Shadowing Practice: America's BEST National Parks...by TRAIN! (Ep1) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome on board this great American road trip by RAIL!
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Over the next two weeks, we're visiting the country's best national parks, all by Amtrak.
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No cars, no planes.
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We'll cover over 4,000 miles, passing through 11 states with stops in Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon.
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Traveling a slow way means we'll discover the best America has to offer from the comfort of the train, but of course, it won't always go as planned.
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Join us for our most epic, most ambitious, and most unforgettable trip yet.
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Hello Jet Setters, I'm Jeb Brooks from GreenerGrass.com.
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We're about to explore America's best national parks by train.
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And you're coming along.
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In this episode of the Great American Rail Trip, we're heading to Yellowstone.
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It's nestled between Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
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And while most everyone who goes there drives there, that's not an option for us.
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Our journey starts in Chicago.
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We're going to be boarding the California Zephyr.
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It is Amtrak's most scenic, most epic route.
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We have three rules for this experience.
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One, we're only taking trains with a couple of surprises along the way.
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Two, we're going to visit three of the country's best national parks.
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And third, perhaps most importantly, we're going to show you something amazing in each one.
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Visiting national parks by train is not the cheapest, it's definitely not the fastest, and it's for sure not the easiest.
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But I think the fact that it's not the fastest or the easiest is the appeal.
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It gives you a chance to slow down and enjoy everything that our country has to offer.
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The national parks in and of themselves are amazing, but everything we're gonna see along the way is gonna be equally impressive.
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I can't wait to share it with you, but let's get on this train and get this trip started.
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First leg, the California Zebra for 34 hours to Salt Lake City.
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And we'll be on board for 1,608 miles through five different
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states before arriving in Salt Lake in the middle of the night tomorrow.
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At least, that's what we hope will happen.
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We're about 10 minutes to boarding and just made an announcement that we're delayed.
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An indefinite delay.
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Hopefully that means just a little bit.
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Time will tell.
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Since we're in an Amtrak bedroom, we could comfortably wait in the lounge.
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And with Cash Cab on the TV, time did fly by, but we're hoping a delay this early in our trip is not a sign of things to come.
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We were called to board about an hour late.
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And here it is, the first train of the journey.
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I have to guess this is not going to be the only delay on our trip.
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I disagree.
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I think we're getting rid of the one we're going to have early, smooth sailing from here.
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That'd be amazing.
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Let's go for it.
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Welcome aboard.
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I'm late departure here out of Chicago.
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We had some HVAC issues with one of our coaches.
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No air finish being so we needed mechanical to change out, replace that car.
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So we late start leaving here out of Chicago.
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Welcome to the bedroom.
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This is the largest room category you can get here on Amtrak, and this is where we'll be for this first leg into Salt Lake City.
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It's got everything you could possibly want.
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The sofa turns into a bed, there's another bed that comes down from the ceiling, there's a sink, a toilet, and a shower in here.
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Ordinarily, there's a chair right here, but it seems to be missing.
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I'm not sure what happened there.
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We call that an Amtrak oopsie.
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Will there be more?
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Probably.
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Not doing this for 34 hours.
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The missing chair does mean there's extra space in our room, and that means I can pull my suitcase off the rack downstairs and keep it up in the room with us.
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Ordinarily, a bedroom can only comfortably fit one bag up here.
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The funhouse mirror provided some entertainment, but not nearly as much as what we saw out the window.
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Gablesburg's our first fresh air break.
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We've got three minutes to stretch our legs.
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And we were back on board just in time to leave Galesburg behind and soon cross over the mighty Mississippi.
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This is Iowa, the second of 11 states.
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And that also means it's time for dinner.
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Meals for passengers booked into sleeper car accommodations, like us, are included in the price.
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With dinner behind us, it's time to sort out sleeping arrangements.
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I think I need to sleep in the upper bunk because, well, I'm a gentleman and you shouldn't have to suffer up there.
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Yeah, but I'm smaller and more agile.
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It's just easier for me to get up and down from up there.
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Well, I think the only way to make this completely fair is to flip a coin.
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Decide your fate tonight.
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Heads.
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Tails!
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Tails!
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Okay, so what does this mean?
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This means I win.
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I choose Top Bunk.
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Alright, well you heard it here first.
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I tried to be a gentleman.
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I like the Top Bunk.
