Shadowing Practice: fiction_1_OxfordReader - Learn English Speaking with Video

When university administrators tried to quietly close an unflattering story about campus safety, the student newspaper's editors, most of them still undergraduates,

refused to simply drop the piece and publish something safer instead.

The Paker's small team of contributors had already spent weeks interviewing students, checking records, and drafting the article for its debut in that week's print edition.

One columnist argued publicly

that a student paper existing purely to make the university look good defeated the entire purpose of a free campus press.

University officials warned that publishing could affect the newspaper's funding and access to campus facilities,

a threat the editorial board treated as further confirmation that the story genuinely mattered.

After a tense faculty meeting, several professors publicly defended the student's right to publish.

The story ran as originally written, prompting the university to review its safety procedures within the month.

The episode became something of a local legend on campus, cited for years afterward whenever administrators

and student journalists disagreed about where the university's reputation ended and its responsibility to be transparent began.

When a small technology enterprise decided to publish every employee's exact salary internally and eventually on its public website,

many outside consultants warned the move would create resentment, awkward comparisons, and constant renegotiation.

The founders argued instead that secrecy around pay was itself the real source of unfairness,

since it let unconscious bias in raises and hiring go unexamined for years without anyone noticing the pattern.

They built a transparent formula based on role, experience, and location that any employee could check for themselves.

Early feedback from staff was mixed.

Some employees found the openness genuinely reassuring, confirming they were paid fairly compared with colleagues in similar roles,

while a handful found the total transparency uncomfortable and left the company within the first year.

Years later, the company's approach had attracted attention from other innovative employers experimenting with similar transparency, though most larger enterprises remained cautious,

still preferring the traditional discretion around individual pay that this smaller, unusually open company had deliberately chosen to abandon.

Every summer, Noah's family drove three hours to his grandmother's small cottage overlooking a quiet stretch of coastline,

a modest building with a low ceiling, a crooked chimney, and a garden that smelled permanently of salt and lavender.

There's my favorite grandson, she said, laughing, pulling him into a tight hug and kissing the top of his head the moment he stepped through the door,

even though he was, by that point, considerably taller than she was.

Dinner was always the same comforting routine.

A huge pot of soup, a bunch of wildflowers picked that morning sitting in a jam jar on the table,

and stories she had clearly told a hundred times before but somehow still made funny.

I'm just glad you're all here, she said quietly, pressing a hand to her chest.

Before bed, she always said the same thing, standing in the doorway with the porch light behind her.

Sleep well, and I'll see you all tomorrow.

Noah, half asleep already, always thought that of all the places in the world, her small seaside cottage remained, without question, his favorite.

Nobody in the house had actually planned to stay up watching the old comedy, but somehow it was almost midnight,

and every single one of them was still sitting on the sofa, thoroughly hooked despite work the next morning.

Oh my goodness, did he seriously just say that?

Maya said, laughing so hard she nearly fell off the cushion during one particularly ridiculous scene.

Her brother, half buried under a blanket, was already rewinding the clip to watch it a second time.

By the next day, the entire family kept quoting random lines from the film to each other, thrilled every time somebody else recognized the reference immediately.

You have got to be joking, became, for reasons nobody could fully explain, the household's default response to almost anything mildly surprising for the rest of the week.

Their mother eventually admitted defeat and pretended to be annoyed by the constant quoting, though she was, by her own admission, quietly delighted that a fairly forgettable old film had somehow,

fortunately, become one of their favorite shared family jokes.

Every Sunday, before anyone else in the house was properly awake, grandmother was already in the kitchen, humming quietly while she made toast and warmed a pot of tea.

It was a small ritual that had continued for as long as anyone in the family could remember, and nobody wanted it to change.

Dad usually came downstairs first, still in his sweater and slippers, and gave her a sleepy morning before reaching into the cupboard for the jam.

Mom followed a few minutes later, carrying a bowl of sliced banana for the children, who were rarely awake before the smell of toast reached their bedroom.

Aunt Rosa, who lived just around the corner, often knocked and let herself in with a cheerful, hello, anyone home?

She always brought something small, a newspaper, a bag of oranges, or once, memorably, a tray of biscuits she insisted needed to be eaten immediately.

By the time everyone had gathered around the table, the kitchen was warm and a little untidy, though grandmother always tidied it again before lunch.

She said a family didn't need much to be happy on a weekend morning, just tea, toast, and everyone sitting in the same small room together.

The boxes had arrived that morning, and by evening, the new flat still looked more like a warehouse than a home.

Maya stood in the empty bedroom, trying to decide where the bed should go, while her brother argued that the sofa belonged nearer the window downstairs.

The bathroom was the only room that felt finished.

Towels hung neatly on the rail, and a bar of soap sat in a dish beside the shower.

Everything else, from the kitchen covered to the hallway, was still full of unopened boxes and loose socks that nobody could find a home for.

