Shadowing Practice: B2 FIRST | LISTENING | F4T1P4 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Part 4.
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Part 4.
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You will hear an interview with a man called Guy Reardon who works as a stuntman performing dangerous scenes in movies.
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When you see a fight or a car chase in a movie,
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it's often a stuntman or woman taking the risks, not a real actor.
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Guy Reardon's a top stuntman.
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Guy, do you usually work individually or in a team?
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It depends.
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In my first job I was part of a team of other stuntmen.
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Several of us had to jump off a fourth floor rooftop together and get caught by the group on the ground.
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That involved relying on everyone else to do things properly,
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which wasn't something I enjoyed.
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Despite that uncertainty, I hoped my strength and sense of timing would get me through.
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Audiences rarely appreciate the lengths we go to to provide their entertainment.
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Obviously it's dangerous, but what's the most challenging thing for you about the work?
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It's a wonderful job, but like any career,
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you have to have tools.
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For a stuntman it's his or her body,
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and if a stunt goes wrong you can end up badly hurt.
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If I thought about that though,
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I'd never do the job.
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But it's the never-ending process to up your game,
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to expand and extend what you're good at, that's the toughest bit.
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Of course there's a lot of competition in the stunt world,
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that makes it exciting.
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What was it like working on the movie Raw Stuff?
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It's based on a true story about soldiers in action,
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so it was extremely important that the stunts didn't look like standard movie action sequences.
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The mountains we were filming in were stunning,
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which made up for having to hike up with 25 kilos of equipment on our backs.
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You just didn't notice the weight.
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The view from the top was sensational.
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The tricky part was tumbling onto rocky mountain ledges so
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that the camera could be as close as possible and the audiences would see and feel what those soldiers went through.
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You've often acted as a stunt double for the actor Marty Walker.
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Yeah, Marty and I get on.
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He varies his size drastically from one movie to the next.
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He can go from athletic action hero to skinny professor in some major body transformations.
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His dedication to doing that's amazing.
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It affects me as well.
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I had to put on weight for his last movie.
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Marty wanted to do the motorbike stunts himself,
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but we persuaded him not to.
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It involved jumping off at high speed.
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Pretty silly for an untrained person to try and do,
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or even a stuntman.
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Which movie do you remember filming most?
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Light at Dawn.
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They wanted me to say some lines, real acting.
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After a few attempts, I gave up and asked for someone else to do it.
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The director, Peter Levine, was very ambitious.
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Some things he asked for hadn't been tried before.
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It was truly a pleasure when we got things right.
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We filmed all over the world.
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Everyone on what was a huge film crew was completely exhausted flying from one place to the next.
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How long have you been in the movie industry?
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Twenty years.
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I've seen some changes.
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There's more technology these days,
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but there's just as great a need for stunt actors.
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Some things can only be performed by a real human.
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I've worked with some great people in some great locations and had a lot of laughs,
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something that's increasingly missing these days because there's so much at stake.
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But that does mean the financial rewards for those who get into the big movies are generally worth it.
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I can't say I've been unlucky in that respect.
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What would you advise someone wanting to do your job?
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Stunt work's become highly specialised over the years.
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There's high falls, fight scenes,
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horse stunts, car chases, the list goes on.
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There's no easy answer to the question of whether it's better to become skilled at one thing or be diverse.
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I don't try and discourage people from getting into stunts,
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but I do try to convince them to have another source of income to fall back on.
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Most stuntmen I know also do things like construction,
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security, web design, and though everyone has an agent to find them work,
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it's so often about your own contact rather than anything else.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English listening and speaking skills by engaging with an interview featuring Guy Reardon, a professional stuntman. You will explore the challenges and experiences faced by stunt performers in the film industry. This content not only enhances your listening comprehension, especially at a B2 level, but also allows you to practice specific vocabulary and phrases related to the world of stunts. Incorporating this lesson into your routine will significantly improve your English speaking practice, making you more fluent and confident.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Stuntman/Stuntwoman: A performer who takes risks to perform dangerous scenes in movies.
  • Teamwork: The collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal, essential in high-risk jobs like stunts.
  • Tools of the trade: The essential skills or items needed to perform a job effectively—here, it refers to the physical capabilities of a stunt performer.
  • Body transformation: Significant changes in physique, often required for actors to portray various roles.
  • Acting and stunt doubling: The distinction between performing stunts versus acting roles, particularly in dangerous scenes.
  • High-speed stunts: Actions performed at fast speeds that often involve significant risks.
  • Tumbling: A physical skill often required in stunts, involving acrobatic movements.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning experience from this interview, consider using a shadowing app to practice effectively. Shadowing is a technique where you listen to spoken language and attempt to repeat it immediately, mimicking the speaker's tone, speed, and intonation. This method is particularly effective for improving your fluency and pronunciation.

In this video, Guy Reardon speaks with a conversational tone that varies in speed. As you engage with the material, focus on the rhythm and stress patterns in his speech. Start by listening to short segments, pausing after each sentence to repeat what you’ve heard. Gradually increase the length of the segments you practice.

For better retention, try to connect the vocabulary you learn here with real-life situations. For example, imagine you are explaining what a stuntman does to a friend, using terms like "teamwork" and "high-speed stunts." This approach not only prepares you for IELTS speaking practice but also boosts your confidence in using English in everyday conversations.

Utilizing resources like videos on YouTube can enhance your learning journey. Not only can you learn English with YouTube, but you can also find varied accents and speaking styles within the content. Remember, consistency is key, so make shadowing a regular part of your practice routine with tools like shadowspeaks to track your progress!

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.

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