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It's kind of cozy and it's my own little space up there.
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Good morning.
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It's about 6 o'clock in eastern Colorado and I think that means it's time to start 24 hours on Amtrak.
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People often ask us how to pass time on a train.
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We'll show you starting with coffee and a sunrise in the sightseer lounge.
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7.30, time for breakfast.
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Boy, do I need some coffee.
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There was a lot of horn, a lot of shaking going on last night.
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And that was a swing and a miss.
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We got up there and they said wait 20 minutes for a table.
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So we've come back to our room, got some coffee, which will pass the time pretty well.
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This is their first time, believe it or not, traveling in the summer.
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It's a different experience.
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The train is quite full.
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We've got some views.
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The Rockies are out there.
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We'll be in Denver in no time.
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We were able to get a table just as we arrived in Denver, and with nearly an hour here, we'll even have time to step out.
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It's 8.45, so it's time for a fresh air break here at Denver Union Station.
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These are great opportunities to get off the train, stretch your legs, get some fresh air, just enjoy a little bit of off-train time.
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9.15, nap.
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Gonna take advantage of the bed still being down.
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I already need one.
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Unfortunately, for some reason, and I'm not sure quite why, Suzanne had a bit of trouble sleeping.
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Now, naps could not take up too much of the day.
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You see, this section between Denver and Glenwood Springs offers some of Amtrak's best scenery, and it all begins here, just outside Denver.
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10.10am, film the Big Ten Curve.
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This is pretty hard work.
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The Big Ten Curve is a legendary feat of engineering
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that allows massive trains like ours to begin to climb up into the Rocky Mountains.
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1115 about to enter the Moffitt Tunnel at 6.2 miles long
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should take about 10 minutes to get through whichever car you're in
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when you're entering the Moffitt Tunnel you stay in to keep
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those noxious views out 1145 fresh air break in Fraser Colorado Feels like we're already in a national park.
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1230, lunch.
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Thinking Burger.
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Meals in the dining car are always a highlight of any Amtrak adventure.
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We've met so many fascinating people who share our love of train travel.
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The river rafters along this section have developed an unfortunate greeting for Amtrak passengers.
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Thankfully, the anglers are a bit more respectful.
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It's 2 o'clock.
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Best thing to do on Amtrak is just watch the world go by, and that's what we're doing.
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We've tried a couple of times to get in the Sightseer Lounge, but it's just been too crowded.
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We haven't been able to find space, unfortunately.
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We're traveling in mid-August.
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I guess summer is just a busy time, So follow our advice from the past and travel in the shoulder seasons if you can.
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What better do you enjoy the sights with than a little afternoon cup of coffee?
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Cup of Joe.
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We'll switch to something stronger a little bit later.
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That's possible.
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2.30, time for a shower.
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I'm just kidding, we're only on here for a day, so even though we've got this great en-suite, I'm not going to do it.
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Instead, we played cards and Suzanne won again.
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We're coming into Glenwood Springs and the way I-70 is built here is absolutely incredible.
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I mean, check this out.
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It's 4 o'clock.
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Happy hour.
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We purchased drinks from the cafe car, which is open to all passengers on board the train.
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Hopefully there's time to hop off here at Grand Junction and grab some groceries while we're here.
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You see, we'd heard about the special peaches sold here in the station, so I jumped off to grab some.
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There was only one left, and it had Suzanne's name on it.
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It's Palisade Peach.
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It's 545 in Grand Junction.
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We finally found seats in Sightseer Lounge.
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And our timing was perfect.
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Sit on the left side of the train for fantastic views of Ruby Canyon.
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You see, there's no road here.
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The only way to see this is on foot, river raft, or by rail.
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Welcome to Utah, our fifth of 11 states.
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7 o'clock, dinner time.
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Except it's not in the dining room.
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Let's explain.
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You see, earlier in the afternoon, we heard an announcement of the loudspeaker.
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Remember that broken HVAC that caused a delay out of Chicago?
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Well it seems to have spread to the kitchen.
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It is unsafe for my chef and food specialist to continue to work under those conditions.
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It does go against FDA safety rules.
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So what they're going to do is they're going to provide boxed meals from the dining car for dinner tonight.
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I am not sure what it is.
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We do not know quite yet.
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As we've always said, Amtrak is a guaranteed adventure and this is yet another one.
