Shadowing Practice: Simplified Speech #93 - Big purchases - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello, everyone.

My name is Andrew.

And I'm Cassie.

And you are listening to Q-Lips.

Hey there, everyone.

Welcome back to Q-Lips.

You're listening to Simplified Speech,

which is the Q-Lips series that features totally natural English conversations between native speakers.

However, they're a little bit different than real-life conversations

that you'll hear outside on the street because we speak just a little bit slower than we do in our everyday lives.

And we hope that by listening to this series,

you can supercharge and boost your English listening skills and become a fluent English listener.

Now, before we get started with this episode, I just want to let you know that there is a study guide available for all QLips members,

and we'd recommend that you follow along with the study guide while you listen to us here today.

So to become a QLips member and to get the study guide, just visit QLips.com.

Today, I'm joined by my co-host, Cassie.

Cassie, hey there.

Could you let our listeners know what the topic of today's episode is? Of course.

So today's topic is big purchases.

Big purchases.

And big does not mean the size.

It means the price.

The price.

So yeah, let's break this down because it's a little bit confusing right from the start.

Big purchases.

So big, as you mentioned, refers to an expensive price.

And a purchase is just something that you buy.

When we say big purchases, we're just talking about buying expensive things.

Yeah, such as a computer, a car, a boat.

I guess how we can define big purchases varies from person

to person depending on how much money you make right a

house might be just a regular purchase for a rich person

but for me that's a very big purchase exactly yes I think also a big purchase is something

that you you don't buy Impulsively you don't buy as soon as you think about it.

Like you take your time You shop around you look at different websites or different reviews to make your decision Mmm, that's a good point.

And that's a really interesting expression you used just there shop around shop around

And when we pronounce it We kind of connect

that P sound to the a in around right shop around shop around shop around That's right.

Yeah.

So what does it mean to shop around?

Shop around means to maybe go to different stores

and look at the different price values at each store or go to different websites.

You wouldn't just go to one store and pick it, right?

It might be the most expensive option.

You would shop around to a bunch of different places.

yeah like I remember

when I think it was my brother it may have been

my sister I can't remember one of my siblings bought a new car

and we shopped around and went to many different car dealerships that's what we call a store

that sells cars is a dealership we went to many dealerships

and test drove many different cars before deciding upon which car to buy.

Because that's a big purchase, a new car.

And we wanted to make sure that we could get the best price, the best deal, the best car.

So we shopped around a lot.

Did you find the perfect one?

Yeah, I think in the end we found the perfect one.

And actually, both my brother and my sister ended up buying Kia cars, Kia cars, which is funny because I live in Korea and you live in Gwangju,

where Kia cars are manufactured.

So they've both owned their cars now for like 10 years.

So they both bought them around the same time.

That's why I can't remember which one I went with.

But, yep, they got good, good cars and they're happy with their big purchase.

That's a great thing, right?

Because that's one risk about making big purchases, right?

There's always that chance that you could experience buyer's remorse, this feeling of regret that you bought the wrong thing.

Yeah.

I think everybody feels this probably at some point in their life.

They feel like they wasted their money.

They regret buying something because after they do, they realize, I just didn't really need that or I don't really use it very often.

And we call this feeling buyer's remorse.

Cassie, do you have any examples of buyer's remorse that you've had in your life?

I have one example.

Okay.

So I was buying a smartphone and I decided to,

you know, splurge, spend a lot more money than I would originally spend

and get the new model of the most current iPhone model.

Okay.

And so I, you know, I put a lot of money into that.

I got the beautiful glossy red color.

And I decided I wanted to get a clear, thin phone case to show off that glossy red color of my phone.

Okay.

This is where the buyer's remorse came in.

I think I know where you're going with the story.

A week after I purchased my new amazing big purchase, I dropped it on the ground

and my flimsy case did nothing to stop it from shattering the screen into many, many pieces.

So do you regret buying the expensive phone or do you regret buying the cheap case?

I regret buying the cheap case.

Okay.

Ah, yeah, that sucks.

I have a similar situation about having some buyer's remorse with some tech.

The last computer that I owned had a solid state hard drive inside of it.