We'll never get this tidy before Monday, Maya said, pulling a sweater over her head against the evening chill.

Her brother just grinned and pointed out that they had, technically, already unpacked the kettle, which he considered the only truly essential item in any new home.

They ate dinner sitting on the floor, plates balanced on their knees, and laughed about how strange it felt to eat without a table.

Tired but oddly pleased with themselves, they agreed the flat would look completely different by the weekend, once every box had finally found its place.

Daniel had rewritten the same essay paragraph four times and still wasn't satisfied with it.

His desk was covered in pencil shavings, half-finished notes, and a printer that had jammed twice already that evening, each time at the worst possible moment.

His sister knocked and asked, quite reasonably, whether he was planning to sleep at all before the exam.

Definitely, he said, though he obviously had no intention of stopping yet.

He was determined to finish revising the final section, even if it meant staying up later than he should.

By midnight, his eyes were tired and the paragraph on the screen had started to blur slightly.

He read it one more time, decided it was good enough, and finally closed the laptop, disappointed that he hadn't managed to write something more polished,

but proud that he had kept working anyway.

The next morning, walking into the exam hall with a pencil case and a bottle of water, Daniel felt calmer than he expected.

He wasn't sure the extra hour of revision had made much difference, but at least he could sit down knowing he had genuinely tried his best.

Every Saturday morning, Marcus met his uncle at the small golf course behind the old railway line.

Neither of them was particularly good at the game, but they enjoyed the walk between holes far more than the golf itself.

You're getting better, his uncle said, grinning, after Marcus finally hit a shot that actually went in the intended direction.

Marcus, a proud teenager who rarely admitted to enjoying anything his uncle suggested, allowed himself a small smile before pretending it had been easy all along.

Near the ninth hole, a group of younger boys ran past carrying a homemade banner for a nearby school sports day, shouting excitedly about a rugby match starting later that afternoon.

Marcus watched them for a moment, remembering how loud and confident he had felt as a kid on a sports field.

By the time they finished, both of them were sunburned, mildly disappointed by their scores, and completely certain they would come back again next Saturday.

His uncle always said the score barely mattered.

The walk and the conversation were the real reason he kept coming.

Priya arrived 20 minutes early for her first day, clutching an ID badge that still had the plastic film on it

and a small welcome kit someone from the office had left on her desk.

She read through the printed memo about fire exits three times, mostly out of nervousness.

Her manager explained that her salary would be paid monthly and

that there was usually a small bonus at the end of the year if the whole team met its targets.

Priya nodded, trying to look calm, while privately hoping she wouldn't forget everyone's name by lunchtime.

Meanwhile, a colleague named Femi showed her where to find the printer, the good mugs, and the drawer where somebody kept a stash of biscuits.

You'll be fine, he said kindly, noticing how carefully she was writing everything down.

Everyone forgets the printer code on their first day.

By the end of the afternoon, Priya had a signed contract, a receipt for her travel expenses, and a genuinely positive feeling about the job.

She still hadn't remembered everyone's name, but she felt for the first time that day that she might actually belong there.

Every summer, grandmother's small garden produced more carrots, onions, and tomatoes than she could reasonably use,

so she spent most weekends giving vegetables away to anyone who visited.

Neighbors joked that you could never leave her house empty-handed.

She grew a particular pride in her tomatoes, insisting that the secret ingredient was patience rather than any special fertilizer.

You can't rush a tomato, she would say, examining a leaf for signs of disease before deciding it was, in fact, perfectly healthy.

On Sundays, she made a rich sauce from whatever had ripened that week, adding a pepper or two if the tomatoes seemed a little bland,

and served it over pasta for anyone who happened to be visiting.

Her homemade jam, made from the garden's small fruit trees, disappeared even faster than the vegetables did.

When her grandchildren asked why she kept growing so much when she lived alone, she simply said that a garden this size wasn't really about feeding one person.

It was about having something worth sharing every time someone knocked on her door.

The small cafe on the corner had the same handwritten menu every day, though regulars knew that the tomato soup and the pepper omelet were really the only two things worth ordering.

100

The waiter, an unfailingly polite older man named Tobias, never seemed to write anything down.

101

Same as usual, he would ask, and most customers simply nodded, trusting that he remembered their order better than they did.

102

He always brought the receipt without being asked, folded neatly under the saucer, as though rushing anyone out the door would have been unthinkably rude.

103

On quiet weekday mornings, a discount of 10% applied to anyone drinking coffee before 9.

104

A small rule that Tobias had introduced himself and never bothered updating on the sign outside.

105

He said it was simply his way of thanking the customers who came in when the cafe was otherwise empty.

106

By midday, when the cafe filled with a mix of thirsty commuters and tired shoppers, Tobias moved between tables with a calm that nobody quite understood.

