Shadowing Practice: Yes, Prime Minister - The need to know - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Hello.
2
So, I gather you denied that Mr. Halifax's phone had been bugged.
3
Well, obviously.
4
It was the one question today to which I could give a clear, simple, straightforward, honest answer.
5
Yes.
6
Unfortunately, although the answer was indeed clear, simple and straightforward, there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of the epithets you applied to the statement,
7
inasmuch as the precise correlation between the information you communicated And the facts, insofar as they can be determined and demonstrated,
8
is such as to cause epistemological problems
9
of sufficient magnitude as to lay upon the logical and semantic resources of the English language
10
a heavier burden than they can reasonably be expected to bear.
11
Epistemological?
12
What are you talking about?
13
You told a lie.
14
A lie?
15
A lie.
16
What do you mean, a lie?
17
I mean you.. lied.
18
Yes, I know this is a difficult concept to get across to a politician.
19
You were...
20
I'm sorry.
21
Ah, yes, you did love to tell the truth.
22
You mean, we are bugging you Halifax's telephone?
23
We were.
24
We were?
25
When did we stop?
26
Um, 17 minutes ago.
27
Well, you can't call that lying.
28
What would you call the opposite of telling the truth?
29
Well, I mean, there was no intent.
30
I didn't mean to deceive them.
31
I'd never knowingly mislead the house.
32
Nonetheless, you have done so.
33
Well, it wasn't my fault.
34
I didn't know he was being bugged.
35
Mr. You are deemed to have known you are ultimately responsible.
36
Why wasn't I told?
37
The Home Secretary might not have felt the need to inform you.
38
Why?
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Perhaps he didn't know either.
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Or perhaps he'd been advised that you did not need to know.
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Well, I did need to know.
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Apparently the fact that you needed to know was not known at the time
43
that the now known need to know was known.
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And therefore those that needed to advise and inform the Home Secretary perhaps felt
45
that the information
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that he needed as to whether to inform the highest authority the highest authority of the known information was not yet known.
47
And therefore there was no authority for the authority to be informed
48
because the need to know was not at that time known or needed.
49
What?
50
We did not know that you would deny it in the House.
51
Well, obviously I would if I didn't know and I were asked.
52
We did not know that you would be asked when you didn't know.
53
There's bound to be asked when I didn't know if I didn't know.
54
What?
55
It was thought that it was better not to inform you.
56
You see, Hugh Halifax is one of your government team and as such, it was thought that it was better not to create distrust.
57
We only tell you when you should be aware.
58
When's that?
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You should now be aware because you've just denied it.
60
Well, it would be rather more helpful if I'd been aware before I denied it.
61
On the contrary, Prime Minister, if you had been aware before you denied it, you wouldn't have denied it.
62
But I needed to know.
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We do not always tell you about bugging when you need to know.
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You see, at times, Prime Minister, we need you not to know.
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Why did you decide that I didn't need to know?
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I didn't.
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Well, who did?
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Nobody.
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It was just that nobody decided to tell you.
70
Well, it's the same thing.
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On the contrary, Prime Minister, to decide to conceal information from you is a heavy burden for any official to shoulder,
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but to decide not to reveal information to you is routine procedure.
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Humphrey, I need to know everything.
74
Everything?
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Everything.
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Very well.
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Stationary deliveries this week to the Commonwealth system.
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Four dozen brackets of size two-paces.
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Humphrey, don't be silly.
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I mean important things.
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Who should decide what is important?
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Humphrey, how can you possibly defend this cock-up?
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Well, as you said in the House, we got it wrong.
84
You got it wrong?
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I, Prime Minister, I am merely a humble servant, a lowly official.
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The Home Secretary made the decision.
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Can you think of any reason why I shouldn't ask him to resign?
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With respect, Prime Minister, you should only ask him to resign
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when he has made a mistake which could have been seen at the time and not with the benefit of hindsight.
90
But you see, the trouble today has arisen because of your own error of judgment in making this denial.
91
What?
92
You should not have denied something about which you did not know.
93
That was your fault.
94
You've just admitted keeping secrets from the Prime Minister.
95
Not at all, Prime Minister.
96
The system works perfectly well as long as the Prime Minister tells the civil service everything
97
that he's going to say before he says it.
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But if precipitately he says something without first clearing it with his officials, he has only himself to blame, you must not say anything in public without first clearing it.
99
With respect, Prime Minister, you must learn discretion.
100
I didn't know there was anything to be discreet about.
101
In government, there's always something to be discreet about.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau C1 is gebaseerd op de video “Yes, Prime Minister - The need to know”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: Prime, Minister, denied, needed, inform. Deze video bevat 101 zinnen en 870 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 4:34. De spreker praat snel, ongeveer 191 woorden per minuut, dus reken op verbonden en ingeslikte klanken. 83% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken. 21 van de 101 zinnen zijn vragen, dus het is goede oefening voor vraagintonatie en korte antwoorden.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| discreet bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /dɪˈskɹiːt/ | discreet |
| epistemological bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ɪˌpɪstəməˈlɑd͡ʒəkəl/ | epistemologisch, epistemisch |
| straightforward bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/ | makkelijk, eenvoudig |
| resign werkwoord | /ɹɪˈzaɪn/ | ontslag nemen |
| deceive werkwoord | /dɪˈsiːv/ | misleiden, bedriegen |
| distrust zelfstandig naamwoord | /dɪsˈtɹʌst/ | wantrouwen |
| epithet zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɛp.ɪˌθɛt/ | toenaam, epitheton |
| hindsight zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈhaɪn(d)saɪt/ | terugblik |
| justifiably bijwoord | terecht | |
| mislead werkwoord | /mɪsˈliːd/ | misleiden |
| semantic bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /sɪˈmæntɪk/ | semantisch |
| conceal werkwoord | /kənˈsil/ | verbergen, verstoppen |
| stationary bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/ | stationair, stilstaand |
| assign werkwoord | /əˈsaɪn/ | toewijzen |
| bracket zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbɹækɪt/ | haakje |
Zinnen om te herhalen
Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:
- What are you talking about?
- What do you mean, a lie?
- Why wasn't I told?
- Why did you decide that I didn't need to know?
- Humphrey, how can you possibly defend this cock-up?
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | had been bugged · be expected · being bugged |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | have done · you've just denied · has made |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 22 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals didn't, I'd, wasn't. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De “th”-klanken: epithet /ˈɛp.ɪˌθɛt/, nonetheless /ˌnʌnðəˈlɛs/
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/, correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/, discretion /dɪˈskɹɛʃən/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: epistemological /ɪˌpɪstəməˈlɑd͡ʒəkəl/, precipitately /pɹɪˈsɪ.pɪ.tət.li/, stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/, correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/, reasonably /ˈɹiː.zən.ə.bli/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: straightforward /ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/, deceive /dɪˈsiːv/, mislead /mɪsˈliːd/, bind /ˈbaɪ̯nd/, arise /əˈɹaɪz/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: semantic /sɪˈmæntɪk/, bracket /ˈbɹækɪt/, magnitude /ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als discreet, epistemological, straightforward.
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.