And this was a kind of new hard drive that has fewer moving parts in it, I believe, and so is more durable and long lasting.

Actually, I'm not really sure about the technical aspects of solid state hard drives.

But anyways, these were new to the market when I bought my laptop.

And because of that, they were very expensive.

So I bought a laptop with the biggest solid state hard drive I could afford at the time in the laptop,

but it turned out to be actually a really small drive.

It was like 80 gigabytes or something, which is not really too much when you run a podcast

and you are dealing with tons of audio files on your computer all the time.

100

So I was constantly having to manage the files on my computer,

101

deleting new files, moving files back and forth between a portable hard drive, and it caused me just a lot of headaches.

102

So I regret buying that solid state hard drive.

103

I guess it shows that you got to really read the reviews before buying

104

and know what you really want out of that purchase before you buy it.

105

Right.

106

Exactly.

107

And that's something that I wanted to talk to you about, Cassie.

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And that is when you make a big purchase, what are the steps that you personally go through?

109

I'm sure you don't just go to the store and buy something on impulse, like we said.

110

So what do you do?

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Do you talk to your friends to get some advice or do you read reviews?

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What's your process like?

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the tooth methods that i do the most often are reading reviews online

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and asking other people who have made similar purchases okay i

115

think word of mouth is the best way to get more accurate information about a product yeah especially

116

if it's someone you trust because this is one of the things

117

that I always think in the back of my mind when I read a review,

118

maybe on Amazon, or if I'm watching a review video on YouTube, it's like, is this an honest review?

119

Or is it a sponsorship?

120

Is it an employee of the company writing the review on Amazon to make the product look really good?

121

I'm always a little bit skeptical about online reviews from strangers.

122

That's a good point.

123

I tend not to buy something unless it has, you know, over a couple hundred or thousand reviews,

124

because then I assume a good chunk of those reviews, a good percentage are, you know, truthful.

125

That's a good way to do it.

126

Cassie, before we wrap things up here, and I don't want you to share too much personal information, okay?

127

Because I know in Western culture, talking about money is kind of taboo, right?

128

But we're going to talk about money a little bit.

129

And I'm just curious, what is the last big purchase you made?

130

You don't have to tell me the amount, just the item.

131

I mean, either is okay.

132

But the last big purchase I made was a car.

133

A car.

134

Yeah, that's so cool.

135

So could you tell us about the lead up to that purchase?

136

Yeah.

137

So I have not driven in three years before buying this car.

138

And I wasn't a very good driver before that.

139

So I was a little nervous to buy a car.

140

but I moved to the boonies, the outskirts of the city, and I really needed one.

141

So my biggest decision on making this big purchase was pretty much down to two criteria.

142

The first was the price.

143

I wanted a cheap car that even if I got into an accident or,

144

you know, did something horrible to it, I wouldn't regret it.

145

The second thing was to make sure I got I was it was a used car.

146

So I wanted to get it from a reliable source so I didn't get scammed.

147

And were you able to meet those two requirements?

148

I was I am so satisfied with my purchase.

149

Nice.

150

Very good.

151

I think the last big purchase that I made was my bicycle.

152

For most of my life, I've always ridden cheap used bikes.

153

And maybe the most I've ever spent on a bicycle was like $300 or something.

154

But the bike that I own now is a lot more than that.

155

But I got a good deal on it because I also bought a used one.

156

And I did a lot of deliberation.

157

I thought a lot before buying this bike.

158

I read reviews all the time.

159

I checked a community online for buying and selling used bikes almost every day.

160

I would constantly refresh it to see if the bike that I wanted would appear.

161

Finally, it did.

162

And I pulled the trigger on that purchase.

163

I made the decision to buy the bike.

164

And interestingly, this is something I've never done before.

165

But I knew I wanted to buy a bicycle that was decent.

166

I knew I wanted to invest in a good bike.

167

But I didn't want to spend a lot of money at once.

168

So actually, I saved up for this bike little by little every month for almost two years.

169

Wow.

170

Yeah, I would just take a little bit of my paycheck every month and put it aside.

171

So I knew that I wouldn't regret buying it because I had thought very deeply,

172

almost for like two years, about making the purchase.