107

He always seemed pleased to see people, as though the small corner cafe was exactly where he wanted to be.

108

Rain had been falling since Friday night, and by Saturday afternoon, the whole family had given up on any outdoor plans for the weekend.

109

The children lay across the sofa, taking turns with a tablet, while their older brother searched, without much hope, for a DVD nobody had watched twice already.

110

There's nothing on TV, he complained, scrolling through the same list of channels for the third time that hour.

111

His sister, half asleep under a blanket, pointed out that he had said the exact same thing the previous weekend, and the one before that.

112

Their mother, feeling a little lazy herself, suggested they simply order food instead of cooking,

113

an idea that was met with immediate and enthusiastic agreement from everyone in the room.

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Nobody wanted to leave the sofa, and even fewer people wanted to tidy the kitchen afterwards.

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By evening, the rain still hadn't stopped, but the mood inside had improved considerably.

116

Wrapped in blankets with empty plates scattered around them, they agreed that a lazy, do-nothing weekend was occasionally exactly what the whole family needed.

117

For his 80th birthday, grandfather insisted that nobody make a big fuss, though the family had clearly ignored him completely.

118

By six o'clock, the house was full of cousins, neighbors, and a cake with far too many candles to count comfortably.

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Hi, we made it, Priya called out as she came through the door, hugging her cousin before he could even say hello properly.

120

Hey, is that grandfather's famous chocolate cake?

121

Yeah, someone answered, though mom says it's slightly burnt this year.

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Grandfather sat in his favorite chair near the window, looking a little overwhelmed but clearly delighted.

123

Oh, you didn't need to do all this, he said, though his wide smile suggested otherwise.

124

When his granddaughter sat down at the old piano and began playing his favorite tune, he stood up, took grandmother's hand, and the two of them started dancing slowly in front of everyone,

125

laughing at how stiff their knees had become.

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By 10 o'clock, guests were slowly saying their goodbyes.

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Bye, granddad.

128

Happy birthday.

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See you soon, dear, he replied to each one, hugging them at the door.

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Before the last guest left, someone insisted in taking a photo of the whole family together, candles still glowing faintly on the leftover cake behind them.

131

setting up tents for the weekend camping trip took longer than expected mostly

132

because nobody could remember whose job it was to bring the

133

mallet by the time the tents were finally standing the sun

134

had almost disappeared behind the trees just after dinner sam let out a sudden yell

135

that sent everyone running toward his tent there's a snake right

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there by the cooler he shouted pointing at a thin shape

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moving slowly through the grass one of the older guys in the group who had been camping for years, walked over calmly and explained it was a harmless grass snake,

138

more scared of them than they were of it.

139

Still, nobody wanted to admit how genuinely scared they had felt for those few seconds, and the story quickly became one everyone retold with increasing dramatic detail.

140

It was massive, Sam insisted the next morning, though photos from the night before showed a snake barely longer than a shoe.

141

By the time they packed up and left, the scary encounter had already turned into their favorite memory of the trip,

142

the kind of story that gets a little longer and funnier every single time somebody tells it, complete with laughter every time Sam reenacted his jump.

143

Maria had never tried skiing before, and standing at the top of the beginner slope,

144

she suddenly understood why so many people describe it as terrifying.

145

The instructor, a cheerful guy named Lars, promised her that everybody looked this nervous on their first morning.

146

Just point your skis like a piece of pizza, he said, demonstrating the shape with his own skis, while Maria tried, unsuccessfully, to copy him without falling over.

147

Her legs felt shaky, and every small movement seemed to send her sliding in a direction she hadn't chosen.

148

By midday, after what felt like a hundred falls, something finally clicked.

149

She managed an entire run down the gentle slope without stopping, arriving at the bottom slightly out of breath, but grinning from ear to ear.

150

Lars applauded from a distance, clearly pleased that his patience had paid off.

151

That evening, wrapped in a blanket with sore legs and a mug of hot chocolate, Maria admitted that skiing might actually become her new favorite winter activity,

152

assuming her legs ever recovered enough to try it again.

153

Every Sunday, Leo spent an hour cleaning his father's old motorcycle in the garage, even though it hadn't run properly in over a year.

154

His neighbor, an older guy who had once raced motorcycles himself, offered to help him fix the engine instead of just polishing it.

155

Together, they spent several weekends replacing worn parts, occasionally arguing gently about the right way to adjust the chain.

156

When the engine finally started, coughing loudly before settling into a steady rumble, Leo's whole street seemed to hear it.

157

Wow, you actually did it, his sister said, appearing at the window in surprise.

158

The first proper ride happened on a quiet Saturday morning, with Leo nervously finding a parking spot outside the old cafe where his father used to take him as a child.

159

He sat there for a moment, engine still running, feeling oddly emotional about a machine that was, after all, just metal and rubber.

