worthwhile, right?
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It's as if we become so preoccupied with making the most of our time that we've forgotten how to actually enjoy it.
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Yeah, for sure.
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And then technology has exacerbated that a little as well.
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I remember growing up, there used to be little gaps in the day where you just couldn't accomplish things.
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Maybe you just waiting for a bus, you're standing in a queue, or you're sitting in a waiting room.
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But now in those same scenarios, you can answer emails, you can organize your calendar, or you could listen to an educational podcast,
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or deal with some life admin on your phone.
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There's no dead time anymore, provided that you have a phone or smart device and the internet.
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And I suppose to technology's credit, that can be genuinely useful.
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If I answer three emails while waiting 20 minutes for the bus, maybe I freed up 20 minutes later.
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It's true.
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Absolutely.
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And answering a few emails while you're waiting for an appointment definitely seems productive, at least on the surface level.
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But are we really gaining anything
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if we feel compelled to fill every spare moment with a brand new task
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or another task that we need to finish, right?
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I think that's where technology has actually made things worse.
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We've become so accustomed to being constantly connected that even five minutes of doing absolutely nothing can feel like a missed opportunity.
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And the irony is, despite having all these tools designed to save us time,
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I don't think we're necessarily any less overwhelmed or we're saving ourselves any real amount of time.
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If anything, we just keep piling more onto our plates.
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So while I can appreciate the convenience, right, I do wonder whether all this efficiency is genuinely making our lives easier
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or whether it's just raising our expectations of how much we should be accomplishing.
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Yeah, right.
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That's painfully true.
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And perhaps there's difference between being efficient and being genuinely productive.
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You can become incredibly efficient at completing tasks without questioning whether all those tasks actually needed to be done
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so urgently or so immediately.
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And there's a temptation to judge a good day by how many boxes you've ticked.
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So you answer messages, you reorganize something or clear your inbox and deal with lots of small jobs, if you're constantly doing something,
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that doesn't necessarily mean you're moving towards anything genuinely important.
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And think of all the busy work that we had to do at school.
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You know, if you finished your task quite early, your teacher would give you something useless to do just to keep you busy
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and keep you occupied while the other students did something, right?
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So I think part of the appeal of those smaller tasks is that they give us this instant sense of accomplishment,
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a quick dopamine hit, tackling something more demanding
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that requires a couple of hours of uninterrupted concentration might actually be far more worthwhile.
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But ticking five easy things off your to -do list gives you that immediate satisfaction.
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And it's almost as though, we've become conditioned to prioritize these quick wins over the meaningful progress.
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And that's where I think busyness can become a distraction in and of itself.
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We get so caught up in the satisfaction of getting things done
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that we don't necessarily stop to question whether those things are actually worth our time and energy.
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Yeah, I agree.
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Although ordinary life does contain lots of boring jobs that genuinely still need doing, like bills,
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laundry, going to doctors or dentist appointments and things like shopping aren't meaningless just because they aren't exciting or advance your career.
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So perhaps there's another trap there, putting pressure on ourselves to make everything we do feel really significant.
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Not every Tuesday afternoon has to move you closer to life's purpose.
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I think sometimes you just have to get through the washing.
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Okay, let's move on to the second part of today's discussion.
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Has self -improvement turned into another form of work?
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These days, it feels like modern self -improvement is more demanding and more engrossing than ever.
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So work is not the only area where we're encouraged to perform better anymore.
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We're also supposed to optimize everything outside of work too.
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So you shouldn't just exercise, you should have a training plan and track your progress.
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You shouldn't just take a nap.
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You should monitor your sleep, count how many steps you take or your screen time, your habits, your reading.
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Suddenly, all of our lives, even the relaxing parts, have metrics.
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attached to them.
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We're maxing everything, right?
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Looks maxing, we're protein maxing, fiber maxing, sleep maxing, everything we do.
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Now we have to do it all and there's no excuse for not doing it perfectly.
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So it's understandable why some people think this whole approach is exhausting.
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Well, yeah, and that's definitely where I have some mixed feelings because I'm actually a big believer in setting goals.
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Whether you're trying to get stronger, put some money aside, or become more fluent in another language,
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being able to track your progress can be incredibly motivating, especially when your initial enthusiasm starts to wear off.
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But I do think there's a tipping point where this self -improvement stops feeling empowering
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and it starts feeling like another full -time responsibility.
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You can't just go for a walk and appreciate a beautiful evening anymore, you've got to hit a certain number of steps.
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Even activities that are supposed to be enjoyable can become yet another obligation, as though everything you do needs to contribute towards some bigger goal.
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I think about a lot of people who can't just sit down and draw a pretty picture.
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They have to think about how to monetize their art in the future or something like that.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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You can't do anything for the sake of doing it.
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and then the slightly absurd thing is
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that even relaxation can become something to optimize and you start meditating
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because you want to relax and then you might get annoyed with yourself
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because you're not relaxing efficiently enough and then social media probably intensifies
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that pressure because we're exposed to other people's routines whether they're real
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or not you might see someone on Instagram waking up at five, going to the gym, meal prepping,
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journaling, reading and running a business before you've even had a coffee.
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So it's easy to feel like you're failing and you're leaving
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so much on the table that even trying it is barely worth it because you'll never do it as good as that.
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I know, especially as a beginner, you start as a beginner and then you see everybody on the hard mode and you think,
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oh, I can do that.
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And you fail immediately.
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So it's It's just a lot of pressure overall.
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I think social media makes that pressure particularly difficult to escape.
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Even when you're completely aware that someone's showing you a carefully curated version of their life, it's really hard not to compare it to your own,
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which, I mean, is a much messier reality than what's curated on my phone on Instagram.
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That being said, I wouldn't go so far as to say self -improvement content is inherently harmful.
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I picked up some genuinely useful habits from people online.