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Amtrak, you never know what to expect.
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No aircon in the dining car?
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It's another Amtrak, oopsie.
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What did I tell ya?
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Dinner turned out to be from McAllister's.
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We think they were brought in from Grand Junction, and we definitely appreciate the gesture and agree it was too hot to work in there.
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But unfortunately, these had just sat around so long that they were no longer very good.
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Hey, at least it's not the Amstew.
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It's kind of fun.
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It's like a picnic on Amtrak.
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It is, it's true.
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And I know that they went to a lot of work to make this happen.
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I mean, look, if the kitchen's too hot to cook in, it makes total sense.
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Look at the size of this cookie.
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As big as my head.
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Eight o'clock.
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Time for sleep.
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Well, a nap.
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I'll see in a bit.
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You see, we've got to wake up around midnight to get out in Salt Lake City.
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It's 1245 in the morning and we've made it to Salt Lake.
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Our commitment to avoiding private transportation is real.
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Despite the late hour, we are walking from the train station to our hotel.
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It looks like a 14-minute walk, so totally manageable.
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Yeah, that Uber tried to stop and pick us up, but no, no, no, no. We are walking.
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So all that puts us here into Salt Lake about an hour and a half later than planned.
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Could have been better, could have been worse.
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The nature of Amtrak travel, just go with the flow.
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Part of the fun.
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Valet's closed.
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We have to self-park.
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1.30, time for bed, finally.
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This bed is so comfy.
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Good night.
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And day three of this journey means our first bus.
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Next leg, about eight hours in the Salt Lake Express.
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Next stop, West Yellowstone.
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It'll come as no surprise.
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There's no food on this bus, so we're going to stop at a little shop around the corner here, grab a couple of sandwiches to go, and then make our way over to the bus stop.
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Are you ready for the day?
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Yeah, this walk certainly feels a lot different in the daylight.
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It's like Red Paradise, guys.
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Sandwiches?
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Check.
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The bus station is right next to the train station, so this is a reverse version of the walk we had last night.
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So like Suzanne said, looks a little better in the daylight.
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And I feel a little less tired.
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Yeah.
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A real bed makes a big difference, doesn't it?
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Let us know in the comments, are you team two-wheeled luggage or four-wheeled luggage?
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So I got kind of curious
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and I plugged in our route today into Google Maps to see like how far it was.
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It's 322 miles, 4 hours and 45 minutes.
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Our journey on the bus today is going to take 7 hours and 40 minutes.
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The Salt Lake Express maybe isn't so express.
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We're in it for the adventure, the scenery, and the experience of seeing America's national parks by rail and by bus.
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Your favorite.
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I guess so.
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And there she is, the first but not the last bus of this trip.
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The Salt Lake Express is a private shuttle service operator with a pretty extensive route network around the American West.
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This next leg of our trip will cover 237 miles through Utah and into Idaho where we'll stop in Rexburg.
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We'll change buses there and travel 83 more miles into Montana.
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Here we were the only passengers at this the first stop of the day
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which meant we had our pick of seats
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but don't worry the bus is gonna fill up as we make our way north.
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Next stop West Yellowstone not quite we've got a few in between here and there.
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Yeah we've got to stop downtown first and then we got to stop at Salt Lake International Airport.
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Fun fact you can actually there's one flight a day on Delta from Salt Lake to West Yellowstone.
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Opa!
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Not for us though not for you we are here for you as we take this eight hour journey.
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We chose initially to sit on the left side of the bus
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because we figure we're going north so the sun will be on the right side
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but there's so much more leg room on the other side I think we're gonna move over there.
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Suzanne is bringing out the greener grass tape measure to be sure.
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19, 12.
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We're gonna move over here.
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Salt Lakes Express offers an app to track our progress and there's even a bathroom on board, which we avoided.
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Last chance to get out of the airport?
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No, we are committed.
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We are 100% taking the bus.
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The journey is the destination.
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Peace be the journey.
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Is that your favorite movie?
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Yeah.
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We settled in, and since the bus was still pretty empty, I moved across the aisle.
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We made a few more stops along the way, including one where we had time to get out and stretch our legs.
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The bus is great.
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There's a light, there's a little air vent.
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It's got everything you could want.
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There's even a footrest.
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We take a break about every hour and a half to step off someplace with a bathroom.