160

His neighbor later admitted that fixing the motorcycle had given him just as much satisfaction as Leo,

161

since it reminded him of his own younger years spent riding across the countryside with far more confidence than sense.

162

For the fifth grade poetry assignment, Mrs. Ahmed asked every student to write a short poem about something they saw on their way to school.

163

Most children groaned, insisting they weren't the poem-writing type, though a few immediately reached for their pencils with excitement.

164

Tomás spent almost a quarter of an hour just staring at a blank page, unable to think of anything more interesting than the bus stop outside his house.

165

Eventually, he wrote about the pigeon that always sat on the same lamppost every morning, rain or shine, as though it owned the street.

166

When it was his turn to read aloud, he mumbled through it quickly, certain everyone would laugh.

167

Instead, his classmates asked him to summarize what had inspired it, genuinely curious about the pigeon he had apparently been secretly observing for months.

168

Mrs. Ahmed later mentioned that this small poetry unit would help prepare them for secondary school, where essays and creative writing assignments would only get longer and more demanding.

169

Tomás, surprising even himself, asked if they could write another poem the following week.

170

Every laundry day, at least one sock disappeared somewhere between the washing machine and the drawer, and nobody in the house could ever explain where they went.

171

Dana had long suspected the family dog, though she had no actual evidence beyond a vague feeling of suspicion.

172

One afternoon, cleaning behind the sofa, she finally found the answer.

173

A small collection of single socks, a hand towel, and even a shirt button, all hidden beneath a cushion the dog had clearly been using as a secret storage spot.

174

You've been stealing our socks this whole time, she asked the dog, who looked back with complete and shameless innocence.

175

Her brother laughed so hard he could barely speak when she showed him the hidden pile.

176

I genuinely thought I was losing my mind, he admitted, retrieving three of his own missing socks from the collection.

177

I can't buy any more socks until I know where they're actually going.

178

From then on, the dog's favorite hiding spot was checked weekly, though somehow, mysteriously, a sock or two still vanished every single month,

179

as if the dog had simply found a better hiding place.

180

The children had been counting down the days to the family vacation for what felt, to their parents, like several exhausting months.

181

Is it time yet? became a daily question, sometimes asked more than once before breakfast.

182

Finally, on Wednesday morning, their father announced they would leave at seven o'clock sharp, giving everyone exactly a quarter of an hour to load the last bags into the car.

183

You said that yesterday too, his daughter pointed out, unimpressed, as he searched frantically for the car keys he had, predictably misplaced again.

184

They found a parking spot near the hotel just before sunset, tired but relieved after a long drive.

185

Their room, conveniently located next to the pool, meant the children barely waited to unpack before changing into swimsuits and running outside.

186

That evening, watching her children splash happily in the water, their mother admitted that despite the stressful morning, the vacation had already started exactly the way she had hoped it would.

187

Loud, slightly chaotic, and completely worth the wait.

188

After 41 years at the same company, Harold's retirement party was held in the small conference room, decorated with a slightly crooked banner someone had made the night before.

189

Colleagues from every department squeezed in, holding paper cups of sparkling juice.

190

The office secretary, who had worked alongside Harold for almost two decades, stood up first to speak.

191

In all honesty, she said, smiling, nobody in this building has ever shown as much passion for spreadsheets as Harold has.

192

The room laughed and Harold, slightly embarrassed, admitted the joke was probably fair.

193

Someone asked what he was most looking forward to about retirement it.

194

Sleeping past six o'clock, he said immediately to general laughter,

195

though he also mentioned finally having time for his garden and hopefully his long neglected motivation to learn the guitar.

196

Before leaving, he thanked everyone for the pension advice they had patiently given him over the years, admitting he felt genuinely grateful to be leaving on such good terms.

197

As a retired man for the very first time in his adult life, he walked out of the building slightly unsure what Monday morning would even feel like anymore.

198

Elaine found the old coat at the back of her closet

199

while searching for winter gloves and almost threw it straight into the donation pile without checking the pockets first.

200

Inside, crumpled and slightly faded, was a lottery ticket she vaguely remembered buying almost a year earlier.

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She nearly did not bother checking the numbers, assuming it was long expired, but curiosity got the better of her.

202

To her genuine disbelief, every single number matched.

203

She sat on the floor of her bedroom for several minutes, simply staring at the ticket, before finally calling her sister with a shaking voice.

204

This is stunning news, her sister said once she understood what had actually happened, insisting Elaine check the numbers a fourth time just to be certain.

205

Elaine's first thought, oddly, was not a magnificent holiday or a gorgeous new car, her mortgage, which she realized,

206

with quiet astonishment, she could now pay off completely.

207

Weeks later, once the payment had cleared and the excitement had settled slightly, Elaine admitted that the ordinary,

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boring relief of no longer owing money felt far better than any gorgeous car ever could have.

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Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

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