Shadowing Practice: Assassination Attempts on St. John Bosco | Ep.1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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You may already be familiar with St. John Bosco, a 19th century priest who ran an oratory for boys in turn,

but did you know anti-Catholic sects made many attempts on his life?

Today I'm going to recount two stories of assassination attempts made on one of the finest men that ever lived.

You're watching The Miracles and Prophecies of St. John Bosco.

June 1880, Turin, Italy.

Don Bosco's pious triumphs disturbed the sleep of the enemies of God

and his church to the point that they armed murderous thugs to kill him.

As his good works drew much admiration across the civilized world,

it would have seemed unlikely that someone would want to perpetrate such a savagely barbaric act.

However, in the year of 1880, sectarians hatched two attempts on his life that very well might have been connected.

A former oratory student called Daso Alessandro, who lived from proceeds from his art in Turin,

was assigned to strike down the saint in the last week of June.

He presented himself at a reception, asking to speak to St. John Bosco.

He went straight into the room he had been ushered, as he was familiar with the layout of the house.

He seemed troubled and concerned with anything but the person in front of him, our dear saint.

But Don Bosco received him with his usual loving kindness.

As the young man kept silent and seemed overtaken by growing agitation, the servant of God asked him, what do you want with me?

Speak up.

You know Don Bosco loves you.

The young man went on his knees, broke down in tears and, sobbing, told him the ugly story.

He had enrolled in the Freemasonry.

The sect had condemned Don Bosco to death.

Twelve names had been drawn out by Lot to do the job.

Twelve individuals were ordered to carry out the sentence, and each one was to try, in turn, to murder the saint.

This poor wretch, Alessandro said, to me, of all people, it fell to be the first, and that's what I came for,

but I'll never do any such action.

That will bring upon me the vengeance of others.

Revealing this secret is my death sentence.

I know I'm lost, but I'll never kill Don Bosco." He drew out his concealed weapon and hurled it to the ground.

Don Bosco lifted him and tried to reassure him, but in vain.

As if pushed by a mysterious force toward an abyss, the poor man ran hastily out of the room.

Don Bosco wrote the boy's father a note, urging him to come to the oratory immediately, and confided everything to him.

However, torn by remorse, on June 23rd, his son jumped fully clothed into the waters of the River Poe.

A few customs guards managed to save him and handed him over to two policemen who took him home.

Two days later, his father, a very sensible man, sent a letter to Don Bosco, telling him what had happened and pleading for help.

He wrote, commend my son to your inexhaustible charity, reverend father of fallen away children.

Don Bosco repeatedly met with that unfortunate father, and both agreed on the way to bring his son back to the right path,

while at the same time saving him from the vengeance of his accomplices.

After all that help, Don Bosco also managed to facilitate his escape abroad

and found a safe asylum where he lived incognito until the end of his days.

The second and more tragic attack occurred the following December.

A young gentleman in his mid-twenties visited Don Bosco, who politely bid the man to sit beside him on the couch.

From the start, his face inspired very little confidence.

A sinister look flashed from his eyes, which immediately caused Don Bosco to be on his guard and watch his moves.

An ill-repressed nervousness agitated him.

After sitting down, he spoke nervously about disconnected topics, and sometimes gesticulated like a madman.

Lo and behold, in his agitation, a small six-shot revolver slipped from his pocket into the couch.

Without his noticing it, Don Bosco quickly grabbed it and slowly put it in his own pocket.

It's helpful to remember that Don Bosco had been an excellent magician in his youth, so he performed this quick sleight of hand with ease.

In his nonsensical rant, this young man sometimes said provocative phrases as if trying to pick a fight.

At a certain point, he looked down, stuck his right hand into his sack, and repeatedly rummaged through it.

He then showed surprise and anger.

He leapt to his feet, looked all around him, and seemed in utter despair.

As he went on with his frantic search, Don Bosco also rose from his seat and asked with all tranquility, what are you looking for?

I thought I had something in my pocket.

Where on earth did it go?

Maybe you only thought you had it with you, Don Bosco conjectured.

Perhaps you left it?

No, no, no, the young man cried out, panting and circling the room, and even entering the adjacent room.

Don Bosco quickly approached the doorway and grabbed the doorknob with his left hand ready to open it.