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In this case, we're stopped off at a place with a Dairy Queen, so Suzanne's grabbing some quick ice cream.
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Blizzard time.
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Is it even a road trip without an ice cream?
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I don't think so.
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So, got some Dairy Queen.
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Gonna do this thing.
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Okay, now let's try not to miss the bus.
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Don't wanna be stuck in the Brigham City.
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But maybe we do.
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Seems kinda nice.
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Cookies and cream, by far the best ice cream flavor.
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I will go to battle for that, for sure.
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This is delicious.
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Hits the spot.
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This might be my lunch.
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Deb?
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That's number six, eleven.
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Soon enough we were ready for a full lunch, so we pulled out that bread paradise.
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We're about six hours into this journey and just outside Idaho Falls
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and you know feeling pretty good just giving you a quick update.
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We will change buses in Rexnord?
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Rexburg.
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We will change buses in Rexburg, Idaho, to make the final push into West Yellowstone.
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Now, about 25,000 feet over my head
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is the airplane that left Salt Lake City just a few minutes ago
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and will be touching down on West Yellowstone well before we arrived.
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It's all good because we're enjoying the scenery.
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Before we knew it, we pulled into Rexburg where the second bus, really van, of this journey was waiting waiting.
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This is an easy transfer on to West Yellowstone.
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The hour and a half journey included a great view of the Tetons.
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And Montana marked our seventh state of this trip, but I wasn't quite sure of that.
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Thanks to that noble steed right there we've made it to our sixth state, maybe seventh state.
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I'm not really sure I can't remember anymore.
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Anyway we're in Montana, wait until you see where we're staying tonight.
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I'm gonna head over there and show it to you now.
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Welcome to Under Canvas here in West Yellowstone.
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Now Suzanne does all of the booking for us.
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She makes all of our hotel plans, so I was really surprised when we came here.
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We're staying in a tent.
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Now it's a really nice tent, but it's still a tent.
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Let me show you what I mean.
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Now this is called a deluxe tent, and let me show you everything.
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There's a great seating area and a fantastic king-sized bed, exactly what you'd expect in pretty much any hotel room anywhere.
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There are a couple of differences though.
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For example, there are no plugs.
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Instead, they've given us battery chargers for our cell phones or whatever devices we've got, along with the lights by the bed that are really lanterns.
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The shower is right here and is, well, shall we call it basic?
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I guess is the word for it.
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But it'll do the trick.
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Now the question is, is it better than or worse than Amtrak?
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At least it doesn't move.
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Now the toilet is right here.
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I don't know how many of you like to have hotel rooms with doors on your toilets.
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Well this is not your place because I'm in and I'm out.
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In, out, no door, we'll make do.
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Okay now let me show you the key.
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Now this is the clutch thing.
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I am very glad that it is quite warm here in West Yellowstone
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because there's also a the heating source is a fire.
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Now it will This will come as no surprise to those of you who have been around the channel for a while.
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I don't know how to start a fire.
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Hopefully I won't have to find out tonight.
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Moment of truth, how do you feel about my lodging selection?
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It's innovative.
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I've never seen anything quite like it.
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The bathroom situation will be a test of our relationship.
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Well, we've had worse.
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Hey, there's more distance between the toilet and the bed here than in a view liner.
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It's very true.
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This is an upgrade.
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Under Canvas is sat in a beautiful meadow along a peaceful creek, and it turned out to be a great place to stay.
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The restaurant offers an impressive menu, locally inspired dishes that definitely hit the spot for us.
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After a great night of sleep, we woke up early, filled our coffee cups, and made our way over to Yellowstone National Park.
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Now, we hired a private guide here, because unlike the other parks we'll visit on this trip, there are no shuttle buses operating at Yellowstone.
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At 2.2 million acres, this park is huge.
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Not only was it the first national park in the United States when it opened in 1872, but that also makes it the world's first national park.
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It's home to more than half of the world's geysers and hydrothermal features.
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I mean, these things are literally everywhere.
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But one stands out, and it's Grand Prismatic Spring, the park's largest hot spring.
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It earns its colors thanks to microscopic organisms that thrive here.
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But there's more to Yellowstone than geothermal features.
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Just a short hike away from Grand Prismatic, you'll find the 200-foot-tall Ferry Falls.
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Trains, buses, days of travel has brought us here, And boy, the payoff, it's worth it.