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But when you're constantly bombarded with advice about how to optimize every aspect of your life,
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it can really leave you feeling like you're perpetually falling short.
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You're not getting up early enough.
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You're not working out consistently enough.
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You're not investing wisely enough or making the most of your free time.
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And at some point, all that supposedly helpful advice starts to feel like a never ending list of personal shortcomings.
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Yeah, right.
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And you're often comparing yourself to completely different people.
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Your fitness comes from one person and then your career expectations come from someone else
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and your finances from another influencer and your social life from another person entirely.
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But in your head, you then create one imaginary superhuman who does all of these things perfectly.
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And then you wonder why you can't keep up.
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That's such a good point.
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And I think that's that same mentality has started creeping into our hobbies too.
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You may take up baking or something because you find it relaxing.
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And before long, someone's telling you, oh, you should start selling these.
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I hear that all the time, right?
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If something is even remotely good, oh, you should start selling these.
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Maybe you develop a passion for photography and suddenly people are encouraging you to turn it into a business.
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All right.
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Monetize, monetize.
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You have to monetize everything.
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It's almost as though simply enjoying something isn't a good enough reason to keep doing it anymore.
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That's kind of this new sort of underlying expectation that if you've got a particular skill or a talent,
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you ought to be doing something productive with it.
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Preferably something that brings in a little extra cash.
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Right.
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Yes.
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And it is the easiest way to suck the fun out of a hobby is trying to monetize it.
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But yeah, as you said, we're in such a side hustle culture at the moment, it seems.
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I will say, though, turning something you love into an income stream can be life changing.
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There are people who have built successful careers from hobbies.
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And if you're doing something like that and you still genuinely enjoy it and you make something that people genuinely want.
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I don't think there's anything wrong with spotting that opportunity.
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And then a side hustle can also give you more financial independence
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or maybe even allow you to change jobs or leave a job that you dislike.
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It's not the dream, though.
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That's what we all dream of.
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And of course, I completely agree that turning a passion into a career could be incredibly rewarding.
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And for some people, it opens doors they never even imagined were possible.
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But I do think there's a downside to approaching every single hobby as a potential business opportunity.
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The moment you start worrying about customers, deadlines, or whether something is profitable, your relationship with that activity can fundamentally change.
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And I think there's something really liberating about allowing yourself to be completely mediocre
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or horrible at something without feeling the need to improve it or justify it.
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You can paint terrible pictures that no one would ever buy.
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You can play tennis without having any competitive ambitions, or you can bake a cake simply because you feel like it.
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Not everything we do needs to produce a tangible result.
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Sometimes the enjoyment is more than enough.
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At least that's what I keep telling myself.
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Right.
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Yes.
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No, I agree.
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I like that idea.
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And perhaps that's what gets lost when you're permanently focused on improvement improvement always implies
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that the current version could be better and
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that mindset can push you forward but living in it constantly can be exhausting
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and very demotivating
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because you never really arrive as soon as one habit becomes established there's another area to work on
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so it's like climbing a mountain without stopping to enjoy the
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view on the way up where the mountain keeps growing higher
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and higher and higher
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so i know i i do think that's what makes the whole self -improvement mindset
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so exhausting you finally achieve something you've been working towards
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and rather than taking a moment to appreciate it you're already setting your sights on the next milestone
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or what normally happens to me is i get about 90 of the way done
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and i already i quit that project to think about my next project
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but you did yeah and you know there's always this supposedly better version of yourself
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but it's just out of reach okay it's
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that someone is more disciplined they're more successful
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and somehow has every aspect of their life figured out
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and that's who you want to be that's who you're shooting for
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but I think we need to distinguish between genuinely wanting to grow
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and constantly feeling dissatisfied with who we currently are you can
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work towards becoming stronger without being overly critical of your body as it is right now
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You can pursue a better career without dismissing everything you've already accomplished.
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And you can strive to become more fluent in a new language while still recognizing just how far you've already come.
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Those things aren't mutually exclusive.
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Yeah, I agree.
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Although maybe a certain amount, a small amount of dissatisfaction can be useful.
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Ambition often begins by recognizing a gap between where you are
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and where you would like to be if you were completely satisfied with everything, perhaps we'd never challenge ourselves or grow.
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Yeah, that's fair.
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And I wouldn't want to suggest that feeling dissatisfied is always a bad thing.
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Having ambitions and setting goals can definitely give you a sense of direction, but that doesn't mean every aspect of your life needs to be measured,
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evaluated, or turned into another personal performance review.
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Okay, so there you have it.
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The pressure to be productive goes much deeper than simply having a busy schedule.
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We've talked about busyness, efficiency, self -improvement, comparison, side hustles, all kinds of different things in today's discussion.
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And we'd love to hear what you think.
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Do you feel guilty when you're not being productive?
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Do you think self -improvement has gone a little too far?
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And are you comfortable doing absolutely nothing sometimes?
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Let us know in the comments and try using some of today's B2 and C1 vocabulary to explain your opinion.
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And if you want to take discussions like this from passive listening to active speaking, check out our B2 and C1 Active Discussion Pack.
243
You'll get guided speaking exercises, vocabulary lists, full transcripts, and MP3s to help you build longer, more confident answers in English.
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You'll find the link in the description and in the pinned comment below.
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If you enjoyed today's discussion, don't forget to like the video, subscribe, and keep practicing your English with us here at High Level Listening.
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Thank you very much for watching.
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We'll see you very soon for another video here on High Level Listening.
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Bye -bye.