He then pointed the revolver at the young man and said without flinching, this is what you were looking for, isn't it?

At that, the scoundrel was stunned and tried to seize his weapon, but Don Bosco ordered with a strong voice,

get out of here, get out of here at once, and may God have mercy on you.

He opened the doorway and told some people in the antechamber to usher the gentleman out.

The would-be murderer hesitated, but Don Bosco insisted, get out and don't come back.

At last, the criminal left.

Two young men from the house who understood what it was all about escorted him to the street,

where a group of young men were waiting and whispering discreetly next to a carriage.

Figuring the attack had failed, some jumped into the carriage, which disappeared in a flash,

while others ran away and left their friend mumbling as he continued down the street.

But why would this happen?

Why were the Masons so intent on murdering Don Bosco?

Why did they hate him so much?

These questions are what this entire YouTube channel seeks to answer.

Saint John Bosco was a jewel in our history,

a model of piety, and a ferocious warrior against the enemies of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We'll attempt to analyze all the facets of his pious life.

Prophet, Diplomat, Miracle Worker, Counselor, Visionary, Devotee of Our Lady,

Prolific Writer, Role Model for Wayward Boys, Founder of the Salesians, Priest, Rock of Scandal, Warrior Against Heresies,

I could go on and on, but it can all be summed up by the phrase Christianus Alter Christus.

He was Christ-like.

He's the patron saint of apprentices, editors, publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and wayward children.

An attempt was made by the Salesians to document his daring deeds for Christ,

which resulted in 19 large volumes and are the primary source material for our channel.

He's a veritable font of interesting anecdotes and inspiring stories, so please subscribe so that you won't miss any of our videos.

worry, I'll do my best to make them worth your time.

The more we learn of and admire the saintly aspects of Don Bosco, the more we'll be like him in our own lives.

Thank you so much for watching, and Godspeed.

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137 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Assassination Attempts on St. John Bosco”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Bosco, Don, saint, attempt. This video has 88 sentences and 1263 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:21. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
oratory noun	/ˈɔ.ɹəˌtɔ.ɹi/	A private chapel or prayer room.
agitation noun	/ædʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/	The act of agitating, or the state of being agitated; the state of being disrupted with violence, or with irregular action; commotion.
pious adjective	/ˈpaɪəs/	Of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing.
revolver noun	/ɹɪˈvɒl.vɚ/	A handgun with a revolving chamber enabling several shots to be fired without reloading.
wayward adjective	/ˈweɪwə(ɹ)d/	Given to a wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.
usher noun	/ˈʌʃəɹ/	A person, in a church, cinema etc., who escorts people to their seats.
doorway noun	/ˈdɔɹweɪ/	The passage of a door; a door-shaped entrance into a house or a room.
sect noun	/sɛkt/	An offshoot of a larger religion or denomination.
vengeance noun	/ˈvɛnˌd͡ʒəns/	Revenge taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong.
carriage noun	/ˈkæɹɪd͡ʒ/	The act of conveying; carrying.
inspire verb	/ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/	To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by…
warrior noun	/ˈwɔɹi.ɚ/	A person who is actively engaged in battle, conflict or warfare; a soldier or combatant.
gentleman noun	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/	Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
couch noun	/ˈkaʊ̯t͡ʃ/	An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.
accomplice noun	/əˈkɑm.pləs/	An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
draw out verb		To make (something) last for more time than is necessary; to prolong; to extend.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
carry out verb	/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/	To hold while moving it out.
come back verb		To return to a place.
fall away verb		To cease to support a person or cause.
get out verb		To leave or escape.
look down verb		To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards.
run away verb		To flee by running.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 11 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: agitation /ædʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, usher /ˈʌʃəɹ/, ferocious /fəˈɹoʊʃəs/, reassure /ˌɹi.əˈʃʊɹ/, admiration /ˌæd.məˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: oratory /ˈɔ.ɹəˌtɔ.ɹi/, agitation /ædʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, antechamber /ˈæn.tiˌt͡ʃeɪm.bɚ/, gesticulate /d͡ʒɛsˈtɪkjəleɪt/, incognito /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/

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 oratory, agitation, pious.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Assassination Attempts on St. John Bosco | Ep.1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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