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Like every national park, there is so much to see here, and this is completely worth adding to your bucket list.
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And the fact that we got here by public transportation is pretty epic.
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But hey, we got to stretch our legs some more, because we've been on trains and buses kind of a long time.
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Yeah, a lot of sitting yesterday, the day before, the day before that.
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So let's keep on moving.
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But there's one site here that stands above the rest, at least in terms of fame.
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Here it is, the most famous site in all of Yellowstone.
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Let's watch Old Faithful.
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It's called Old Faithful because of just how predictable it is.
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It erupts every 44 minutes to 2 hours, but on average, we'll see it erupt every 90 minutes or so.
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But there's a helpful clock so you know exactly when to keep your eyes peeled.
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Now eruptions like this shoot between 3,700 and 8,400 gallons of boiling water up to 185 feet in the air.
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However, the highlight of our time in the park may not be quite as famous as Old Faithful, but at the end of this trail, we discovered Imperial Geyser.
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It may only shoot water up to 15 feet in the air, but the color was stunning.
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And best of all, we had this entire place to ourselves.
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Our time here in Yellowstone is coming to a close, but worry not, there are more parks to come.
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Our journey continues between now and the next time.
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See you on the rails!
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This time on the Great American Rail Trip, we'll continue to face problems and disruptions as we find ourselves on more trains
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and buses to try and reach another national treasure.
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Can we make it to Yosemite?
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Don't miss our next episode to find out!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “America's BEST National Parks...by TRAIN!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: train, park, hour, Yellowstone. This video has 356 sentences and 3710 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:48. The speaker talks at a natural 163 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dine verb | /daɪn/ | To eat; to eat dinner or supper. |
| lounge noun | /ˈlaʊ̯nd͡ʒ/ | The act of someone who lounges; idle reclining. |
| tent noun | /tɛnt/ | A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather. |
| toilet verb | /ˈtɔɪ.lət/ | To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. |
| bunk noun | /bʌŋk/ | One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers. |
| sightseer noun | /ˈsʌɪtˌsiːə/ | One who goes sightseeing; one who goes around to look at sights or see things of interest; a tourist. |
| scenery noun | /ˈsiːnəɹi/ | View, natural features, landscape. |
| oopsy | /ˈuːpsi/ | Synonym of oops. |
| ordinarily adverb | /ɔɹdɪˈnɛɹɪli/ | Usually or as a general rule; commonly. |
| comfortably adverb | /ˈkʌmftɚbli/ | In a comfortable manner. |
| luggage noun | /ˈlʌɡ.ɪdʒ/ | The bags and other containers that hold a traveller's belongings. |
| daylight noun | /ˈdeɪˌlaɪt/ | The natural light that is ambient in daytime, being mostly sunlight (both direct and indirect, on either sunny days or cloudy days). |
| shuttle noun | /ˈʃʌtəl/ | A tool used to carry the woof back and forth between the warp threads on a loom. |
| cookie noun | /ˈkʊki/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either crisp or soft but firm. |
| sandwich noun | /ˈsæn(d).wɪd͡ʒ/ | A dish or foodstuff where at least one piece, but typically two or more pieces, of bread serves as the wrapper or container of some other food. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| move over verb | To move (oneself, or someone/something else) so as to free up space. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| bring out verb | To elicit, evoke, or emphasize (a particular quality). | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| fill up verb | To make (something) completely full. | |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- At least, that's what we hope will happen.
- It's got everything you could possibly want.
- What did I tell ya?
- Are you ready for the day?
- Is that your favorite movie?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've come · We've met · have developed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were called · are included · is built |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | everyone who goes · coffee, which will · people who share |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · our most epic · the cheapest |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 112 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we've, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: seventh /ˈsɛvənθ/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shuttle /ˈʃʌtəl/, noxious /ˈnɑkʃəs/, eruption /ɪˈɹʌpʃən/, ventilation /ˌvɛntɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, disruption /dɪsˈɹʌpʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: ordinarily /ɔɹdɪˈnɛɹɪli/, indefinite /ɪnˈdɛfɪnɪt/, manageable /ˈmænəd͡ʒəb(ə)l/, microscopic /ˌmaɪ.kɹəˈskɑ.pɪk/, organism /ˈɔɹ.ɡəˌnɪz.əm/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dine, lounge, tent.
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.