Shadowing Practice: 4000 Essential English Words 1 Unit 30 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Unit 30.
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Word List Above If something is above, it is at a higher level than something else.
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He straightened the sign that was above the crowd.
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Ahead If something is ahead of something else, it is in front of it.
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The blue card drove on ahead of us.
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Amount An amount is how much there is of something.
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Can I use my card to pay for the entire amount?
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Belief A belief is a strong feeling that something is correct or true.
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A preacher or priest should have a strong belief in God.
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Center The center of something is the middle of it.
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The center of a dartboard is the most important spot.
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Common If something is common, it happens often, or there is much of it.
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It is common for snow to fall in the winter.
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Cost These designer shoes cost more than the regular ones.
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Demonstrate To demonstrate something is to show how it is done.
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She demonstrated her plan to her co -workers.
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Different Different describes someone or something that is not the same as others.
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Each of my sisters has a different hairstyle.
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Evidence Evidence is a fact or thing that you use to prove something.
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He used the pictures as evidence that UFOs are real.
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Honesty Honesty means the quality of being truthful or honest.
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A courtroom should be a place of honesty.
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Idiom An idiom is a phrase with a meaning different from its words.
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The idiom, when pigs fly, means that something will never happen.
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Independent If something is independent, it is not controlled by something else.
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She chose to live an independent life in the country.
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Inside Inside means the inner part, space, or side of something.
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The inside of the box was empty.
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Jail A jail is a place to keep bad people.
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He was sent to jail for taking other people's cars.
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Master A master is a person who is very good at something.
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My brother is a master of Taekwondo.
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Memory A memory is something you remember.
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The memory of my first time in the city will always be the best.
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Pocket A pocket is a part of your clothing where you can keep things.
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She always had her hands in her pockets.
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Proper If something is proper, it is right.
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It is not proper to throw your garbage on the road.
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Sale If something is for sale, you can buy it.
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Everything for sale here is the same price.
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Cats and Secrets In English, there is a common idiom, let the cat out of the bag.
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It means to tell a secret.
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But where did this idiom start?
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It came from a part of England.
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Long ago, people there went from town to town to sell things like vegetables, clothes, and pigs.
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They had strong beliefs about honesty.
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They didn't like lying.
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One day, a man went to the town's center to sell things.
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I have a baby pig for sale.
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It won't cost much.
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he said.
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He held the animal above his head.
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His style was different from honest people's style.
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He was a master of tricking people and lying.
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A woman named Beth looked at his pig.
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He offered her the pig for one gold coin.
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That was a very small amount.
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Beth gave him the coin.
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He put it in his pocket.
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He walked ahead of Beth to get the pig.
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He gave her a closed bag and said, Here's your pig.
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He then left very quickly.
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Beth looked at the bag.
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It was moving.
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She opened it to let the pig out.
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A cat was inside.
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He tricked me.
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That isn't proper, she said.
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Later, the man returned to trick more people.
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Beth saw him, and the memory of the cat came back.
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She told her friends.
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They stopped him, but no one knew what to do next.
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Someone said, We need an independent and fair person to decide that.
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They went to the judge.
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Beth told him about the cat in the bag.
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The judge asked, Is there evidence?
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Can you demonstrate how he did it?
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Look in his bag, said Beth.
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She opened it and let a cat out of the bag.
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They learned the man's secret, and he went to jail.
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That's how the idiom, let the cat out of the bag, came to mean to tell a secret.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “4000 Essential English Words 1 Unit 30”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: pig, Beth, cat, bag, idiom. This video has 81 sentences and 728 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:30. The speaker talks at a steady 112 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pocket noun | /ˈpɑ.kɪt/ | A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items. |
| belief noun | /bɪˈliːf/ | Mental acceptance of a claim as true. |
| demonstrate verb | /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/ | To show how to use (something). |
| honesty noun | /ˈɑ.nɪ.sti/ | The act, quality, or condition of being honest. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| coin noun | /ˈkoɪ̯n/ | A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle. |
| pig noun | /ˈpɪɡ/ | Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus… |
| clothing noun | /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/ | Any of a wide variety of articles, usually made of fabrics, animal hair, animal skin, or some combination thereof, used to cover the human body for warmth, to… |
| worker noun | /ˈwɝ.kɚ/ | One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor. |
| designer noun | /dɪˈzaɪnɚ/ | A person who designs something, or who designs things as a profession. |
| priest noun | /ˈpɹiːst/ | A religious clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| garbage noun | /ˈɡɑɹ.bɪd͡ʒ/ | Food waste material of any kind. |
| cloth noun | /klɒθ/ | A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is not controlled · was sent |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should have · should be |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important · the best |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will never happen · will always be · won't cost |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, isn't, won't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, cloth /klɒθ/, truthful /ˈtɹuːθ.f(ə)l/
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 pocket, belief, demonstrate.
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.