173

And then it felt good.

174

Like it didn't, I didn't see a big dip in my bank account at all

175

because I had put this money aside specifically for that purchase.

176

So yeah, if you can be patient when making a big purchase and save a little bit for a long time,

177

I think that's the best way to go about it.

178

But yeah, I think I'm really similar to you.

179

I don't like to waste money.

180

So oftentimes, big purchases actually make you so much happier than those cheaper, more impulsive type purchases.

181

Yeah, I agree.

182

Maybe that's why we don't have great buyers or more stories to tell.

183

But I suppose that's a good thing, right?

184

I think so.

185

Well, Cassie, I think we should wrap things up here.

186

That was a fun topic to discuss with you.

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And listeners, just one more time, I want to remind you about the study guide that is on our website.

188

It includes the transcript of this conversation, as well as some detailed vocabulary definitions and examples

189

and there's also a quiz and a lot of other good stuff in the study guide

190

so you can give it a download at QLips.com.

191

We're also all over the place on social media.

192

We're on YouTube, we're on Twitter, we're on Facebook, we're on Instagram.

193

So if you would like to stay up to date with the QLips team and what's happening with us,

194

then just follow us on your favorite social media sites and you can find us by searching for the Q-Lips English podcast.

195

And if you'd like to get in contact with us, our email address is contact at Q-Lips dot com.

196

We will be back soon with another brand new episode and we'll talk to you then.

197

Goodbye.

198

Catch you later.

199

you

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze video bevat 199 zinnen en 2167 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 15:51. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 137 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. 83% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

15 minder gangbare woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:

regret /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ (werkwoord) — betreuren, spijten. To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
topic /ˈtɑpɪk/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — onderwerp, thema. A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
laptop /ˈlæp.tɑp/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — laptop, notebook. A laptop computer.
bicycle /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — fiets, rijwiel. A vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s…
listener /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — luisteraar, toehoorder. Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast.
wrap /ɹæp/ (werkwoord) — inpakken, omhullen. To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.
podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — podcast. A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on…
percentage /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — percentage. The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
everyday /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ (bijvoeglijk naamwoord) — alledaags. Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions.
thin /ˈθɪn/ (bijvoeglijk naamwoord) — dun. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
curious /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ (bijvoeglijk naamwoord) — nieuwsgierig. Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
refer /ɹɪˈfɜː/ (werkwoord) — verwijzen, doorverwijzen. To direct the attention of (someone toward something).
horrible /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/ (bijvoeglijk naamwoord) — verschrikkelijk. Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
skill /skɪl/ (zelfstandig naamwoord) — bekwaamheid, vaardigheid. A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
suck /sʌk/ (werkwoord) — zuigen. To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast).

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

deal with (werkwoord) — behandelen. To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.
end up (werkwoord) — belanden, terechtkomen. To bring to a conclusion.
get in (werkwoord) — binnenraken. To get into or inside something, literally or figuratively.
go about (werkwoord) — aanpakken. To busy oneself with.
show off (werkwoord) — zich aanstellen, pronken met. To exhibit the best attributes of something.

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 47 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals don't, I'm, we're. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

De “th”-klanken: thin /ˈθɪn/, tooth /tuθ/, truthful /ˈtɹuːθ.f(ə)l/
De klanken “sh” en “zh”: refresh /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/, dealership /ˈdiːləʃɪp/, deliberation /dɪˌlɪbəˈɹeɪʃən/, shatter /ˈʃætɚ/
Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, criterion /kɹaɪˈtɪɹ.i.ən/, deliberation /dɪˌlɪbəˈɹeɪʃən/

Zo oefen je met deze video

Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als regret, topic, laptop.

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

Structuur	In de video
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt	have made · have not driven · I've always ridden
Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding	cars, which is · something, which is · people who have
Overtreffende trap the -est / the most … — het hoogste of laagste van een groep	the most expensive · the best · the most current
Mogelijkheid met “might / may” might/may + werkwoord — iets is mogelijk maar niet zeker	might be · may have

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

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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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Uitspraak om op te letten

Zo oefen je met deze video

Grammatica in deze video

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?