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このレッスンの語彙とスピーキングのポイント

このスピーキングレッスンは、動画「B2 English Conversation: Why Can't We Relax?」を教材にしています。 この動画には、シャドーイング用の文が248文、単語が3205語あります。 音声の長さは19:33です。 話す速さは1分あたり約164語で、日常会話に近い自然なペースです。 単語の84%は英語の頻出3,000語に含まれます。残りは練習の前に確認しておきましょう。

この動画の重要語彙

動画に出てくる覚えておきたい単語15語を、発音と意味つきで紹介します。

単語発音意味
productive 形容詞/pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/生産的
relax 動詞/ɹɪˈlæks/くつろがせる
hobby 名詞/ˈhɑ.bi/趣味
ambition 名詞/æmˈbɪʃ.ən/野望, 野心
mindset 名詞/ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/考え方, 心理
vocabulary 名詞/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/語彙, 語彙力
aspect 名詞/ˈæspɛkt/様相
habit 名詞/ˈhæb.ɪt/習慣
expectation 名詞/ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/期待, 予想
exhaust 動詞/ɪɡˈzɔst/使い尽くす, 尽くす
compare 動詞/kəmˈpɛɚ/比べる, 比較する
encourage 動詞/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/勇気付ける, 奨励する
passion 名詞/ˈpæʃən/激情
efficiency 名詞/ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/効率性, 効率
calendar 名詞/ˈkæl.ən.də/暦, カレンダー

動画に出てくる句動詞

単語意味
check out 動詞試験する, 検査する
slow down 動詞遅らせる
get up 動詞起きる
grow up 動詞成長する, 大人に成る
pick up 動詞拾う, 拾い上げる
sit down 動詞座る, 腰掛ける
switch off 動詞消す, 切る
wear off 動詞消える

繰り返し練習したい文

動画に出てくる短く完結した文です。日常会話でそのまま使えます。

  • Does this ever sound like you?
  • I feel like that's my entire generation for sure.
  • You shouldn't just take a nap.
  • You're not getting up early enough.
  • Do you feel guilty when you're not being productive?

この動画の文法

話し手がよく使っている文型を、動画の実際の表現とともに紹介します。

文型動画での表現
現在完了形 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去の出来事が今も関係しているyou've finished · have we become · I've definitely noticed
受動態 be + 過去分詞 — 誰がするかより、何が起きるかに焦点を当てるbeing disciplined · I've been absolutely slammed · being constantly connected
関係詞節 who / which + 節 — 人や物について情報を加えるpeople who genuinely · people who can · people who have

注意したい発音

話し手はyou're, you've, we'reなど、短縮形や弱形を97回使っています。聞こえたとおりの短い形で発音しましょう。

  • 「th」の音: worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/, enthusiasm /ɪnˈθuziæzəm/, thrive /θɹajv/
  • 「sh」と「zh」の音: ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/
  • 長い単語(アクセントの位置に注意): genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/

日本語話者が苦手な音:

  • /r/ と /l/ の区別 — /l/ は舌先を歯茎につけ、/r/ はどこにもつけない: relax /ɹɪˈlæks/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/
  • /v/ — /b/ にならないように、上の歯を下唇に当てる: productive /pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, passive /ˈpæs.ɪv/, arrive /əˈɹaɪv/, invest /ɪnˈvɛst/
  • /f/ — 「フ」ではなく、上の歯と下唇で出す: efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, fluent /ˈfluənt/, carefully /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/

この動画での練習方法

  1. まず声を出さずに動画を最後まで聞き、知らない単語をメモします。
  2. まず0.75倍速で一文ずつシャドーイングし、慣れてきたら通常の速度に戻します。
  3. 自分の声を録音して元の音声と比べます。productive, relax, hobbyなどの単語に特に注意しましょう。

シャドーイングとは?英語上達に効果的な理由

シャドーイング(Shadowing)は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的:ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影(shadow)」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。

シャドーイングのやり方: ステップ別の完全ガイドを読む →