Shadowing Practice: 1.05b Drag MS-A - Effortless Original English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Okay, welcome to mini -story A for drag.
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In this mini -story, I will ask questions you know.
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Look at the text.
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You can find the answers.
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Let's start.
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Mom is a drag on the family business.
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Who is a drag on the family business?
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Well, mom, right?
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The mom is a drag on the family business.
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Is the dad a drag on the family business?
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No, not the dad.
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The dad isn't a drag on the family business.
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The mom a drag on the family business?
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Is the mom a drag or is the dad a drag?
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All right, the mom.
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The mom is a drag on the family business.
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The dad isn't a drag on the family business.
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Who is a drag on the family business?
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That's right, the mom.
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The mom is a drag on the family business.
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When was the mom a drag on the family business?
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Well, the mom was a drag on the family business for many years,
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for many years, right?
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Starting 20 years ago, starting 20 years ago until now.
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All right.
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When did the daughters buy the business?
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20 years ago.
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The daughters bought the business 20 years ago.
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Who did they buy the business from?
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their mother.
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They bought the business from their mother.
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Did they buy the business from George Bush?
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No, they didn't buy the business from George Bush.
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They bought the business from their mother.
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Did they buy the business from their father?
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No, they didn't buy the business from their father.
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They bought the business from their mother.
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How long ago did they buy the business?
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20 years ago, right?
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20 years ago they bought the business from their mother.
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Very good.
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Do they love their mother?
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Of course they love their mother.
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Do they respect their mother?
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Yes, of course they respect their mother.
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Does their mother respect them?
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Yes, their mother respects them.
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Do they all respect each other?
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that's right they all respect each other mom respects them they respect mom
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all right when will they finish paying off the business in two years.
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In two years they will finish paying off the business.
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Who will finish paying off the business?
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The sisters or the daughters will finish paying off the business.
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When will the daughters finish paying off the business? In two years.
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Who will finish paying off the business in two years?
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the daughters or sisters will finish paying off the business in two years
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will the father finish paying off the business in two years
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no no not the father the father will not finish paying off the business in two years
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The daughters will finish paying off the business in two years.
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But the daughters have a problem.
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Mom, who is 77, still gets money. Who still gets money?
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from the daughters?
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Mom, right?
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Mom still gets money from the daughters.
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Does mom still get money from her daughters?
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That's right.
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Mom still gets money from her daughters.
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Does mom get a salary from her daughters?
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Yeah, that's right, she gets a salary, maybe per hour, from her daughters.
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Does mom get a salary or does mom work for free?
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Mom gets a salary.
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She doesn't work for free.
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Mom gets a salary.
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She still gets a salary.
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Does mom also get money for the business?
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That's right.
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Mom also gets money to pay for the business
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who pays mom money for the business well the daughters pay mom money for the business
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who pays mom a salary
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ah the daughters again the daughters pay mom a salary and the daughters pay money for the business.
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How old is the mom?
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She is 77.
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Is the mom very young?
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No, not really.
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The mom is 77.
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She's not very young.
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Is she old?
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Well, not too old, but yeah.
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She is a little old.
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She is 77.
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Okay.
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Does mom do a lot of work?
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No, she doesn't do a lot of work.
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Does she do personal work on the clock?
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yes she does she does personal work on the clock does mom read on the clock
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she does mom reads on the clock she reads during work time does mom write letters on the clock.
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Yes, she does.
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Mom writes letters on the clock.
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during work time.
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Who writes letters on the clock?
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Well, mom.
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The mom writes letters on the clock.
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Do the daughters pay mom to write letters?
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Well, they do pay her to write letters, but they don't want to.
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Does mom write letters on the clock or does mom work very hard on the clock?
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Mom writes letters on the clock.
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She doesn't work very hard on the clock.
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Is mom's salary expensive for the daughters?
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Yes, mom's salary is expensive for the daughters.
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whose salary is expensive for the daughters
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mom's mom's salary is expensive for the daughters what is expensive for the daughters
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mom's salary right mom's salary is expensive for the daughters is dad's salary expensive for the daughters
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no no dad's salary isn't expensive for the daughters mom's salary is expensive for the daughters.
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Is mom's salary expensive for the daughters or cheap for the daughters?
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Well, her salary is expensive for the daughters.
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It's not cheap for the daughters.
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Are business expenses going up or going down?
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Business expenses are going up.
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Are business expenses going up fast?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Business expenses are going up fast.
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Are business expenses going through the roof?
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Yes.
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Business expenses are going through the roof.
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They are going up very fast.
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What is going up very fast?
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Business expenses.
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Business expenses are going up very fast.
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Whose business expenses are going up very fast?
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The daughter's, right?
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The daughter's business expenses are going up very fast.
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Are Bill Gates' business expenses going up very fast?
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No, no, not Bill Gates.
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Bill Gates' business expenses aren't going up very fast.
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The daughter's business expenses are going up very fast.
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Why are the daughter's business expenses going up very fast?
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Why?
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Because they must pay their mom two times.
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They must pay her a salary,
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and also they must pay her for the business.
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So why are their expenses going up fast?
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Because they must pay their mom two times.
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Are their expenses going down?
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No, they're not.
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Their expenses are not going down.
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They are going up.
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Do the daughters like this situation?
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No, they don't.
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The daughters don't like this situation.
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Okay, that is all for mini -story A.
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Listen to it many times.
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Listen to it every day.
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Listen to it for two weeks or more.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “1.05b Drag MS-A - Effortless Original English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mom, daughters, salary, expenses, drag. This video has 154 sentences and 1094 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:35. The speaker talks slowly, about 70 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 50 of its 154 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| salary noun | /ˈsæləɹi/ | A fixed amount of money paid to a worker, usually calculated on a monthly or annual basis, not hourly, as wages. Implies a degree of professionalism and/or… |
| expense noun | /ɪkˈspɛns/ | A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds. |
| dragon noun | /ˈdɹæɡən/ | In European mythologies, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a lizard-like body, often a… |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| mini adjective | /ˈmɪn.i/ | Miniature, tiny, small. |
| roof noun | /ɹuːf/ | The external covering at the top of a building. |
| expensive adjective | /ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/ | Having a high price or cost. |
| finish verb | /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ | To complete (something). |
| letter noun | /ˈlɛtɚ/ | A symbol in an alphabet. |
| sister noun | /ˈsɪs.tɚ/ | A daughter of the same parents as another person; a female sibling. |
| cheap adjective | /ˈt͡ʃiːp/ | Low or reduced in price. |
| text noun | /tɛkst/ | A writing consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences. |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go up verb | To move upwards. |
| pay off verb | To bribe, especially to deter oversight. |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | finish paying |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are going · is going · aren't going |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will ask · will they finish · will finish |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | must pay |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, don't, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like salary, expense, dragon.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.